WHAT IS TIGER CLAW?
If you’re looking for a solidly difficult, early-year ass-kicking, this is it. Tiger Mountain, with its many summits, packs a brutal one-two punch - steep uphills followed by focused downhills. 50k/31 miles with ~8500 feet of elevation gain on rugged Pacific Northwest terrain is a stout effort for even the most seasoned of trail runners. The 50m (Tiger Claw Double) is even spicier offering a double-dose of all that vert in both directions (nearly 17,000ft of vertical gain)! This event will return in 2025!
Tiger Claw is a unique challenge that puts you in control. It’s simple: there are three different climbs, each of varying length and difficulty, and one common descent. You get to pick the order in which you complete the loops. On each climb, you will use a unique timing device to track your loops and confirm that you do all three. Once your loops are complete, return to the finish and you will have tamed The Tiger! If you're doing the special Double (50m), you'll head back up the descent and come down each loop in the opposite direction - helluva way to earn your stripes!
The Tiger Claw Ascent is a straight up climb to the summit of West Tiger 2 via the Cable Line route - one of the area's most popular grinds for workin those quads. This is a 2.5 mile, 2500ft of vert beast where testing your climbing speed is the name of the game. After zooming to the top, runners will enjoy a leisurely 3 mile hike back to the trailhead from the summit.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A description of the full course and each loop can be found at http://runtigerclaw.com/
NOTE: our 2023 events will have some new, fun course changes that should be pretty exciting. We have also added the new Ascent race this year in case you need some leg priming the day before Tiger Claw's longer distances!
WHAT IS THE ASCENT?
New for 2023, we have added a short, but punchy vertical ascent race that will put your quads and lungs to the test. Utilizing the infamous Cable Line route, runners will make their way as fast as they can up the technical and steep trail to the summit of West Tiger 2 (and enjoy a beautiful view in the process). Once you've crossed the finish line at the top and enjoyed a post-race snack, runners can hike or run their way down the 3 mile descent to the trailhead below.
WHAT IS THE DOUBLE?
Occurring every 5 years starting in 2025, the Tiger Claw Double is an extremely tough 50 mile adventure that completes the Tiger Claw course TWICE, once in each direction. Runners will first start with the traditional Green warm-up loop and have the option to complete all the Tiger Claw loops in the order of their choosing in the normal direction. Once complete with all loops (and thus having completed 1 full Tiger Claw distance), runners will then run all of the loops in the opposite direction in the order of their choosing. When all loops have been completed for the second time in the opposite direction, the runner will have completed the Tiger Claw Double - 50 miles with nearly 17,000ft of vert!
AID STATIONS
There are two aid stations: Lower and Upper. Both will have a variety of drinks and snacks - typical delicious ultra-fare. It is mandatory that you carry at least one water bottle. In an effort to make this race more environmentally sound we are minimizing trash. There will NOT be cups available at aid stations; instead we will provide water pitchers to easily fill your bottles or collapsible race cups. It is suggested that you also carry special food needs, because aid stations will be stocked with basic race foods.
CUTOFFS
The Tiger Claw Ascent will start at 5pm pst on May 10, 2024. The Tiger Claw 50k will start at 7:00am on May 11, 2024. You will have 2 hours to complete the Ascent and an ample 9 hours to complete Tiger Claw. For Tiger Claw 50k you must leave the Lower Aid Station on your final loop by 2pm. You must reach the Upper Aid Station and start your final descent by 3pm. For the Tiger Claw 50m, you must abide by Tiger Claw 50k cutoffs on your first set of loops and you must leave the lower aid station on your final loop by 7pm and reach the upper aid station by 8pm. 50m race cutoff is at 9pm pst.
WHAT DO I GET WITH REGISTRATION?
To get a full rundown of the Tiger Claw experience and what sort of quality gear you get with registration, please visit http://runtigerclaw.com
WAITLIST & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Waitlist Policy: If the race fills up, runners can add their name to the waitlist. If any registered runners cancel their registration and you are at the top of the waitlist, you may be invited to register and take their place. If you are invited, you will have 7 days to confirm and accept the invitation before we move down to the next position on the waitlist, so please check your ultrasignup email account! We want to maximize the number of runners who get to enjoy Tiger Claw & we're excited to have you!
If you have any additional questions or need more information, please visit: http://runtigerclaw.com
MEN, WOMEN & NON-BINARY PODIUMS
We are proud to feature equal podium prizing for top Men, Women and Non-Binary runners in all of our events! We want Tiger Claw to be as inclusive and competitive of an event as possible and welcome all runners! Ultrasignup has announced their two-phase plan (Phase 1 and Phase 2) of changing the platform to be more inclusive. While this may take a bit longer for the platform to reflect runners' results correctly, you can change the gender reflected on your profile now. If you would like to compete in our Non-Binary category, this does require that you edit your gender on your profile, however you do not have to publicly disclose that information.
VOLUNTEER!
Please visit our Volunteer page to signup: https://www.runtigerclaw.com/volunteer
Event's current local time: 4:55 AM PT
