FAQs

Have a look at our FAQs. If you do not see what you are looking for, drop us a line. Note that most of these answers are specific to The Divide 200 and may not pertain to other ultras.

Your Questions

"What about animals? I'm really nervous about bear encounters. If I have to run at night can someone run with me?"

There are bears, cougars, and wolves out there - that is a reality. Every year someone sees something during the race. Most of the time the animals will just run off because they don't want to see you any more than you want to see them. We will provide a brief overview about animal encounters at the pre-race meeting. Being alert is important.

We cannot allow non-registered runners or pacers on the course. This poses a risk to them and other racers. As per the race rules, you can run with another registered runners or a designated pacer.

"Can I use a pacer?"

We are allowing pacers on the last half of the course. Please see the Race Rules for details.

"Are all staging areas easily accessible by my support crew?"

Yes, the designated CPs are accessible. You may not want to bring your Mini Cooper, but other than that, you can drive to them all. CP3 is an easy drive from the resort, as is CP4. CP6/9 is about 45-60 minutes from CP4 and it requires driving on a gravel road if you go the short way. CP12, on the BC side, is the hardest to get to. It is just really far away on the other side of the continental divide, so you can expect about a 2.5 to 3-hour drive, and a good portion of that is on a logging road. If you bring a large vehicle (like an RV) to the staging area, please park respectfully and leave space for others.
You may meet a designated pacer at specific CPs on the course as well.

"Is this rain or shine?"

We usually hope for some rain but if it is sunny we will go ahead anyway. If there is snow, we may consider rerouting parts of the course.

"Can racers leave the area with support to go to a hotel and sleep?"

No. In order to remain a part of the race, you need to stay within the vicinity of the course.

"Can I sell my entry to a friend?"

Not exactly. If you cannot race, we will help you try and find someone from the waiting list. You can add people to the waiting list and we will go through it in order until we find a willing victi... er... candidate.

"Can racers be handed food and water from support outside of aid stations?"

No. This will result in disqualification. You are allowed to meet your support crew at designated CPs only. This extends to any help from non-racers outside of aid stations. The reason for this rule is that allowing one person to get help but not another creates an unfair advantage. Racers CAN help each other on the course - in fact, we encourage this.

"What is available at your aid stations?"

This will vary from location to location. Please see the Aid Station list for details.

"How tight are the cutoffs time? Other races have liberal timelines to allow for a variety of competitors and fitness."

The cutoff times are strict. If it is a couple of minutes, the race director may allow some leeway under extreme circumstances. We have cutoffs in order to keep the race running smoothly. Without cutoff times, people tend to fall really far behind and it compromises our ability to run the race. This impacts everything from SAR to volunteers. That said, in the first race we will be watching closely as we do not want to be draconian and make sweeping cuts early in the race.

"I am not familiar with the Spotwalla app. Will someone be available to help me at check in? "

Yes, we will have a staff member assigned to check the devices. If you take a look at the tracking info on the website, you can probably walk yourself through it. Live Tracking Page