Oh My God

OMG (updated 3/31/09)

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Oh My God
Sunday, April 26, 9:00am
Cancelled! See explanation below.

General description: 4.05mi up & 5.8mi down 1,800'. 7.1mi dirt roads, 2.75mi paved roads.

Registration info: NA

Course blow-by-blow and photos Driving Directions Carpool Rules Course Measurement & Markings

Course description, blow-by-blow:

Start on the bridge on 23rd, just N of Colorado, near Courtney-Ryley-Cooper park; 7,518'. Go N two blocks. Turn left on Virginia, to the end. Turn right up Virginia Canyon, aka Oh My God (OMG). Stay right as you climb up the steep, paved road.

At the top of the paved road, ~.8mi, 7,820', take a sharp right onto the dirg OMG road. The road winds moderately up, almost 2mi, to the second OMG junction, ~2.7mi, 8,415'.

Stay left on the way up (you'll come back from the other side) onto the dirt Two Brothers Rd. This road climbs ~900' in 1.25mi, 13%+ ave grade, with a couple of steeper stretches. The road curves right and flattens out just before the top, 4.05mi, 9,330'.

Turn right, down the paved road. It turns back to dirt in about 1mi. In another mile, stay right where the road comes in from the left. Return back to the 2nd OMG junction, ~7.2mi.

Take a sharp left back onto the dirt OMG road, and retrace the route back to the start.

Approximate elevations

S: 7,518'

1mi: 7,860'

2mi: 8,165'

3mi: 8,595'

4mi: 9,320'
Top, 4.05mi, 9,330'

5mi: 9,040'

6mi: 8,735'

7mi: 8,445'

8mi: 8,140'

9mi: 7,835'

Driving Directions: Take I-70 fo Idaho Springs, exit #241A. Continue W on Colorado Blvd. for 0.9 mi to the park on the right.

From points west: Take exit #240. turn left to the stop sign, Colorado Blvd. Turn right on Colorado for 0.5mi to the park.

Please carpool to save money, gas and carbon.

Create your own map/directions with YahooMaps

Carpool: Please carpool to save money, gas and carbon.
        PickupPal - Find riders/drivers to any Runuphill Racing event, or anywhere else you may be going.
        DenverTrail Runners - Post a message to the group.
        BoulderTrailRunners - Post a message to the group.
        Incline Club - Colo Springs area. Post a message on their message board.

Permit Issues:

I am unable to put this on as a race. Clear Creek County recently implemented a new special event resolution. The new rules make the race financial and logistically impractical to put on at this time.

History: The Rocky Mountain Road Runners (RMRR) had an Oh My God race dating back to at least the early 90s or late 80s. That race was a 9-mile course, that started in Idaho Springs, and finished just above Central City. I (Adam) managed the race for RMRR from 2000 (I think) to 2002, and then assisted another RMRR member in putting on the race in 2003. I changed the course to 8-miles, finishing in a large parking lot a little higher above Central City. RMRR abandoned their race after 2003.

There may have been other races there put on by Scott Weber (aka Coach Weber), and by William Wyckoff of Eclectic Edge Racing.

I began the process of permitting the 2009 race last Nov, 2008. My first stop was Idaho Springs. Back in the RMRR days, a permit from Idaho Springs and a letter to the Gilpin County Sheriff was the only approval needed. Since the 2009 course was up and back, and wasn't going to go into Gilpin County, I didn't need to deal with Gilpin this time.

Initial conversations with the Idaho Springs City Clerk and Police Chief, directed me to check with the Clear Creek County Sheriff. My first call to them was on Dec. 2. I left a message for Sheriff Krueger. That, and subsequent messages with various Sheriff personnel were never returned. I finally insisted on speaking with an actual person, rather than leaving a message. A sheriff dispatcher referred me to the Board of Commissioners office. That was March 6, 2009.

With less than two months to the proposed race, I discovered and began a new permitting process. I immediately submitted the event application, a $200 non-refundable fee just to apply. I had an e-mail exchange with the county's EMS service manager, who seemed to be fine with my safety plan. I assumed everything else would go smoothly. After all, I've done this race before.

On March 19, I attended drove to Georgetown for a meeting with all the affected county departments. I was shocked to learn of the requirements. Namely:

8! porta-potties for approximately 150 runners, including 4 on the course, and separate ones for each gender. Races typically have one per every 75-100 runners. I had planned on two at the start/finish, in addition to the permanent facilities across the street from the start. 8 porta-poties would cost about $1,000; almost $7/person just to go to the bathroom.
They were requiring a commercial restaurant license if I was going to serve anything other than individual serving pre-packaged food. That would mean no sliced bagels, fruit, juice, etc.
The Sheriff was requiring 4 deputies along the course, for 3 hours each, at $60hr.

In short, these additional expenses make it financially prohibitive to put on a small race in the county. Larger races, like the Slacker and Georgetown-Idaho Springs half-marathons, can spread these costs over 1,000+ runners.

Clear Creek County recently implemented these new regulations and application process. I was the lucky one to be the first one through the new process. We both learned through this process. The county learned that their requirements may not be appropriate for smaller events. They are taking my application experience to revisit their regulations. I continue to talk with them about this, and hope to work something out for the future. This not only affects the OMG race, but other races I was planning in the county in 2010 and beyond, as well as others hoping to put on small events.