Wickham Park Home Page
Entry information
Wickham Park is in Melbourne Florida. To get there from I-95 southbound, take Wickham Road (SR509) south to Parkway Drive, then 1/2 mile east to the park entrance. From I-95 northbound, take Eau Gallie Blvd. (SR518) east to Wickham Road, turn left, then right on Parkway. The race starts Sunday of Memorial Day weekend at 7:30 AM.
The run course is new for 2004 after the first 0.87 mi. It is still a 3.75 mile loop, but we stay on the east side of the park. There are some minor changes for 2009. You only cross the soccer field ridge twice instead of 3 times (people complained about hills), and some of the trails were turned into firebreaks (people complained the ground was too hard and flat when they fell).
The run course starts at the "run start" sign at the SE corner of the parking lot just NE of the south entrance (from Parkway Drive) to Wickham Park. Go 0.13 mi. NE on paved road (or run on the grass along side if you are allergic to pavement), and turn right onto the grass just after you pass the dirt road to the archery area. Cross a ditch into the woods, then immediately follow the trail right (S), then left (E) along a dry canal. Do not stay on the wide firebreak that goes east. The trail turns left (N). Continue N to a T-junction on a grassy road at 0.38 mile and turn right. (A lot of these side trails do not appear on the map).
At 0.44 mi. just after the grassy road turns N and passes a firebreak, turn right onto a smaller trail that is easy to miss. After 20 ft. turn right (S) again, then follow the trail as it heads E. At 1/2 mile you will pass an old cement block oven which will remind you of the weather. Check your watch here. Was that slow or what?
The trail turns left at a signed junction, so follow it N. At 0.62 mi. the trail curves to the west with a side trail going NE. Make a note of this location. On your 14'th lap you will turn around here. For the first 13 laps, just keep going N and ignore all the little side trails that will get you hopelessly lost.
At 0.75 mi. you will see a wooden 4x4 post and a wooden bridge over a creek to your right. The creek comes from a natural spring. Cross the bridge and turn left (W) along the shaded and rooty trail. Continue W past the second bridge (don't cross it). At the next intersection at 0.81 mi. is a fork in the trail with a big tree in the middle. Go right (N) here.
At 0.87 you cross a dirt road. Up to this point the course was identical to the 2003 course. However we now go right (E) on the road instead of crossing. At the soccer field fence (0.90 mi) turn left and go to the NW corner of the fence. (Actually there are 2 NW corners. The first is the SW NW corner and the second is the NE NW corner. If this is confusing, don't worry. I'm sure it will all make sense on race day when you see the course for the first time and just follow the faint arrows scratched in the sand which you will have no trouble seeing as you run the 4:48/mile pace you will need for the marathon prize money). If you are lucky, the sprinklers will be on to relieve you from the oppressive heat and humidity.
At the SW NW corner coninue N over Soccerfield Ridge and down the other side. As you cross the ridge, you may appreciate the fact that you have doubled your elevation above sea level (from 17 ft to 34 ft). On the other side, you will find a trail heading NW. Follow it for about 200 feet to a T junction, and turn right (N). After another 100 feet, you reach another T junction at a dirt road. Turn right (E) again. After another 100 feet, a trail forks to the right, and forks into 2 trails. This is the one mile point. Check your watch again. And you thought your first 1/2 mile was slow!
Take the left, less obvious fork that climbs back up to Soccerfield Ridge (and you thought you were done with this nasty little climb). Stay on the ridge, hopping across a couple of deep ravines, until the brush becomes impenetrable. Turn left and descend back onto a dirt road (you may want to butt-slide here) and continue E along the ridge.
At the end of the ridge near the NE corner of the soccer field you will come to a junction with a wide firebreak going N and a trail just to the right also going N. Take the trail. It runs parallel to Croton Road on your right. Between you and the road is a very deep canal that you don't want to fall into. There are also lots of moguls that you can go around, or over if you didn't get enough hills.
At 1.48 mi. the trail bears left (NW) and goes over a hump to join the parallel firebreak going N. Follow that 50 feet and turn left onto another firebreak that you might remember was a nice trail last year. Notice how running on this feels like running on a freshly plowed field.
At 1.52 mi. you come to a 4 way junction that joins the old course. Turn right (N). The trail soon turns left (W) and comes to a triangle at 1.55 mi. Stay left (W). The trail turns N, then stops at a T-juction with a big log at 1.60 mi. Turn right. You will come to a dried lake bed (or wet in El Nino years) where Alligators have been seen in the past. Do not cross this lake. Turn left onto Shiggy Lane, on a trail that is really hard to see, and head NW. You will soon learn what shiggy is.
At 1.80 mi. you come to a 4 way intersection. Turn sharply left (S). You will notice that you are running on soft sugar sand about a foot deep. This is Sahara Street. By now you have probably fallen off your 4:48/mile marathon pace, but don't despair. With an easy 5:48/mile pace you still have a shot at the 50 mile prize money.
Continue straight S across a 4 way intersection at 1.90 mi. At 1.95 mi. turn right (W) onto a trail that is easy to miss. Do not turn right on the trail right before it that goes NW. This area is Armageddon, an old burn area where there is no shade to protect you from the relentless burning sun. At 2 miles, go straight across a 4 way intersection and check your watch. And you thought your first mile was slow! Oh well, maybe you can still maintain a 6:52/mile pace to claim the 100 mile prize money.
Bear right (NW) at 2.02 mi. and stay left at the next junction. If you have to hurdle a big log (set at USATF regulation height for the 200M high hurdles), then you are on the right course. At mile 2.11 turn left (S) across a bunch of logs, then turn left (E) at a T junction at 2.16 mi. and right (S) at a 4 way junction at 2.22 mi.
At 2.27 mi. curve right (W), now on better trail with banked turns so you can maintain your rapid pace. The trail curves left (S). At 2.33 mi. turn sharply left (E) onto a nearly invisible trail through the brush where you have to duck under low branches while tripping over logs in a ditch that is probably filled with water. Get up. You will emerge at a wide firebreak. Go straight across (SE) and back into the weeds where you will see a trial going S. After 100 yards, the trail will emerge into a wide grassy field that is now a camping area. Go left, ESE straight past a flagpole to a building. On the right (S) side of the building are some bathrooms that are probably locked and a water fountain. This is the first aid station. Enjoy.
Continue E and across a ditch (filled with scummy water during El Nino years). You are now at the south end of Sahara street, which I mercifully did not make you run the whole way. Turn right and follow the trail (now a firebreak) S through woods and open areas. Continue straight across a 4 way junction at 2.66 mi. At 2.81 mi. you come to a dirt road. Turn left (E) toward the soccer field. Remember when you were on this road last time? When you get to the point where you entered this road before (now at 2.87 mi), just turn right and go back exactly the way you came. The first and last 0.87 mi. are the same. When you come to the wooden bridge at 3 miles, check your split time again, but don't give up hope yet. You still have a shot at the coveted fake rock.
At the start/finish at 3.75 mi., write down your time for lap 1. Just write the hours and minutes since you started. Repeat 7 times for the marathon and be sure to write down an accurate split (including seconds) just in case you don't finish 50 miles and this becomes your official time. Then repeat 7 more times for the 50, except that on the last lap (your 14'th), just go up to the turn around at 0.62 mi., touch it, and come back. Be sure to eat and rest, so that you will be ready to do this again tomorrow for the 100 mile, and the following 2 days after that for the 200.
Map of Wickham Park (from Florida Orienteering, just ignore all the little red circles). The area shown is 1 mile by 1 mile. Download map.
Aerial photo of course (from a Disk Golf website, where you can find a much larger photo. Just ignore all the little markers). Download photo
