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WILD FLORIDA  TRAIL RUN
50K | 12  & 6 MILE

A Run Bum  charity race-100% of proceeds 
the  Florida Trail Association

RACE DETAILS
 

WildFlorida1.jpg

50K

11.19.22  

START  6:30AM 

 

RACE PACKET PICKUP & FINISH AT STEPHEN FOSTER FOLK CULTURE CENTER 

11016 Lillian Saunders Drive, White Springs, FL 32096

Start Line is reached by shuttle (details below)

DROP BAGS: BRING TO START ON RACE DAY (50K ONLY)

  • Runners are allowed one gallon sized ziploc bag, clearly labeled with name & bib number

  • Dropbags will not be returned, do not place valuable items in them!​

  • Bags will be placed at Swift Creek / Mile 16

WHAT TO EXPECT

Almost the entire trail is lined with massive oaks and views of the Suwannee River. Out of all 1,108 miles of the Florida Trail, the 70 some odd miles along the Suwannee River have to be the most scenic. This race is set to be when the cypress trees along the river in North Central Florida have their needles turning colors. Fall in North Florida is simply majestic. From the fall colors to magnolias mixed with some of the largest oak trees you'll ever see, the Suwannee is filled with a lifetime of beauty! See below for complete route details!

QUICK  FACTS

  • point to point course

  • no pacers

  • crew access at all aid stations

  • 11-hour cutoff

  • CUP-LESS event: runners must bring their own container to obtain fluids for duration of race

12/6 M

11.19.22 

START 8:30 AM
 

12 & 6 mi races start together
 

RACE START & FINISH AT STEPHEN FOSTER FOLK CULTURE CENTER 

11016 Lillian Saunders Drive, White Springs, FL 32096

Course preview:

Both the 6 / 12 miler start and finish at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Note this is not the same as Stephen Foster State Park.

 

Runners will start on an old dirt roadbed and quickly come to blue blazed singletrack. This singletrack meanders up and down through giant live oaks and eventually into pine flat woods before turning right onto the Orange Blazed Florida Trail. The Florida Trail runs along the Suwannee River along the banks as runners take in the serene river views amid palms and live oaks. This course is deceptively challenging with many hills and undulating terrain.

The 12 mile race is two loops of the 6 mile route.

QUICK  FACTS

  • 12M is double loop of 6M route

  • 12M has one aid station

  • CUP-LESS RACE: runners must bring their own container to receive fluids for duration of race

DIRECTIONS

Coordinates can be found by right clicking the aid stations on the following maps:

50K: Wild Florida 50k - CalTopo

12/6M: Wild Florida 12 mile - CalTopo


 

START LINE

Suwannee Springs, Fl
30.37888, -82.92922
Linville Tract - Suwannee River Water Management District


AS 1 - CAMP BRANCH
Mile 9.25
FULL AID

Crew access
Cut-off 3.5 hours

Camp Branch Trailhead Directions:
13421-13469 Co Rd 25A

White Springs, FL 32096
30.379600, -82.870365

Along County Road 25A you will be looking for brown signs that say "Camp Branch" with an arrow onto a dirt grass road from whatever direction you are coming from. Parking is somewhat limited. *Note we have driven this road when dry in a sedan, so it is safe for majority of vehicles. Turn onto the road and proceed until it dead ends. Race day there will be a sign pointing where to turn in. It is roughly 1 mile to the aid station from the main road on 25A.


AS 2 - SWIFT CREEK
Mile 16.5
FULL AID
Crew access
Cut-off 6 hours

DROP BAGS HERE

 

7 minute drive - 30.350904, -82.816550
From Camp Branch you will return to 25A and turn RIGHT. Proceed 4.3 miles and turn into Swift Creek Conservation area 25A Connector, a dirt shell road. From here, drive straight back (do not turn down any roads). You will dead end into our aid station. Lots of parking on the shell road - ALL VISITORS - please park on same side of the road.



AS 3 - CAMPGROUND
Mile 23.5
Campground
Cut - off 8 hours 30 minutes

From Swift Creek, turn right onto 25A again, then drive 3 miles and turn RIGHT into Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park via Foster Barnes Drive. Proceed 2 miles and there will be signs to the aid station / start finish near the Campground.


FINISH 

Mile 31

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

White Springs, FL
Cutoff - 11 hours

WHERE TO STAY

  • Stephen Foster State park has camping options.

  • White Springs Florida has several RV / camping spots available

  • Lake city has a wide variety of hotels and eateries.

  • We recommend the hotels and restaurants off exit 427 on 75. (This is off hwy 90)

  • Lake City, Florida is 20 mins away, which has several places to stay. We recommend that if you get a hotel you go South of White Springs on I-75 at the US 90 exit in Lake City. There a Publix, Texas Road House and all the other things you would find and need to stay somewhere.

  • Check out the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park and ask them about accommodations. That's next to the 50k start!

COURSE  DETAILS

50K

The Suwannee River is a black water river. Its headwaters start in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and flow all the way to the gulf. The water is black because of the tannins found in it of decaying leaves. It is hands down one of the most beautiful rivers in the world! Here, the Florida National Scenic Trail runs roughly 70 miles along the river, offering hikers, and now runners, the feeling of stepping back hundreds of years into the past!

The first two miles are a combination of dirt road, dirt double track, and some singletrack trail. You will then cross over the Suwannee River on the abandoned old Us 129 bridge. This view of the river is incredible! On the other side, you make your way down to the Florida Trail and pass under the bridge before heading East (southbound) on the Florida Trail. Massive oaks tower around you growing in all directions as you run upstream along the Suwannee River. The trail contains many small hills, climbing ravines and then dropping back down. If you’re not a hill runner, take your time walking these and taking photos! It's beautiful!

 

You will climb Devils Mountain, the highest spot on the Suwannee River section of the Florida Trail. It is a whopping 126 ft above sea level. There are several natural white sand beaches along the river made by the limestone. To get to the second aid station, we will divert off the Florida Trail onto Disappearing Creek Trail. This .2 mile trail follows a small creek that goes underground multiple times before dumping into the Suwannee. The creek actually disappears into the ground! We will then take a dirt roadbed trail on a .5 mile out and back to Camp Branch Trailhead for an aid station.

 

Once you get aid you will turn around and head back downhill to the river where you deadend into the Florida Trail and go left  (return the way you were going). You will cross under Highway I-75. Keep going until you turn left onto an old dirt road for a diversion to the 3rd aid station at Swift Creek Conservation Area. It’s flat on the road until the aid station. Then another half mile back down to the Florida Trail. You will encounter more up and down but not as steep. As you make your way to Stephen Foster you will enter the park and turn left onto a side trail / grass roadbed. This will take you into the exposed Pine Flatwoods. You will stay on this trail until you do a short out and back to the last aid station before rejoining the Foster Hammock loop where you will find more rolling hills.

 

Eventually you will rejoin the Florida trail. You will be back to the Suwannee for your final three miles or so of running along the river. Once back to the trailhead it’s .5 miles of road to the finish. This course contains a lot of rolling hills along the banks of the Suwannee. A great approach for those unfamiliar with the terrain would be to hike up, then run down, and run the flats. 

6/12:

Both the 6 / 12 miler start and finish at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Note this is not the same as Stephen Foster State Park.

 

Runners will start on an old dirt roadbed and quickly come to blue blazed singletrack. This singletrack meanders up and down through giant live oaks and eventually into pine flat woods before turning right onto the Orange Blazed Florida Trail. The Florida Trail runs along the Suwannee River along the banks as runners take in the serene river views amid palms and live oaks. This course is deceptively challenging with many hills and undulating terrain.

The 12 mile race is two loops of the 6 mile route.

SHUTTLE  FOR  50K

  • If you are planning to take the pre race shuttle, you must arrive at the FINISH line in Stephen Foster by 5:45AM at the latest. We will begin loading the bus at 5:30.

  • If you do not wish to take the shuttle, you can have someone drive you and drop you off. Please arrive at 5:30 and let us know you will be following us.

  • THERE ARE NO RESTROOMS AT START LINE! Go before getting on the shuttle!

  • Race will start 2-5 minutes after shuttle unloads.

  • Buy shuttle on ULTRASIGNUP. Click Here!

 

PACKET PICKUP


For insurance purposes runners MUST be present with ID. 

No add-ons or swag will be mailed out. Thank you for understanding!


ALL DISTANCES:
Friday 11.18 - non mandatory

5-7:30p 

Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park 

11016 Lillian Saunders Drive

White Springs, FL 32096


RACE DAY:

50k - 5:30 AM - NOTE we have packet pickup at the finish/shuttle pickup, NOT where the race starts! 

12/6 - 7:30 AM


 

THINGS TO DO 

  • Hike or run along the beautiful Florida Trail. Floridatrail.org

  • Check out Stephen Foster & Big Shoals State Parks

  • Go canoeing/ rafting on the Suwannee - Google for guides in White Springs

  • Check out Olustee Battlefield - Olustee Battlefield is the only Civil War Battlefield in Florida

  • Visit Ocean Pond in Osceola National Forest - A beautiful lake! (Pond is misleading, it is a massive lake!)

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