Cancelled Event
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
2023 GFTR Cancelled Due to Flood Impacts
Due to the impact of the July 10th storms that brought catastrophic flooding and extreme water damage to many communities across Vermont, including many of the towns that surround the Groton State Forest, we are regretfully, and with a heavy heart, cancelling the Groton Forest Trail Run for 2023.
For anyone who doesn't know - Central Vermont was hit very hard by these storms. Montpelier and Barre were essentially buried underwater, leaving local businesses with inches of mud and piles of trash to clean up. In Marshfield and Cabot, the water destroyed homes, turned pastures into gravel fields and demolished both dirt roads and trails.
We have been working with the Groton State Forest Park Staff, who gave us an assessment of the current damage to their trails and roadways, including the Groton Forest Trail Run courses. We were told overall the courses are extremely muddy and wet, with some blow downs and washouts. Here is the road to Owl's Head - which will need an excavator to repair.
In order for us to run the race, we would need to put in significant volunteer hours to make the routes safe for runners. Which is the problem - the volunteers and the communities that typically support our race have been busy over the last three weeks doing critical recovery work and helping our neighbors and local businesses rebuild and recover from incredible loss. With all of the work that needs to get done - we cannot ask our communities, who are stretched very thin, to volunteer right now.
We know many of you love this race and we are truly sorry - we love it too, but need to ensure our communities are built back strong first. In terms of your race registration, we are giving you 3 options at this time:
- Donate, please consider making the 2023 Groton Forest Trail Run a flood recovery fundraiser by donating this year's registration to the community organizations that are rebuilding from the flood: Twinfield/Cabot School Sports, Cross VT Trails Assoc. and Groton/Ryegate FAST Squad.
- Rollover your registration to 2024 - your registration on ultrasignup will be updated and we will email you next year to remind you to re-register but you will have a full credit for 2024; or
- Request a refund - to get a mostly full refund (minus the ultrasignup reg. fee) please email me or FB direct message by August 24th with your current mailing address, as I will need to request the funds in order to send you a refund.
If you do not respond by August 24th I will assume you are donating your registration.
Please email me to indicate if you want to rollover your registration for 2024 or get a refund. I will only be processing refunds during this window - as the Groton Forest Trail Run is completely a volunteer-led event.
For anyone looking to donate directly to Vermont's flood recovery:
The Vermont Community Fund Flood Recovery Fund
Montpelier Alive Flood Fund
Vermont Main St Recovery Fund
Thank you for your understanding - keep running!
Jill, Alison, Greg and Anne
10k course
This new 10k course is about 6.2 miles with 1100 ft. of elevation gain. This course features the summit of Little Deer with views of Lake Groton. This course is about 75% technical single track and 25% dirt road. A map will be coming soon.
25k course
The 25k course is about 15 miles with 3200 ft. of elevation gain. This course features the summits of Big Deer and Little Deer with views of Lake Groton, and Owls Head overlooking Kettle Pond. This course is about 50% technical single track, 25% multi-use trail, and 25% dirt road. Please look at the pictures on this page for a map of the course.
Marathon course
The marathon course is about 26.5 miles with 5,000 ft. of elevation gain. This course is approximately 60% technical single track, 10% multi-use trail, and 30% dirt road. In addition to Big Deer, Little Deer, and Owls Head this course features loops around Kettle and Osmore Ponds. Please look at the pictures on this page to find maps of the course.
Community Support
The Groton Forest Trail Run is a fundraising event, with all dollars not used to put on the event donated to local partners Central Vermont Runners, Cross Trails Vermont and the Groton Ryegate FAST Squad. This event was created to introduce more people to Groton Forest and to inspire our community, especially our youth, to get active in the outdoors. Our previous events would not have been possible without the generous donations of area businesses - these businesses that now need our support in order to survive. Also thanks to all of the tireless volunteers that help make this happen - if you are a runner - thank a volunteer! If you want to volunteer - please let us know.
Event's current local time: 4:00 PM ET
