To: Everyone who is registered for (or may be thinking of registering for) the 2026 Fire Tower Trail Races:

Race director Rob Cummings, his lovely wife Ciorsdan along with the dedicated Fire Tower volunteers have been working hard to set up this year’s event.

Please take a minute to read through this important race logistics information — it will help make your race day run more smoothly! 

(location of the Meadow Parking Lot on google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/To33qGbgyTjxY2AB9)

We can’t wait to welcome you to the park on Sunday, June 7th!

Registration link is here if you have any more folks to sign up (or you want to pass this on to a friend!): https://runsignup.com/FireTowerRaces

Not sure if you registered or want to check if a friend is registered? Click here:
https://runsignup.com/Race/RegistrationLookup/?raceId=204636 

If you have questions about the race, your questions may already be answered at the Race FAQ: https://runsignup.com/Race/FireTowerRaces/Page/Info#section-links-faqs

Here are 9 tips that will help you on race morning:

1.) ARRIVE EARLY! The Trail Half Marathon starts at 8:00am, the 10k Trail Race starts at 9:00am. Arriving 30 minutes ahead is the minimum you should plan for. Earlier if you can! Car pool if you can.

The regular $10 park entry fee is incorporated in part of the Fire Tower Trail Races entry fee so there is no need to stop and pay at the entry booth. Park in the Meadow Parking Lot.  

2.) DRIVE SLOWLY in the Park! Pay close attention to the volunteers who are directing the parking. Car pool if you can – this helps the environment – and it makes the race more fun! For a helpful overview of the race location (parking, start, bib pickup), check the logistics page of the website here.

3.) LISTEN FOR YOUR RACE START and DETAILS ABOUT THE COURSE MARKINGS! The races have distinct color markings showing you the way through the course.

– BLUE FLAGS are for the HALF MARATHON. 

– PINK FLAGS are for the 10k.

4.) RUNNER BIB NUMBER COLORS CORRESPOND TO THE FLAG COLOR YOU SHOULD FOLLOW on the course!

If you are running the half marathon, your bib numbers are BLUE and you follow the BLUE flags and course markings. 

If you are running the 10k, your bib numbers are PINK and you follow the PINK flags and course markings.

5.) There are portions of the courses that overlap and will have BOTH COLOR FLAGS on it. Be aware of your course flag color and make sure you are seeing it on the trail.

Both courses converge at KIMBERLY BRIDGE and continue together up to the FIRE TOWER, INDIAN ROCK SHELTER, and RAVEN ROCKS.

A bit after Raven Rocks, the courses diverge again at Intersection #62. There will be arrow signs, course flags, and a course marshal there to help make sure you make the correct turn.

The Half Marathon course goes deep into the southern part of the park via the Rock Trail (RT). This trail is named for the MANY rocks you will encounter, both named rocks (Indian, Raven, Spy, Castle, Bear, and Dancing Rock) and unnamed rocks as far as the eye can see.

Runners doing the 10k will head down the very popular red and yellow trails to come out at the Michigan Road trailhead. At Michigan Road, all runners converge — with BOTH COLOR FLAGS on course — and everyone heads up the final climb of Fox Hill back to the meadow FINISH LINE.

6.) STAY ON COURSE IF YOU CAN’T CONTINUE! There will be a number of “sweeps” running the course following the slower runners. If for any reason you can’t continue, wait for them to get to you to assess your needs. The park is over 4,300 acres with 45 miles of trail. So please don’t leave the course unless you know exactly where you are going. The aid/water stations also have course maps with contact numbers.

7.) SAME DAY REGISTRATION – Online registration will be open through 8pm Saturday June 6th and will resume at 7am on race day Sunday June 7th on-site via online registration.

If you or a friend are looking to run the race, sign up ASAP so you are set up in our system and your bib will be prepped and ready for race day! 

8.) RESULTS: Results with time and place will be available soon after the finish online at the website. Link is at https://crmfiretower.org/results and will contain results links for both races.

9.) THANK A VOLUNTEER! A tremendous amount of volunteer effort goes into making the Fire Tower Trail Races a special event. Registration volunteers, pie buyers, course setters, trail marshals, box lifters, aid station volunteers, food tent helpers, coffee brewers, parking crew, photographers, videographers, course sweeps, and the clean-up crew—not to mention the Pound Ridge and Lewisboro Police officers and the dedicated members of the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the Pound Ridge Fire Department!

If you want to VOLUNTEER, please reach out to us ASAP at firetowerraces@gmail.com. Thank you!

This is a brand new race and we have tried to think of everything, but there are going to be things we miss. If you have any feedback, positive, negative, or mixed, we want to hear it all. Email us at firetowerraces@gmail.com and let us know.

We consider feedback of any type to be a gift because you are taking the time to let us know how we are doing and how we can possibly improve. Many times we are simply unable to know when something can be better – or if something was awesome – unless somebody tells us.

We are grateful that we have such a wonderful group of trail running enthusiasts (YOU!) to share this run with. We are also thankful that we have the thousands of acres of parkland at the Rez to enjoy!

Many runners have donated to the Friends of the Fire Tower during registration – We thank you for supporting the mission of enhancing accessibility and education around the Fire Tower. This group was formed in partnership with the Westchester Parks Foundation, and it is a 501c3 organization. We have raised over $2,000 to date for the Friends of the Fire Tower group.

Remember, leave only footprints, take only pictures, and please send us your race day photos and videos via upload! 

Expect more news shared on Facebook, Instagram, via email, and our website as the event nears… as well as the OPENING of the RESTORED FIRE TOWER…. (Date TBD — but they are hard at work!) 

See you on the trails… and at the top of the Fire Tower hopefully very soon!

Good luck and have fun,

….Rob, Ciorsdan, and the rest of the Fire Tower Trail Race Volunteers!

PS: Some useful links…

• Map and Directions to the Reservation (via the Raven Rocks Run website)
• Map of the Fire Tower Half Marathon and 10k courses
• Follow the Cross River Mountain Fire Tower on Facebook: https://facebook.com/crmfiretower
• Follow CRM Fire Tower on Instagram: https://instagram.com/crmfiretower
• Searchable list of registered runners
• Run on the trails on Sundays all year round!

• AI Chatbot – ask Sparky Questions about the race! (let us know how Sparky does…)

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

DONATE to this worthy cause directly via the website: https://runsignup.com/firetowerraces/Donate/

We very much appreciate the help of VOLUNTEERS on race day. In fact the race doesn’t happen without volunteers.

If you would like to help at an aid station, help setting up (early!) or breaking down, course marshaling, registration, carrying stuff around, setting up food & drink, etc. We can find a spot for you! Just let us know via the Volunteer Signup Form here: 

https://runsignup.com/firetowerraces/Volunteer/

More information about the races is at the race website here: https://runsignup.com/firetowerraces – and Fire Tower information is at https://crmfiretower.org