TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival
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TARC Stone Cat Trail Festival : Willowdale State Forest, Ipswich, MA
The Trail Animals Running Club Stone Cat Trail Festival is a November trail event held at Willowdale State Forest with multiple distance options and a free youth fun run. Distances offered include:
- 10K
- Half marathon
- Marathon
- 50 mile
- 100K
- Cider Donut Mile
- Free youth fun run
The primary loop for the longer distances is 12.5 miles of mixed double track and single track with roots and rocks and about 1,100 feet of elevation gain per loop. The 100K uses five main loops, the 50 mile uses four, the marathon uses two main loops plus two 1K loops, and the half marathon uses one main loop plus a 1K loop. The 10K is a single loop that shares the first four miles with the longer courses before rejoining for the finish. The youth fun run is roughly 0.5 miles around the field perimeter and is fully flagged with volunteers guiding participants.
Course marking includes reflective flagging and signs; GPX files are provided for navigation review. Aid is located at the start/finish and at a midpoint on the 12.5 mile loop; the 10K has only the start/finish aid. The event is cupless, so participants must bring their own hydration system. Aid station offerings are listed as vegan friendly.
The event supports fundraising for local land stewardship organizations and distributes donations evenly among four partners. Parking and crew access are restricted; pacers are not allowed. The festival has a no-refund policy. A pregnancy deferral option is available for eligible participants. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
