Transitions, Rebranding, and Recovery
The Elephant In The Room
Most of you who follow us and support us are well aware of many of the obstacles that our company and our community have faced over the past year. So we want to cut to the chase and address these issues head on.
In October of 2022, Next Opportunity Events entered into a contractual relationship with another organization - Rad Ultras, LLC - to purchase most of NOE’s big-name races. Those races included:
Bluegrass Ultra
Big Turtle Trail Runs
War Hammer Endurance Run
Hot Hot Hundred
Breaks Ultra
Cave Run Lake Trail Fest
Red River Gorge Ultra
In 2023 Rad Ultras held sole ownership of these races and had full responsibility for marketing, promoting, and producing the above-named races. Rad Ultras put on the 2023 Bluegrass Ultra and 2023 Big Turtle Trail Runs and canceled the 2023 War Hammer and 2023 Hot Hot Hundred. As of this writing, to the best of our knowledge, Rad Ultras is still planning on producing the 2023 Cave Run Lake Trail Fest.
Michael and Brandy - owners of Next Opportunity Events - initially pursued a sale of those properties so that we could step away from the race business and spend more time with our families. However, it became apparent in June of this year that our agreement with Rad Ultras would not last. On June 30, 2023 NOE resumed ownership of most of the above-named races (with the exception of the 2023 Hot Hot Hundred and Cave Run Lake events) due to breach of contract.
We understand many runners who registered for those races feel they did not receive the advertised products or services, and this blog post is not the place for us to go into all of the complicated details of each of those experiences. We just want you to know that we are in this with you.
Here are the facts:
Rad Ultras had sole control of the 2023 Bluegrass Ultra, Big Turtle, War Hammer, Hot Hot Hundred, and Cave Run Lake events. NOE was not involved in any part of the planning, promotion, or production of those races.
All runners who signed up for any of those races paid money to Rad Ultras, LLC; not NOE.
Runners of the 2023 War Hammer event were promised deferrals to the 2024 War Hammer event, although Rad Ultras did not have the authority to make such guarantees based on its contract with NOE.
We understand that runners of those races are frustrated and angry. We assure you, that we share those feelings. Here is where things stand following the June 30 transition back to NOE:
2023 Big Turtle - NOE had no involvement and collected no customer payments for that event. Runners who did not receive shirts, medals, etc. must seek those items or compensation from Rad Ultras.
2023 War Hammer - NOE had no involvement and collected no customer payments for that event. Revenue collected for that event was retained by Rad Ultras. Runners who were promised refunds or deferrals from that event must seek those refunds/deferrals from Rad Ultras. NOE did not receive any money from that event. The same goes for the 2023 Hot Hot Hundred.
Rad Ultras did transfer funds collected for the 2024 Big Turtle Trail Runs to NOE. So any runner signed up for the 2024 Big Turtle race with Rad Ultras is still signed up for that race (which now has a new name. Keep reading!).
Where Do We Go From Here?
Now that Brandy, Michael, and Next Opportunity Events are “back in the game” we have had to have some very difficult and detailed conversations about how we recover from the past year as a company, personally, and as a collective community here in our home state of Kentucky. We suffered financial setbacks from the above events just as runners did, and we have had to determine how best our business and our community can move forward as a united group of Bluegrass Trail and Ultra Runners.
Re-Branding
We made the determination - based on extensive research, conversation, and observation of our registration trends - that many of our most beloved races have suffered irreparable reputational damage over the past year. As a result, we have made the difficult yet exciting decision to re-brand and completely re-imagine our portfolio of races. How, you say? So glad you asked!!!
Sheltowee Trace Ultras
The race formally known as the Big Turtle is now the Sheltowee Trace Ultras. In honor of Kentucky’s Long Trail and the race’s iconic course, we’ve revamped the look and feel of this race. Runners of the old Big Turtle can look forward to the same great venue, the same epic course, and the same great spring running party they knew at the Big Turtle.
Registration is now open for the April 27th race HERE.
Y’ALLHALLA ULTRAS
You wanted Viking-themed ultras? We got Bluegrass Viking-themed ultras! The old War Hammer is now the Y’allhalla Ultras: an epic 50-mile and 50K out and back trail race through the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest in southcentral Kentucky. We’ve eliminated the 100-mile event in order to appeal to a broader audience and added a new twist: the race will alternate courses every year! In even-numbered years the races will run north then south throughout the elevation-heavy forests of Laurel County. In odd-numbered years the race will run south toward Cumberland Falls along the banks of the Cumberland River!
Registration for the June 2024 race will open on October 15th.
RRG25K
You knew it as the Red River Gorge Ultras. Now you’ll know it as the RRG25K! We’ve done away with the 50K and made a straight-up epic 25K in early April! Just three weeks before the Sheltowee Trace Ultras, this is the perfect tune-up run. Join us at the amphitheater at Koomer Ridge Campground to close out winter and welcome spring with a lot of music, fun, and friendship at the 2024 RRG25K.
Registration for the 2024 RRG25K will open on September 15th HERE.
Onward
In closing, let us say one thing: We are all in this with one another. That sentiment may have been played out during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in this case, it means for than ever before. Michael and Brandy started NOE in 2015 to show the rest of the world that our home state of Kentucky has some of the most beautiful, challenging, and most well-preserved trail systems and trail running possibilities anywhere in the world.
We believe that. We sacrificed for that. We sacrificed our careers for that mission. Time with our families. We believe in our home. We believe in Kentucky. And we believe in Kentuckians. We are nothing if we are not resilient, strong, and unstoppable.
We are strong, but we are only strong together. We ask just one thing of you as our friends, our customers, and our fellow runners: stick together. Stick with us. It’s been a challenging year, and we ask you to trust us again to deliver on our promises as we always have and to deliver on the mission that got us started: to give people experiences they can cherish and be proud of with Kentucky as the backdrop.
Lastly, we want you to know that we are here for you along the journey. We make ourselves available to you to ask questions with trust and open lines of communication. Please contact us always with your questions. One of us will respond to you.
With love,
Brandy and Michael