Date: May 25, 2024
Get ready for an exhilarating experience for the highly anticipated start of the Vert Running Series 2024. The Leavenworth Skyline 27k is an event with over 3800 feet of Vert showcasing stunning vistas from the ridges of the Cascade Mountains and Eastern Cascades alpine desert views in the fast forest service road sections of Freund Canyon. This course surprised us all as the times were far faster than expected and the smiles were huge.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Evergreen MTB Alliance and Leavenworth Ski Hill Area for their exceptional work on the trail system, allowing us to immerse ourselves in this incredible environment. Make it a family weekend or week-long getaway and fully enjoy the wonders of the great outdoors.
Three Divisions
- Elite – Sponsored runners or runners wanting to build a resume to become sponsored. Not sure if you fit? Contact us.
- Sport – Trail runners who don’t have the time to train like the Elites but want to get out and give it their all.
- Masters 45+ – 45 plus years of age, who still love to compete but are getting tired of those youngsters just nudging them out at the line.
Awards & More
Overall Elite Top 3 – Men, Women, Non-binary – Custom Awards
Overall Sport Top 3 – Men, Women, Non-binary – Custom Awards
Overall Masters 45+ Top 3 – Men, Women, Non-binary – Custom Awards
King, Queen & Majesty of Vert (fastest to summit) $100 cash each
You’ll find some of the greatest custom awards at this event. All awards are custom wooden designs from Aravaipa Artworx and are great for displaying your accomplishment.
All finishers have an option of receiving a custom Leavenworth Trail Fest cowbell from Cowbell.com (these are not those little tinkle bells) or have five trees planted in Washington via One Tree Planted during registration. Participants will also receive a post-race meal from La Javelina at the Trail Family Food Tent.
The Vert Running Series overall top 5 in Elite, Sport, Masters 50+ and Youth Under 20 will receive custom awards and Dynafit running gear.
Course Details
We are back with the unbelievably FAST Leavenworth Skyline 27k which has 3800 feet of VERT and will start at the base of the Leavenworth Ski Hill Area. Utilizing much of the awesome MTB trail system this route ascends via “The Nut” for approximately 2 miles where the route grabs local forest service roads to the top of the Tumwater Ridge (Tumwater Paraglider Launch area parking) where the Summit King and Queen will be determined. It then will descend back down and traverse over to the Freund Canyon area on some fast downhill forest service roads where you’re greeted with the views of the dry alpine desert landscape of the Eastern Cascade Mountains. Once at the bottom of the Freund Canyon area a short uphill section will get you to the last fast descent into the start/finish line and festival area.
Aid Stations
We will have aid stations on the course with Gnarly nutritional drinks, gels, pbj, chips, fruit, and other various nutritional snacks. Please remember this is a cupless race so there will be no cups at the aid stations.
- Mile 4
- Mile 8
- Mile 13.9
Registration
- Opens November 10, 2023
- $89 Early Bird – Until December 31, 2023 midnight
- $112 after December 31, 2023
Schedule – May 25, 2024
- 6:00 am Packet Pick Up Open
- 7:55 am Pre-race Meeting – Must be present
- 8:00 am 27k Start
- 11:00 am 27k Awards
International Trail Running Association – National League Event
The ITRA National League point series requires runners to run three or more approved events to be ranked.
Supporting
Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance is our beneficiary. They have designed and developed the trail system at the Leavenworth Ski Hill area and continue to develop the system along with many other trails throughout Washington. Many of these trails are shared trails and we are grateful for the work they do. $10 from every paid 27k & 55k registration goes directly to Evergreen.
Cupless Event
We will not be providing any cups on the course or at the start finish line. Please bring your own cup and or hydration vessel. If you don’t have one, we will have Hydrapak Speedcup available prior to the start at packet pickup.
More Running Less Footprint – Sustainability Center
We work to become a carbon neutral event each year. The More Running Less Footprint center provides recycling for aluminum, paper and plastic. There is also a Terracycle bin for nutrional wrappers, chip bags, and gel packets. You can also bring in your used running shoes for recycling. Each pair donated displaces 30 pounds of CO2.
One Tree Planted
We have partnered with One Tree Planted to give all participants an opportunity to plant five trees in the State of Washington rather than receive a finishers award. You can help us stay carbon neutral and make a difference in air quality. You can select this option during registration.
Register Now
This is the year of cowbells during the Leavenworth Trail Fest and all of our custom bells have been prepared by More Cowbells!. We appreciate their service to bring some encouraging sounds during the festival. We will have limited cowbells for sale during the event.
Our Sponsors
