November 23-24, 2024

Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run

Race Information

Packet Pickup, Drop Bags, Spectators, Crew, Pacers, Cutoffs, Medical.

All are welcome, but we actively invite and support the following groups to join our events:

(Click each one to learn more)

Back-of-the-Pack Athletes / Walkers / Hikers

Athletes with Disabilities or Impairments

Aging Athletes

Packet Pickup

Packet Pickup will be at the race site but set apart from the start line. All packets will be pre-stuffed and sorted in bib number order. Bring your bib number to make it go quickly - they'll be published on the website race week.

What am I picking up in my packet? The following things:

Your bib (write medical concerns we should know about on the back as well as emergency contact numbers). Your chip is attached to your bib. Don’t detach and don’t bend your chip. You may fold your bib as long as the chip doesn’t get folded and as long as we can read your number.
Safety pins – they are pinned to your bib.
Parking pass for the State Park (bright yellow slip of paper for your dashboard)
Your entrant shirt (We are sold out so race swaps can only happen after your race from packets not picked up.)

How and where you place your race bib is very important to have you properly timed at every race split:

The event will be chip timed. The "chip" is actually a tag attached to the back of the race bib.

Please attach your bib to your shorts or leggings on the FRONT of your body, horizontally so that we can read the number, and so that it is visible to anyone observing and is not covered by any other clothes layers or any race belts. Do NOT attach it to shirts, jackets, race belts (it can bunch up), or hydration packs.
Do NOT alter your bib. They can’t be folded or crumpled, and do not take the foam cover off your bib chip.
If you do not have a chip on the back of your bib, find the race timer by the start/finish early race day morning to get a new bib.

No distance changes are allowed at this point because the race is sold out in every distance. Remember that 100 milers can get a recorded 100K finish when they complete the 100K distance, so no need to change from 100 miler to 100K.

Please plan to arrive early so you have time to get your packet, run to the bathroom, and gear up for your race start, with enough extra time that you will NOT miss the trail briefing before we start.

Once your race distance starts, you have forfeited all rights to your packet, including your race shirt.

Wearing your bib is the only check-in needed. It will record your start when you cross the timing mat at the start line.

Bibs are color coded to help volunteers and race personnel easily see what distance people are running. It goes from Red at the longest distance down to Blue for the shortest distance.

Valley Village

Valley Village is our name for the event site, and this is where you will find the crewing setup, the start/finish line, and the Cedar Brake aid station.

There will be an area marked off for runners to put their supplies. They can space out in this large area and have a camp chair, 10x10 canopy tent (especially helpful if it’s raining), and all their food and beverage supplies. It's a place for your crew to hang out too. Unlike past years, the car is too far away to crew from. Crews should be prepared to bring supplies from the parking area to the shuttle buses and then another couple tenths of a mile to the setup area from where shuttle buses drop off.

Valley Village Rules:

We follow "Leave No Trace" principles. Please review the link for a more thorough explanation of the expectations for race behavior overall - both by what the race provides and what we ask attendees to provide in order to keep this event focused on preserving nature and protecting wildlife.
You are expected to limit the trash you bring in and you need to be prepared to pack up and haul out any trash you create.
For their safety, children, ages 10 and under, have to be supervised (no more than 30 feet away from their guardian and remaining visible to the guardian at all times). No more than one warning will be given about any unsupervised children before we ask the children and their guardian to leave the site.
Leashed dogs are allowed. Lead length can't be more than 10 feet total. And of course, if we find a dog to be overly aggressive or agitated by the crowd or other animals, they could be asked to leave.
No open flames allowed. No fire pits or fire rings can be dug into the ground. Someone in your crew must be within 10 feet of any grill or heating apparatus at all times.
State Park quiet hours will apply from 10 pm to 8 am.

Friday Set-up Option: Crews can come pick out a 10x10 area and bring things to set up in the Valley Village area on Friday, 12 pm to 4 pm. Please stake down any canopy tents well in case there is bad weather overnight. No food should be left in the Valley Village area Friday so that wildlife aren't attracted. There will be no supervision in Valley Village so set-up and leave things at your own risk.

Drop Bags

At the Start/Finish/Cedar Brake Aid Station: Drop bags can be left in a specific area ONLY IF YOU HAVE NO CREW. We will have an area set up called "Crew Area E". In the Crew section of this page, there is a diagram showing this spot. It will be uncovered and exposed to the elements, so plan accordingly. You may have a camp chair, drop bag, and a small cooler only tightly kept together in the area. Again, this is only for solo entrants with no crew/spectators to leave things.

At the Fence Line Aid Station: 100K and 100 milers may put a drop bag out at the Fence Line aid station by dropping it in the designated area at the start line on Saturday morning. Bags should be labeled with your name and bib number. The drop bags will be collected and transported after the race start so by the time we load, transport, and unload, don’t anticipate getting your bag the first time you reach the aid station, only 2.5 miles in! Once they are at Fence Line, they will be spread out on tarps and sorted by bib number if the volunteers have time.

Please exercise reason regarding the size of your drop bag. It should not be bigger than 2 ft by 2 ft by 1 ft. Secure any liquids or fragile items for transport. It will be uncovered and exposed to the elements, so plan accordingly.

Collect Your Drop Bag Post-Race

When your race day is over, you can go to the Fence Line Aid Station to collect your drop bag. Leaving the start/finish, at the road, turn RIGHT, and you will see a sign for Fence Line about a mile later, on your right. Do not linger here – get your bag and go as there is very limited parking.

Here are the GPS coordinates for the location: 32.270095, -97.819675

Here is a link to google maps to that location.

Valley Village Activities

Saturday Night Karaoke

Every year, during Saturday evening, we host karaoke at the Cedar Brake Aid Station and encourage crews, volunteers, and even runners to participate. Yes, even runners have taken a break between loops to sing their favorite song. This is a lot of fun, and we hope you will all start thinking about a song you want to sing, or roping your whole crew into performing something!!

Buying Merchandise

We will have merchandise for sale at the merch tent. What a way to commemorate the experience. Buy a car magnet for your 100K or 100 miler finish to present as a gift. Or get a t-shirt for your whole squad!

Button Making

At the Valley Village Info Tent we will have a button maker and button making materials. A great activity for kids and adults alike to show their support of their favorite athlete! Come over to make your own individualized buttons for your vests to make some memories with your crew and athletes! Perfect for a little extra reminders of your great memories and reasons for running. Active Joe will have some pre-fab designs but you can create your own on the spot! Buttons range in size and shape and are only available while supplies last!

Leave No Trace Principles and ExploreMore

We will have cards about “Leave No Trace” Principles for crews and spectators over at the Valley Village Info Tent. This helps you to know how to be the most courteous to nature and wildlife over the whole weekend! We’ll also have stickers from ExploreMore for kids!

Vendor - FOOD FOR SALE!

Local restaurant “3B Beers Brats and Burgers” will be out at Valley Village selling their delicious food. Times aren't set yet of when they'll be out there, and they will only serve until they sell out of food (our first time with them out here so we're all excited but hard to guess quantities of what to bring!).

You can also visit them in Glen Rose at 1307 NE Barnard St, Glen Rose, TX 76043.

Here is the menu for race weekend at Valley Village:

Spectators

Spectators are allowed in the crewing area at the Start/Finish/Cedar Brake Aid Station. Only ONE crew/spectator vehicle per entrant allowed for parking. Consolidate cars in town in Glen Rose before coming out to the parking area so you won't be turned away.

Crews

Breaking crew information into a couple sections:

General Rules all crew must follow. Read carefully!
Crewing areas within Valley Village and how and where to crew
Priority Groups - how to make sure your group is one for the best crewing location!

General Rules for Crews (IMPORTANT):

Only ONE crew/spectator vehicle per entrant allowed for parking. Consolidate cars in town in Glen Rose before coming out to the parking area so you won't be turned away.
Crew can assist their participant in the Valley Village area at Cedar Brake Aid Station ONLY. Crews may only access their runners within 200 yards of the aid station. Participants may "check out" from the race at the Headquarters tent and go to their car via shuttle to sleep or even leave the race course but must "check in" at HQ when returning.
No crewing at Fence Line aid station unless your crew is volunteering at Fence Line aid station already.
Only one crew member can approach the food tent to get hot food and drink for their participant to prevent congestion in that area.
Crews may not eat or drink from the aid stations (does not apply to pacers).
Failure by any crew member to follow the rules set out here may result in disqualification of their runner.

Crewing Areas in Valley Village:

Crew Area A - Priority Group Crew Space: The 4-8 Groups with the Largest Presence will get prime location space in Crew Space A with a dedicated 20 foot by 20 foot labeled area for their crew. We do ask that you get all of your participants who listed your club to use this space so that the general crew space can be used by others. Read the next section for how to get your club to earn a spot!
Crew Area B – Crew Groups wanting Staked Space for the Whole Weekend: there will be spots that are spaced out with walking lanes and sized to accommodate 10 foot by 10 foot pop-up canopies. These are the closest crew areas to the aid station and end of each loop that are available after the priority crew space for large running groups.
Crew Area C – Overflow for Crew Groups: This is overflow space for those multi-person crews who want to stake out a 10’x10’ area. They are farther from the action and for those who arrive after Crew Area B is full. A large portion of this crewing area is up a hill.
Crew Area D – No Canopy Area: This is for those without multi-person crews and who do not want to erect a pop-up canopy tent or have a large area. This is perfect for hanging out as a solo crew member or as a couple with camp chairs and a couple bags of supplies.
Crew Area E – Solo Athletes AND Quick Crew Option: Participants with NO crew may leave a camp chair, bag, and cooler in a consolidated manner in this area. The entire area will not be covered. Those crews who want to support their athletes quickly and close to the aid station and course may step into this designated area only if their athlete is actually with them, and then the crew must leave the area with all of their gear when the athlete goes back out to the course

Priority Groups and how to make sure your group is one!

The 4 to 8 Groups with the Largest Presence will get prime location space in Crew Space A with a dedicated 20 foot by 20 foot labeled area for their crew. We do ask that you get all of your participants who listed your club to use this space so that the general crew space can be used by others.

How Clubs with Prime Spots Will be Determined:

1 Point for every entrant who has listed your organization in the “Running club or groups you are involved with” during registration. 1 additional point if the entrant is in the 100 miler or 100K as those participants need more crewing.
5 Points (total, not each) for public social media promotion of the event by your club or group (not by an individual, but by your official group/club account). Email an example if you do this on Facebook as we aren't often notified about tags, and tag us in Instagram @TheActiveJoe). Show us that your group is excited to have this as a goal race!!
5 Points if you have more than 5 shifts of volunteers who list they want their volunteer shift to go toward the club - TELL CREWS TO SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER HERE!

Biggest crews will be chosen on October 15.

Priority Group Spots in 2024

Burleson Running Club
Cypress Wolfpack
Dallas Dirt Runners
F3
HATR
Long Haulers
Running Familia!
UNT Running Club

Administration Tents Available to You in Valley Village

Valley Village Info Tent: Stop in to see our “Crews Directors” Eric Wellman, Mo Breshears, and Julia Beckley with any questions or concerns about Valley Village or about crew activities.

Foot Care: This year our foot care center is led by Danna Baxley & Gregg Lawson, who have been trained by “Fixing Your Feet” Co-Author Tonya Olson. If you have any foot issues please stop in and see them. In the history of running a hotspot or blister has NEVER gotten better by doing nothing. The team’s goal: “Our goal is that nobody DNFs due to foot drama!”

Quiet Tent: Set further away from the main hubbub of the start/finish/aid station is the Quiet Tent. It will have a table and several camp chairs. This tent is designed to be able to be used for multiple purposes:

Quiet time from overstimulation (helpful for those who are neurodivergent or on the autism spectrum)
Meditation (recenter yourself to continue your journey to the finish line)
Prayer (we recognize some religions include prayer throughout the weekend so this is a quiet space to do that)
Breastfeeding (whether this is pumping or feeding a child directly)

Please respect all users’ utilization of this space. Please keep this a quiet space.

Headquarters: Packet pickup, timing issues, awards. We’re here to help!

Merchandise: We will have shirts and finisher car magnets available! We accept Paypal and Zelle and exact cash. You can buy merchandise ahead of time here too and pick up race weekend so that you know you get your size before we sell out!

Pacers

All pacers must check-in at the headquarters by the finish line before pacing to get a pacer bib. They need to go online HERE and sign the event waiver.
Participants can have a pacer starting mile 52.5 (after 5 loops) for 100K and 100 milers.
Participants age 60 and over in the 100K or 100 miler may have a pacer from the start of the race to the finish with permission ahead of time by the Race Director. Email us to get approved.
Participants age 70 and older in ALL distances may have a pacer from the start of the race to the finish with permission ahead of time by the Race Director. Email us to get approved.
Participants can pick up or change pacers only at the Cedar Brake aid station.
Participants can only be paced by one person at a time.
Pacers must stay with their runners except in case of emergency when seeking assistance.
No pacers are allowed in the 50K, 25K, or 5 mile races.
No muling allowed. This means that a pacer may not carry or deliver anything to their runner unless within 100 yards of an aid station. This includes food and water. Muling may be lead to disqualification.
Pacers may eat and drink from each aid station just like the participants, but not until shortly before they start pacing. You don't get to nosh all Saturday when you won't start pacing until Sunday 2 am, for example.
Failure by any pacer to follow the rules set out here may result in disqualification of their runner.

Cutoffs

50K, 25K, and 5 Mile Participating SATURDAY: Because of the longer distances in the race, there should be no worries from 5 mile, 25K, and 50K participants who are participating on Saturday about finishing cutoffs.

50K, 25K, and 5 Mile Participating SUNDAY: For those participating on Sunday, lots and lots of time for 5 milers to hike the race. For 25K and 50K participants, you will want to see the chart below for cutoffs for your last loop. You'll note that the speed you have to maintain for cutoffs is super hiker friendly for 25K, but it is much tighter for the 50K because of the overall end of the race weekend. If you can not meet those cutoffs, we suggest you come participate in the 50K on Saturday.

100K and 100 Milers: See the chart below for last loop cutoffs (last loop for 100K is the 10.5-mile loop and for the 100 mile is the 5-mile loop) and make sure your crews know these cutoffs too.

There will be no FINAL cutoff time (within reasonable limits - read on). There are incremental cutoffs ONLY. You must make each of these cutoffs in order to continue in the race.

These cutoffs represent the time you must be OUT of the aid station by. If a participant chooses to leave an aid station and return to the race course after the time cutoff or after being told by aid station volunteers that they are being pulled from the race, the participant is instantly disqualified and may be banned from future races.

If you leave an aid station before the cutoff but then backtrack and return to that same aid station after the cutoff, you will be pulled from the race.

The finish line will be stripped to bare bones at 2:00 pm but if you can make the final cutoff, we will wait for you at the finish, however long you take to make the final 2.5 mile journey, within reasonable limits (up to 3 hours for that final stretch).

Medical

Each runner is responsible for their own actions. You need to be prepared both physically and mentally for all of the various stresses of the race. Our hope is to not have to call 911 for any of you. But in the event we have to in a medical emergency, medical expenses incurred are the responsibility of the participants receiving medical attention. Some parts of this trail are very remote to road access, and there may be a substantial amount of time that passes before medical personnel can arrive to provide aid.

Runners must understand all risks associated with undertaking this event. These physical and mental stresses include, but are not limited to, dehydration, hyponatremia, hypothermia, heat exhaustion, renal failure, seizures, hypoglycemia, disorientation, falls resulting in physical injury, complete physical and mental exhaustion, etc. Every participant is expected to monitor his or herself continually with an understanding of their own personal limitations. YOU, the individual participant, are absolutely responsible for your well being during and after the race.