Hello runners, the Quicksilver Running Club is happy to announce the return of the Quicksilver Trail Challenge half marathon and 10k. We missed seeing you in 2019, and were looking forward to seeing you this year, but then 2020 happened! Of course, when one door closes, another door opens, so we are pleased to introduce the first ever Virtual Quicksilver Trail Challenge (vQTC). Lots of races have gone “virtual” this year, so we thought we’d try to do things a little bit differently. We don’t call this the Trail Challenge for nothing! Read on for all the details.

The vQTC will take place from Saturday, September 12th to Sunday, October 11, 2020 and will be based upon designated Strava Segments for each course. A Strava account (either free or premium) and a GPS device will be required for participation. Additionally, and arguably most importantly, the race will be FREE!

** Just in case the pent up demand exceeds our ability to manage the race, we will be limiting the number of entries to the first 100 people to register. **

There will be two races - a half marathon and a 10k, each utilizing a single loop course. However, runners will have a choice of two locations to start and finish each loop. One Start/Finish will be at the Mockingbird parking lot (the traditional QTC Start/Finish), and the other will be at the Hacienda parking lot. Having two different Start/Finish areas will introduce a new element of strategy, as runners try to determine which, if any, course better suits their strengths. Prefer your big hills at the start? Maybe at the end? Well, you can have your cake and eat it too! And it’s a big piece of cake. Check out those course elevation charts on the Course Info page! There will be two official half marathon Strava segments and two official 10k Strava segments. The two segments for each distance race will utilize the same loop and will be racing each other, but runners will have two choices of where to Start and Finish.

Unfortunately, since this is a free race, we won't be giving out any swag or goody bags. So, instead of just giving prizes to the fastest runners, we will give prizes based on a raffle system, with “tickets” being awarded for various things including:

• Completing the course – 1 ticket for each time you complete the 10k course. 2 tickets for each time you complete the 1/2M course. (No more than once per day per course. e.g. It's ok to do both a 1/2M and 10k in the same day, but not two 1/2M or two 10k.)
• Bonus tickets for fastest times – Male / Female / Age Group.
• Bonus tickets for the most number of times completing the courses.
• Bonus tickets if you’re a member of the Quicksilver Running Club. (It’s never too late to join!)

The prize list and bonus ticket breakdown can be found here. The prize list will be dynamically changing as the end of the race nears. If you’ve got an industry connection and would like to donate a prize, please send us a message. We’ll be ever grateful and will post special thanks on our race supporter page.

Here’s the process to enter and compete:

1. Register by email. Send an email to quicksilver.running@gmail.com with your name, age, sex, and Strava nickname if you use one.
2. Each time you run the course, email us a link to your Strava activity, and we will record it in our results spreadsheet. (Please remember to set the privacy level to Public for your activity.) We need this because Strava Leaderboards only show your fastest time, not your total number of times running the course.
3. Every Sunday night we will post up-to-date results on our web page.
4. At the end of the month, we will tally up the virtual tickets, and have a raffle for the prizes.
5. Please remember, this is our first time staging a virtual race. There may be some initial stumbles as we work out the kinks. We’ll do our best, but this is a FREE race organized by volunteers. :-)

Cautions, Warnings, and other C.Y.A.s

1. This is a virtual race.
2. The course will not be marked with ribbons or course marshals telling you where to turn. You’ve got the entire month of September to learn your way around the park.
3. There will not be any aid stations providing food or drinks. The Mockingbird and Hacienda parking areas do not have functioning water fountains, but they usually have running water in the bathroom sinks.
4. There will not be any medical assistance on the course. Some parts of the trails are loose and/or rocky. There is potential for injury if you are not careful. By registering for the race, you assume all liability for your own actions and agree not to hold the Quicksilver Running Club responsible for any mishaps or calamities. 
5. The park is open to all public users. Please act as good stewards of the trail running community.
6. The park also currently requires face coverings for all park visitors. The Quicksilver Running Club supports this policy. Your compliance will help us all get back to normal non-virtual racing sooner.
7. As of late August, Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area are experiencing many wildfires and an elevated Air Quality Index indicating poor air quality and possible health risks to many individuals. We strongly urge you assess your personal risk level before heading outside to exercise. We can assure you, none of the race prizes are worth risking your health for!