Maps and Directions of the Patch Sprint Course
That's not to say there haven't been incidents. Two runners have ended up in the town of Reber, some six miles off-course. Countless others have made wrong turns, losing valuable time in their nerve-racking efforts to right themselves. In 2003, two separate groups spotted the same racer in the same general location... one hour apart!
"My first year, I was lost for a brief spell on every mountain except Pok-O," recollected Tom Lynch, who went on to win the Masters title that year.
How to avoid straying off-route: "Stick with someone who knows what they are doing. Use the first year to learn the course and the next as many years as it takes to get faster and more efficient," said veteran trekker Kelly Zimmerman.
Whether or not this is your first time doing the Patch Sprint, the maps and directions below should prove invaluable. "Print them out and carry them with you," advises Race Director Sandy Solomon. "That way, we won't have to organize a search party!"
Follow group to trailhead. Avoid side trails; correct trail is the best marked one. Follow past bare spot to top; retrace steps to bare spot (avoid right turn 100 yards before bare spot) and take parallel (right) trail down. At intersection, bear right and follow, avoiding all branches. Trail turns into grass road which leads to Homestead.
Follow best marked approach trail, avoiding all other branch-offs. Rattlesnake trail enters on left and zig-zags steeply to summit ridge. Follow ridge along top. Just before the third clearing on right, a scant herd path with pink ribbons enters the woods to the left, leading to the summit rock.
Leaving paved road (Reber Rd.), turn right onto dirt road (7/10 of a mile west of camp). Follow until Sugarloaf cut-off (left, with snowmobile signs). Follow up to field, where you bear right, and soon head left up mountain.
Pink flagging begins at the top of Sugarloaf and will take you off of the mountain to a dirt road. Turn right at dirt road and follow, past a swamp and a gate and avoiding all turn offs. At a clearing where the highway seems close on left, continue straight. Pink (and orange) flags will guide you back into the woods, through the tunnel and to Rte. 9 and the base of Pok-O.