Ten crew commandments

A crew that is committed to the success of their runner and the long-term success of the race will gladly adhere to our ten crew commandments:

  1. Thou shalt drive slowly and respectfully

  2. Thou shalt drive a high clearance, 4WD vehicle

  3. Thou shalt arrive at the start with a full talk of gas and a fully inflated spare tire

  4. Thou shalt give way to other users of the road, including cattle and sheep

  5. Thou shalt not follow a directions app without consulting the directions in the event manual

  6. Thou shalt not ask for the Starlink password at any aid station

  7. Thou shalt park tightly and not block any roads

  8. Thou shalt support every runner

  9. Thou shalt feel empowered to help at aid stations

  10. Thou shalt always smile

Aid stations

Runners may have a small crew, meaning one car, visit them at the following aid stations:

  • Start — Middle Piney Lake

  • Wyoming Peak

  • Box Canyon

  • Roaring Fork Lakes

  • Menace Falls

  • McDougal Gap

  • Blind Bull

  • Greys River

  • Grizzly Basin

  • Finish — Box Y Ranch

Two approaches to crewing the first 44 miles

The Wyoming Range – that is, the actual mountain range – runs due north-south and splits the first 54 miles of the race.

Middle Piney Lake, Roaring Fork Lakes, and Menace Falls are all on the east side of the range, while Wyoming Peak and Box Canyon are on the west side of the range. McDougal Gap, which is the halfway point of the race, is the primary crossover point.

Historically, crews have found it logistically easier to choose an “east” or “west” approach for visiting their runner at some (but not all) of the first four aid stations: Wyoming Peak, Box Canyon, Roaring Fork Lakes, and Menace Falls.

  • East approach: Start (Middle Piney Lake) > Roaring Fork Lakes > Menace Falls

  • West approach: Start (Middle Piney Lake) > Wyoming Peak > Box Canyon > Menace Falls

It is reasonably possible, however, for a well-organized crew to visit every aid station. Specifically, a crew can make the drive from Box Canyon to Roaring Fork Lakes – going through McDougal Gap – and likely make it in time to see their runner at Roaring Fork Lakes. If you choose this approach, please drive respectfully. Missing your runner at Roaring Fork Lakes is not nearly as consequential as hitting a cow on Greys River Road.

Also, the visit-every-aid-station approach could easily empty a gas tank. If you take this approach, we highly recommend bringing a full gas can – just in case. In fact, everyone should bring a full gas can.

Q&A session

Right after the race starts, the race director will hold a Q&A session for crews and pacers. Although not mandatory, we highly recommend stopping by.  

Pacers and crews should consider this Q&A session their only opportunity to ask a question of someone affiliated with the race. Once the race is underway, our volunteers will be focused on the runners.

Attendees should bring a map and the event manual, and have read the latter beforehand. If we get a question that’s easily answered in this manual, we’ll say, “Read the manual.” We want to be efficient.

Directions to aid stations

We have detailed directions and maps for crew-accessible aid stations in our event manual, which is available for download.

Parking

We want to limit the number of cars parked at aid stations, many of which have virtually zero parking. Therefore, we will issue one crew parking permit per runner. Parking is limited at all our aid stations, so please do not wait hours for your runner to arrive at at an aid station.

Drive slow — really, really slow

If you’re driving more than 20 MPH, you’re driving too fast. Cattle, horses, and sheep, who have the right-of-way in Wyoming, regularly travel on the dirt roads within the national forest. Do not blast them with dust. The same goes for other folks who are driving, hiking, riding, and running on the forest service roads.

Rules

We have rules specifically for crews. Please read them on our rules page.