Wow! What a neat event! Imagine signing up back in January for a race that is only 14K, and being fortunate you got into it! The Wulfman CDT-14K is run on the Continental Divide Trail near Butte, MT. The trail is all single-track. Therefore, to accomodate the limited field, you give the RD's your predicted time, and then they seed you and start people one at a time, every ten seconds.

This race communicates! Wow, there were a lot of e-mails because there are a lot of details in order to make this stellar event work. Odd years, like this year, the race runs south to north and runners are bussed to the start line. In even years, the race runs in the opposite direction and finishers are bussed back to the parking lot off of I-90. Your bus, for this year, is also determined by your predicted time, and you receive your bib with your exact predicted time on it so you and others know how to line up and when you start.

The announcer then has everyone lined up single file at the start and a little light goes off when your time comes as a woman checks you off and there you go! 14K of tough singletrack on the Continental Divide Trail. There is definitely some elevation gain (around 1300+ ft according to the website) with some switchbacks going between 4K and 6K into the race. The course is awesome, but tough, both ascending and descending. Everyeone is very friendly and open to letting others pass if they need to on the singletrack. I was even told by one lady that I was doing pretty good as a flatlander from Iowa!

At the finish line people waited and clapped, you got your race swag, snacks, retrieved your gear bag, and could print off preliminary results. Then, after getting back to your car, you could drive about 4 miles to the Homestake Lodge where there was food, beer, and post-race awards and give-aways. Wow! That was a beautiful place to relax in the mountains after a great race!