Thursday, September 13, 2018

SoMont/PICL 2018 Event Calendar including Lodging and Event Info

SoMont/PICL Event Calendar 2018 / LODGING + EVENT INFO 

Updated October 2, 2018.


Race weekends are fun! The vibe at the events is upbeat, friendly, and exciting. The actual races take place on Sundays, but we highly encourage athletes to arrive by Saturday early afternoon to be able to pre-ride the course with the coaches (no riding the course on your own on Saturday). Some race weekends also include “Adventure” programming, which takes place on Saturday afternoon, requiring arrival by Saturday at noon or earlier.

Most SoMont families make a weekend of the races that are farther away, either camping together or staying in nearby hotels. If you have not made lodging reservations, we suggest you do so ASAP as many nearby hotels sell out early.

Very important: In addition to registering for the race(s) on PitZone, please also set your athlete's availability in TeamSnap for the pre-ride, race, and adventure ride (when applicable). This helps us immensely when planning for coach coverage, etc. If you are new and are totally confused by all of this, no worries… just ask one of the coaches and we’ll do our best to help you get things sorted out.

EVENT INFO



Oct. 6-7 / Johnstown -- Event info sheet

Johnstown is a great venue for spectators, as the race course winds back and forth, making it easy to see the racers at multiple points without having to go too far. Bring your camera!

There are two camping options for Johnstown. Many SoMont families are staying at Quemahoning Campground, which is about 20 minutes from the race venue and has good rates. There will also be tent and RV camping directly on-site at the race for $5/person on Saturday night (portable toilets only). Register for that camping here. Others will be hoteling it in and around Johnstown. 

Event location: Highland Park, 213 Playground Dr., Johnstown, PA 15904. Tourist suggestion: the Flight 93 National Memorial (9-11) is nearby, and is well worth a visit.

Oct. 20-21 / Fair Hill, Elkton, Maryland (Gallaher) -- Event info sheet

(Rescheduled from Sept. 15-16) This weekend will feature an Adventure course on Saturday afternoon and the regular race on Sunday. Students can participate in the fun Adventure course on Saturday, the race on Sunday, or both. Registration price in PitZone is $40 for either event or both (i.e., one price covers all). The venue is only about 1.25 hours from our area, so most will likely commute both days. If not, there are a lot of decent, reasonably priced hotels along the nearby I-95 corridor near Newark, Delaware. There is no camping on-site, but Lums Pond State Park in Delaware is a very nice park with camping, about 25 minutes south of Fair Hill. Event location: Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area 300 Tawes Dr, Elkton, Maryland 21921

Oct. 27-28 / Pittsburg-Monroeville (Boyce) -- Event info sheet
> Hotel room block SOLD OUT

Although this race is called the "PA State Championships," note that it is just a normal race and any registered PICL/NICA athlete can participate. As the State Championships, the points for the high school-level races will be doubled (that's the only difference).

The Hampton Inn in Monroeville, Pa., is our designated team hotel for this race. As of 10/1 the hotel block is sold out, sorry. This hotel is VERY supportive of PICL; offers a good, hot breakfast buffet; has friendly cancellation policies; and last year had goodie bags for the kids, a bike wash station set up, etc. Reserve your room directly with the hotel by phone (412-380-4000; be sure to mention SoMont and PICL) or on the special hotel webpage set up for us.

This weekend will feature an Adventure course on Saturday afternoon and the regular race on Sunday. Students can participate in the fun Adventure course on Saturday, the race on Sunday, or both. Registration price in PitZone is $40 for either event or both (i.e., one price covers all). Event location: Boyce Park Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15239

Nov. 3-4 / Allentown (Jordan Creek) -- Event info sheet

SoMont is a "home team" for the Allentown race, and is expected to help with course setup and tear down and other tasks. We need SoMont family members to sign-up to help. Please make sure to note that you are from SoMont so we get proper "credit" for our volunteers. The venue is only about an hour or so from our area, so most folks will likely commute both days. Plenty of hotels in Allentown if you want to stay overnight. Event location: Jordan Creek County Park, 1701 Scherersville Rd, Allentown, PA 18104
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1. Grinnin’ at Granite XC – Granite Hill Campground, Gettysburg, Sept. 22-23
2. High Ground at J-Town XC – Johnstown – Oct. 6-7
3. Blur of Gallaher XC and Adventure Wknd – Fair Hill, MD – Oct. 20-21
4. PA STATE XC CHAMPIONSHIPS and Adventure Wknd at the Boyce Big Ring – Pittsburgh – Oct. 27-28
5. PA FINALS – Flow at Jordan Creek – Allentown, PA – Nov. 3-4