Yes! We will have race day registration. It will start at 7am in the Meadow under the tent.

The start and finish lines are located in the Meadow lower grass field next to the Meadow parking lot.

Yes we will have four aid stations total for the event. 

For the half marathon distance the aid stations will be at: 

• Kimberly Bridge (3.6m)
• Fire Tower Summit (4.7m)
• Intersection #39 (8.2m, unmanned)
• Michigan Rd upper parking lot (12.4m)

For the 10k distance the aid stations will be at: 

• Kimberly Bridge (1.5m)
• Fire Tower Summit (2.6m)
• Michigan Rd upper parking lot (5.6m)

We always recommend bringing your own hydration since this is a summer event. 

There will be porta-potties at the start/finish area. There are also porta potties at the Kimberly Bridge picnic area and the Michigan Road upper parking lot on the course. 

Parking is at the Meadow lot about 1/4 mile from the entrance kiosk.

Shirts are available at additional cost. 

There will be a medal for race finishers. 

Packet pickup is at the Meadow lot grass field under the tent.

Parking is very close to the start/finish. We recommend keeping any personal items in your car.

There is usually a charge for parking at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation ($10/car) but that is part of the race fee and runners are not charged.

Unfortunately our insurance company does not allow dogs in races they insure.

This is our first year organizing this race so we are not sure what the tail end of the half marathon will look like as far as time goes. We do not recommend registering for the half marathon and expecting to hike to whole course on race day. 

For the half marathon there is a recommended cutoff of four hours recognizing that this is a tough hilly course. Depending on how 2026 goes we may shorten that cutoff. Or maybe not.

For the 10k there is effectively no cutoff beyond the half marathon cutoff. New trail runners and hikers are welcome and encouraged to sign up for the Fire Tower 10k. 

We recommend one earbud/earphone if you need your tunes or podcasts during the race. That way you can hear the other people around you clearly, especially early on when people are closer together. But also later so you are not surprised as you are overtaken by someone saying "on your left" that you don't hear.

The fire tower history goes back to 1926 when it was installed. It was used by the Forest Service until 1970 and then decommissioned and left as an attraction. The park superintendant tore down the fire tower in the late 1970s without county permission. It was dismantled in 1981. 

In 2010 Tom Cohn, who had climbed the fire tower in his youth, got the idea to bring back the fire tower. He presented the idea continually over the next ten years to the parks department and ultimately four different county administrations.

In Fall 2019 the county contracted to purchase a fire tower from Davana, LLC, a fire tower restoration company. The project was scheduled to start in March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the project off for another three years. 

In 2023 engineering studies began and in 2024 site visits and foundation drilling samples were taken to determine what the ground surface beneath the tower looked like. The tower parts were delivered to the park and stored in the barn area off Michigan Road.

In 2025 the clearing, trail rerouting, and site preparations began. The fire tower pieces were assembled off of Michigan Road and the smaller sections were transported by trailer up to the site. The larger sections were assembled on-site. The foundations were placed in November 2025.

After the deep freeze of winter 2026, the work continues into the spring with some parts needing custom fabrication. 

The stair risers and treads are next to be added. After that the crane will be delivered to hoist the four sections onto the base section which already been anchored to the foundation.

More updates and photos are at https://crmfiretower.org