WELCOME to the 2019 Asheville Off Road Series!

All your need to know participant info for the Asheville Off Road Series: 

VISITORS & SPECTATORS

Every person who enters Biltmore Estate is required to pay an entrance fee. Race tickets will allow runners to enter the estate and will be given to you at packet pickup. Your entrance ticket to Biltmore is included in your registration fee that you paid when you registered online. Spectators are required to pay an entrance fee to have access to the estate during the race – there will be food, drinks, cheering and more!

Spectator tickets can be purchased during packet pickup on Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel and on Sunday morning at the Biltmore Estate Group Sales office. Spectator viewing is limited to during the event at the Start/Finish, Antler Hill Village and Farm Trail areas. If you want to visit the house later in the day, you will need to upgrade your spectator or race ticket. Race tickets and spectator tickets are non-refundable.

Spectator Tickets:

$23+tax per person; Biltmore Annual Passholders save $5.
Upgrade Spectator or Race Ticket:
$29+tax per person to tour the Biltmore House and Gardens.
$119+tax for a Twelve Month Pass (available only on Race Day).

Purchase from the Packet-Pickups:
at DoubleTree Hotel during Early Packet Pickup or on Race Day starting at 6:30 am at the Group Sales Office on Biltmore Estate (first building to your right when you come through front entrance).
Payment methods: Cash or check only for any spectator ticket purchases at DoubleTree. Biltmore will accept cash, checks, and credit cards (Visa, Amex, MasterCard and Discover). Race tickets and spectator tickets are non-refundable.

Biltmore Passholders:
As long as Passholders come in during normal business hours they are not required to have a spectator ticket. If they come in before/after hours then they would have to purchase a spectator ticket because it is considered a ‘special event’ at Biltmore. Regular business hours on race day begin at 9am.

What can my family and friends do while I run? There are great shops to explore in Antler Hill Village with food, beverage, and gift items all with a great atmosphere. They can also stand in the Spectator Viewing Areas around the race hub. SPECTATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON OR ACROSS THE BRIDGE. 

Race Morning

When arriving at Biltmore you will follow traffic to Antler Hill Village and be parked by Biltmore Estate Parking Hosts. Leave yourself PLENTY of time to get onto the estate and to the parking lots. It takes a minimum of 20 minutes when coming onto the estate to get to Antler Hill Village. When the first races begin at 7:45am, traffic will be held on the estate until at least 8:05am. SO DON’T BE LATE!

 Please note: If you are participating in the duathlon, your bike will need to go to the transition area and be set up prior to the race. So leave yourself plenty of time to unload your bike and race items at your car, walk your items to transition and get set-up prior to the race start. There is NO DROP OFF or UNLOAD AREA! Please orient yourself with transition when you arrive at the event and how you will go in/out the transition area during the race. The run part of the event will go in/out the back side of transition, the bike will go in/out the front of transition. If you go out the transition area the wrong way during the race, your transition split time will be inaccurate and may not show up for you in the results.

RESTROOMS

Restrooms are located in Antler Hill Village and port-o-johns at the Start/Finish area near Antler Hill Village. There will also be a portajon near the duathlon run #1/10k water station and on the west side at the water station.

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

LOCATION: Biltmore is America’s largest privately-owned home. The 250-room French Renaissance-style chateau is located over 8,000-acres that include more than 80 acres of meticulously-tended gardens. Biltmore is a host to around one million visitors a year. To learn more about Biltmore, visit www.biltmore.com or call 877-BILTMORE.

EVENT DAY PARKING

There is plenty of race parking. When you enter the estate you will follow the signs to Antler Hill Village. This is approx. 20-30 minute drive from the front gates on a normal day without any traffic. On a busy, congested traffic day it will take you longer to get to AHV.

Parking is available in Antler Hill Village very close to all the event activities. Biltmore Estate Parking Hosts will be onsite parking cars, please pay attention to them and follow their directions. You will be asked to park in designated areas for the race. There will be NO parking allowed in the area near the transition area or on the side of the roadways adjacent to the event site. Any cars parked along the side of the road will be towed. Equipment drop-offs are not allowed. Please proceed directly to the parking area upon arriving at the event site and walk over to the transition area with your race items.

TIMING

All participants will have a timing chip and a bib. If you do not have your bib visible during the event, you will be pulled from the race and DQ’d and will not get a finishing time. Bibs covered or not visible at the finish line will not be timed. Please pay close attention to the placement of your bib from the graph below. Cyclists (GG and Du) will also have a bike plate to attach to the front of the bike. Here is how each race will display their bib/plate and where your timing chip is located:

All athletes are required to wear a helmet and shoes on the bike. All athletes must wear their assigned race number (if it’s not displayed, the Duathlon and Gravel Grinder athletes cannot cross the bridge over into the west side).

EQUIPMENT NEEDS

If you are participating in the Duathlon or Gravel Grinder we suggest you use a bike designated for ‘off-road’ such as a gravel bike, cyclocross bike or mountain bike. Riders should be comfortable on hills, paved roads, varying surfaces such as gravel roads that have holes/dips and some ‘larger’ rocks. The bike course does NOT go on any trails. All athletes are required to wear a helmet and shoes on the bike.

Please be prepared to have your own equipment to change a flat tire. We will have mechanical support roving throughout the west side of the estate but you are responsible to have your own items to change a flat and be prepared to do this without volunteer assistance.

WATER STATIONS

Duathlon Run #1 & 10k Off Road Run Water Station: is located shortly before the Duathlon Run #1 turnaround and will consist of water, electrolyte drink and gels. 10k runners will hit this water station 2x. Once at approx mile 1.5 and then again at approx mile 4.5.

Duathlon Run #2 Water Station: located by the start of loop on Westover Trails and will consist of water, electrolyte drink and CLIF Gels.

Gravel Grinder and Duathlon Bike Water Station: located on the West Side of the Estate at Alta Vista Barn and will consist of water, electrolyte drink, gels and bars and fruit.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Ingles is providing COMPLIMENTARY RACE SNACKS for participants and volunteers.

Oskar Blues will be serving beer for participants 21+ at 10am. Suggested donation of $4 per beer for our charity partners - YouthVillages.

VENDORS

Visit our race partners in the Race Hub! Ingles, Asheville Bicycle Company, Youth Villages, Align Life, Hawthorne at Haywood, Oskar Blues, SRAM, NORCO, Hincapie and YAM (Yoga & Massage). Be sure to bring some cash with you to enjoy that glorious post-race massage and for a beer (beer donations go to our charity partner YouthVillages)!

COURSE INFORMATION

Please pay attention to SIGNS on the COURSE!

Important Bike Info:

Gravel Grinder Participants must count your own laps and know when to return to the east side towards finish. A lap is considered one full circle of the west side course starting at the bridge and ending at the bridge. Each time you see the bridge that is considered one lap. Please note: The course before or after the bridge is not considered a lap.

Here is an easy way to remember how many laps you need to do and mileage you should see on your GPS unit before you come to the finish line:

20 milers count 2 laps and turn across bridge at approx 21.8 miles

40 milers count 5 laps and turn across bridge at approx 39.5 miles

60 milers count 8 laps and turn across bridge at approx 57.2 miles.

All GG rides finish in Antler Hill Village at the FINISH line.

Duathlon cyclists will do 2 laps on the west side, 13.25 miles total from transition to finish.

If you do not finish all your laps, please notify us in the timing tent when you finish so that we can DQ your results. If you want to change your GG ride distance please take care of this Saturday at PPU before the event. We will have ‘behind the scenes’ folks counting laps on the course for the timing company.

Important Run Info:

Please note: The 10k and the Duathlon Run #1 runners both start together at 8am. The route will split at approx 1.5 miles into the run. The 10k runners will continue to run STRAIGHT towards the Lagoon/Reflection Pond and up to the back of the Biltmore House. The Duathlon Run #1 runners will turn around at approx 1.5 miles (at sign/and cone) and then finish their portion of the run, follow signs. Both sets of runners will go through the water station. The turnaround for the duathlon run #1 is approx .3 miles past the water station on the Lagoon Trail path. It will be marked with signs, a volunteer and a cone.

For the entire Pre-Event Email sent out to pre-registered participants click HERE!

Routes via Ride with GPS with clickable links/elevation and cue sheets

Duathlon

Asheville Duathlon Run #1 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30559040

Asheville Duathlon Bike https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30978451

Asheville Duathlon Run #2 - Westover Trails https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30786766

Gravel Grinders

20 Mile – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30660041

40 Mile – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30667543

60 Mile – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30783313

Run

10k Off Road – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30529766

Course Maps

2019 AORS Participant Guide 

Here’s your 2019 Asheville Off Road Series Participant Guide. This guide includes the race schedule for the Asheville Duathlon, Asheville Off-Road 10K and the Asheville Gravel Grinder Bike events all set for Sunday, September 15th.

We hope everyone has an amazing Asheville Off Road Series experience at Biltmore Estate! Please contact support@idaph.net if you have any questions about this event.

A huge thank you to our sponsors!

We could not put on this event without our fantastic sponsors! Click on their names below to learn about their services. 

Ingles

Youth Villages

Oskar Blues Brewery

Align Life

Hawthorne at Haywood

Go Mini’s Moving & Portable Storage

Norco Bicycles

iHeart Radio

Bren Photography

iDaph Events & Timing

Fleet Feet of Asheville

Asheville Bicycle & Company

Muirhead Freeman PLLC

Biltmore Farms

The UPS Store

SRAM

Asheville School

Yam Yoga and Massage

Interested in becoming a sponsor for next year’s Asheville Off-Road Series? CONTACT US for more information. 

What’s it like to ride the Gravel Grinder?

We get a lot of questions about what the Gravel Grinder is like to ride. Here longtime cyclist and Asheville local Billy McCracken talks about the course, which is part asphalt, mostly gravel, and not too much elevation gain. This event takes place on the West side of Biltmore Estate. Video Credit: Wright Creative, Inc.

Past iDaph Blogs