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Mike Dolin is the organizer and founder of the Frozen Sasquatch Trail. He is 29 years old and has been running for 10 years. He is married and is fortunate that his wife also likes running. They even ran 50 miles together by themselves at Kanawha State Forest. |
Hello, on January 2nd 2010, you’ll be organizing the Frozen Sasquatch Trail . Can you tell us where it is located?
It is located at Kanawha State Forest which is approx. 6 miles from Charleston, WV.
This will be the 1st edition of the race. Why was it created in the first place?
We had an ultra called the Snowflake 50k which ran until 2003. The next couple years, a few of us just ran the course for fun.
It had a good response, so I decided to start another winter ultra similar to the snowflake, and also add a 25k to attract a wider variety of runners.
What kind of route have you set up for the runners? How would you describe it?
I would describe in one word…awesome.
The course is one loop of approx. 15.8 miles. Runners doing the 50k will do the loop twice. There are three major hill climbs per loop, with some rolling trails in between. The majority of the course is on single track trails or dirt roads.
Only a few miles are pavement. The last 3 miles of the loop are ran on Middle Ridge Trail, my favorite trail in the entire park.
How many runners do you expect on Saturday morning? What type of runners do you plan to attract?
I put a limit of 100 runners for the race, and i’d love to reach that. Being the first year for the race there may not be as many runners, but i hope the race makes a good impression on those who do run, and they return next year.
I have found that trail runners are some of the frindliest people on the planet. I hope to attract a variety of runners who like to have a good time.
Do you organize other races during the Week-End? If so, on what distances?
Not yet. I do help mark the course for the Dirty Dog 15k, which is ran in May at Kanawha State Forest.
At that time of the year, what kind of weather can we expect?
It is early January so the start of the race should be pretty cool. Last year we ran out there around the same time of year and it was around 30 degrees at the start and it heated up to the mid 50’s. The Kanawha Valley is not known for deep snows this time of year, but there could be a dusting.
Have you planned festivities around the races?
No other festivities have been planned, just some good bone-warming food at the finish line.
The races finished, what advice would you give a runner who has never been to Charleston before? A good restaurant, a fancy sightseeing?
There southridge area of South Charleston has a very good selection of restaurants. My favorite is Blues Barbecue (very good Jamaican jerk sauce and collared greens). I also like Logan’s Roadhouse (Santa Fe Tilapia…mmmmm) and Olive Garden.
In a single sentence, what would you tell the readers of ahotu Marathons to make them register for the Frozen Sasquatch Trail?
The Frozen Sasquatch Trail run would be a great way to start off 2010, come run on some of the best single track trails in the WV.