30th Annual Event
Saturday May 1, 2010

Come celebrate the 30th annual running of the Sunflower Relay and Iron Event!  NEW this year the course is marathon length, 26.2 miles running from the town of Mazama to Twisp on beautiful trails through carpeted meadows of sunflowers.  Run either as an individual or form a team of 2-7 members.  NEW team categories this year as well. 

 

The Course
This unique course begins at 1900 feet elevation in Mazama and includes deer trails, cow paths, bike routes and paved roads. Stunning views of the Methow River, North Cascades and Chelan Sawtooths abound from flower carpeted meadows and fields. At two points racers climb to 2600 feet and drop quickly to the finish at about 1600 feet in Twisp. Total race length is 26.2 miles.

Course Map:  26.2 miles and Relay exchanges

Leg and Exchange Point Information

  • Leg 1: 4.5 miles, easy
  • Leg 2: 3.1 miles, moderately difficult
  • Leg 3: 4 miles, moderately difficult
  • Leg 4: 4.4 miles, difficult, strong runner required
  • Leg 5: 2.3 miles, easy, good for young runner
  • Leg 6: 2.8 miles, difficult
  • Leg 7: 5.1 miles, very difficult, extreme downhill sections

Driving Directions to Exchanges

Start Time
8:30 a.m. at the Mazama Community Center

Cost & Registration - through Thursday, April 22nd.

  • Iron: $50 includes a tee shirt designed and printed by local artist Mary Sharman (t-shirt for early registrations only!), transportation to race start, aid stations, potato bar after race and race awards.
  • Team: $30/adult;$20/youth under 14 includes tee shirt designed and printed by local artist Mary Sharman (t-shirt for early registrations only!), transportation to race start for first team runner, aid stations, potato bar after race and race awards


Online registration for Iron Participants

  

Printable form for Team ParticipantsMarlene Farrell, female winner of the 2009 Sunflower Iron Event. Photo by Kristen Smith.

Late Registration from Friday, April 23rd through day of race. $10 late fee beginning Friday, April 23rd.

  • fees increase by $10. Sorry, no t-shirts for late registered runners.

    Refund Policy
    No refunds after Thursday, April 22nd.


Packet Pick-up and Late Registration
5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 30th MVSTA
6:30 - 7:30 a.m. May 1st at the Twisp River Pub.

Iron and Team Information

  • An Iron-Person runs the entire 26 miles. Note: if you are both an iron competitor and running a leg of the race as a team member- the leg you run for your team must be leg #1.
  • A Team must have 2-7 people. Team categories are:1) Historical: co-ed at least one member 14 years of age or younger and at least one member 40 years of age or older (age on day of race). 2) Open: mix of any age and sex, and number of team members
  • Need to assemble a team? Use the Methownet.com bulletin board!

Participants

Transportation
Busses will depart the Twisp River Pub at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning for the race start in Mazama. Leg one team runners may take the bus to the race start. Teams must arrange transportation to the other exchange points. No return transportation will be provided from the finish to the race start. We encourage you to take the bus!

Sunflower Runner Briefing

Potato Bar Lunch

Race registration includes a potato bar lunch at the Twisp River Pub at race end.

After lunch consider a shower or steam at race sponsor Wash Works in Twisp and visit race sponsor Backcountry Coffee's roasting facility in Twisp. 

Awards and Divisions
The awards ceremony will be at 4pm at the Old School House Brewery in Winthrop. Awards created Brent Paul, from the 2009 winning team of Erik & the Pauls. by local potter Jim Neupert will be presented to the overall male and female winners plus the top three iron finishers in each age division: 19 & under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70+. Team awards for top three historical teams and top three open teams.

Directions

Race Start - From Twisp, head west on Hwy 20 through Winthrop approximately 21 miles. Turn right at the Mazama Junction and proceed straight to the stop sign. Go straight through the intersection and turn right into the Corral Parking Lot. Mazama Community Center is red building at east end of parking lot.

Race Finish - From Twisp head ¼ mile west on Hwy 20, cross bridge over Twisp River, take a immediate left on Ainsworth and a right on Berger St. After .3 mile Berger St. veers left, becomes Peters St. and turns to dirt. Follow .2 mile to intersection of Yoakum and Sunflower parking area.

Results
Results will be posted on MVSTA's results web page the evening of the race.