Big News on Burning River

Presented by NovaCare 13th Annual Burning River Endurance Runs & Relay Saturday, July 27th, 4:00 am, HiHo Brewing Co

Like the flow of our favorite river, the Burning River course is always changing. This year, the 50th anniversary of the Cuyahoga burning, the changes are significant. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is focused on 10 construction projects that are aimed at restoring the river, supporting flood plains, and improving the water quality in Lake Erie. These projects require various trail and towpath closures within the CVNP. Because of these worthwhile and important projects, we could not obtain a permit to run through the CVNP at two critical locations – Station Road Bridge and Boston area, including the Towpath section that connects them. With these two locations not available, we could not design a course that goes one direction point-to-point. Thus, the 2019 Burning River course will change to a 50 mile out and back. Though we will miss the unique challenge of a point-to-point race, we appreciate and celebrate the improvements to our beloved Burning River, The Cuyahoga.

Together, we can support the long term health of our waterway AND enjoy an excellent, world class 100 mile race.

The course will now begin at HiHo Brewing Company in Cuyahoga Falls and traverse the trails of Summit Metro Parks and the CVNP to the 50 mile mark at Silver Springs Park in Stow. 100 mile runners will then turn around and head back to Cuyahoga Falls.

What does this mean for Burning River?

A newly designed, 50 mile out and back course with less road and more Summit Metro Parks trails.
Easier logistics for 100 mile runners, their crew, and pacers.
No need for a 100 miler shuttle – walk out of the hotel to start and finish, and get a few more ZZZZZs.
Easier planning drop bags.
Easier finish for front 50.
Convenient hop-on-and-off shuttle busing for relay runners – no more parking hassles! Schedule and routes coming soon.
Burning River is still a Western States and UTMB qualifying race.

View new course map, aid station and drop bag details, and elevation info on our website.

What are our parks saying?

“Cuyahoga Valley National Park has and will continue to play an integral role in the river’s recovery. CVNP is working alongside the entire region to change the narrative about the Cuyahoga River. In order to make progress in improving the health of the watershed, the park is embarking on a number of restoration projects in 2019. One impact of these projects will be on the parks permit program. Because of the number of projects occurring that could result in temporary closures of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail the park will not be issuing permits in areas likely to be greatly impacted by a trail closure. In the coming weeks the park will be releasing more information about specific projects and the positive impacts these will have on the health of the river.” –CVNP

“Cleveland Metroparks has enjoyed a long partnership with the Burning River 100 and looks forward to continuing it when the race returns to our reservations.” –Cleveland Metroparks

“This race has so many great benefits for northeast Ohio – for runners, for parks, and as a way to feature the area’s exceptional trails. Summit Metro Parks, which manages more than 20 miles of the Towpath Trail, is happy to welcome the runners again this year and join in celebrating the renewal of the Cuyahoga River.” -Summit Metro Parks

“The City of Stow Parks and Recreation Department is happy to host the 50 mile aid station for the 2019 Burning River Endurance Runs and Relay at our Silver Springs Park! As a regular relay team participant and captain, I look forward to this event every year – it is my favorite race! Burning River is a premiere event with an unbelievable cast of characters. I am in awe of all of the volunteers, participants and organizers. This event represents just how cohesive, unified and talented the trail running community is in our region and beyond.” –City of Stow, Parks and Recreation

What do we think?

We respect and understand the importance of this race to our community. We look forward each year to our community, and those traveling in from other states and countries, celebrating what we call our “backyard” (Cleveland Metroparks, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Summit Metro Parks). While we are disappointed that the race will not be a point to point this year, we also respect and understand the importance of working together with our park systems to meet the needs of everyone involved. The river valley provides us our backyard, and the backbone of this is the Cuyahoga River, our beloved “Burning River. With this being the 50th anniversary of the year the river caught fire, we want to celebrate the comeback of the Cuyahoga River and be thankful for the additional efforts underway to continue the recovery/restoration. We would like to thank our park systems, the City of Stow, and our community for supporting us with these required course adjustments.

We’re 100% committed to providing you with a top-notch race experience from registration to the finish line. If you have any questions at all send us a message at info@westernreserveracing.com and allow us the opportunity to assist you.

Thank you for running with Western Reserve Racing. We hope to see you this July.
Course Details