We have just received a critical notice from the USDA Forest Service that they have closed the majority of the forest service access roads in Los Angeles County due to the damage from the heavy rains this season. The series of atmospheric rivers over the past several weeks have wreaked havoc on almost all dirt roads that have any grade to them. This creates safety risks and access challenges, while we can run over anything with no problem, getting a vehicle in for emergencies is not possible in some areas. It even forced us to adjust our 50K course earlier this week.

Because of this, they are postponing the VALENCIA Trail Race permit on us and forcing us to postpone the race. They are saying 3 weeks of closures and it depends on the wonderfully unpredictable weather. As you know, this is a historical winter season which is very much needed to replenish our reservoirs and groundwater. However, the timing conflicts with our normal race weekend this year. We must adapt and take steps to provide the best solution to continue forward.

We are going to push the VALENCIA Trail Race out by 3-weeks to host on Saturday, April 15, 2023. This is the first window available that makes the most sense, it puts it between two of our other races, Silver Moon Race: Reedley and Grit OCR. It will be a little crazy for us to host 3-races in a single month, but with our planning, preparations, and incredible volunteer crew, we know we can deliver a great experience at each race.

What happens if you can’t make the new race date? We understand the new date may conflict with some runners who have prior commitments. You have the following options available:

1. Defer entry to 2024.
2. Change entry to virtual and receive medal & swag in the mail.
3. Transfer entry to another person.
4. Forgo entry and receive 50% discount towards any of our California races.
5. Donate entry to help support the race organization.

If you wish to choose one of these options, please submit a request, or contact us for questions.

As you can imagine, this is very challenging for us. We have been working hard to prepare for the race, it is one of our favorite races to host. We just sent out a volunteer welcome email and doing crew training preparations, everything is going to shift. Still, we are resilient and resourceful, after surviving the pandemic shutdowns we know that we can overcome any challenge.

The good news is that you can extend your training a few more weeks, and push even harder so you can be ready to have your best race, or if your running LAM it means you get more time to recover. Take this time to make the best of it and we'll do the same so we can bring you our best trail race experience next month. Please help spread the word, and tell your friends so everyone can plan accordingly.

We sincerely appreciate your understanding and support. We can't wait to see you at the start line!

Love and happy running,

Terry, Jenny, and the New Global Adventures Team