About the race
Iron X is an extreme ironing race. Ironists will run a portion of the historic Western States Trail and iron in some of the most iconic Auburn, CA locations while running a half-marathon.
This is a fatass, a glorified group run. There will be no course markings, no medical, no medals, no trekking poles, and no pacers allowed.
Carrying your ironing board
- Strap your board directly to your pack. Finding the right pack is tricky. Snowboard-mountaineering packs may work, but snowboards are generally a bit narrower than ironing boards. Separate straps could be used to secure the board.
- Add 2 shoulder straps to your board and wear it on your back.
- Add a single shoulder strap to your board and carry it under one arm, with the strap over your shoulder.
Shirt and spectator rules
Shirt
Ironists must wear a button-up (or snap-up) shirt throughout the race, removing it, ironing it, and then putting it back on at each of the locations above. You may wear another shirt underneath.
Spectators
Spectators are allowed at all ironing locations except the Dead Car Iron.
Proof of completion
- Post-event, ironists must submit their activity link for verification. Set your activity's privacy to public.
- Take a photo or video of yourself ironing your shirt at each location and submit it post-event.
- Upload photos to your Strava activity. If you're not on Strava, you can submit by email; details will be emailed post-event.
- Each photo or video must be geo-tagged, so enable location tagging in your camera settings. This makes them visible on Strava activity maps.
- The location, ironist, iron, and board must all be clearly visible in each video or photo.
- Another ironist or a spectator may take the photo or video if they are on location at the same time. Spectator crew may do this only; providing aid or assisting in any other way is not allowed, except as below.
New in 2027: aid
- Aid is allowed at the Foresthill Bridge Iron and the Statue & Train Car Iron.
- You may bring a drop bag to the Start for this purpose. It is a moving drop bag and will go to both locations.
- You may have crew at either or both of these locations.
Penalties
Failure to complete an iron in the specified location and provide the required video or photo evidence results in a penalty of 10 minutes, added to your finish time, per location.
Gear and supplies
Each ironist must provide their own ironing board, iron, fuel, and water, and carry them throughout the event. No muling allowed.
Equipment regulations
- Ironing boards must be at least 3' 3" long and 11" wide. Boards must have full-length legs; tabletop boards are not allowed.
- Battery-powered irons are required. Plastic irons are acceptable. The ironing face of your iron should measure 4 1/2" by 9" or greater.
The course
21.1 km
Ironists run a portion of the historic Western States Trail while running a half-marathon. They stop at iron locations in Auburn, CA to iron a shirt on a board. Each ironist provides their own ironing board, iron, fuel, and water.
Iron locations
- The Foundation Iron (middle of the old foundation at Robie Point - this is the main structure's foundation, just past the 3-sided "garage foundation.")
- The River Iron (at least knee deep in the river, just S of No Hands Bridge)
- The Foresthill Bridge Iron (top of Kickass, E side of bridge, S side of Foresthill Rd)
- The Dead Car Iron (on top of vehicle remains)
- The Statue & Train Car Iron (next to the statue's foundation block, E side of Lincoln Ave between Elm & Harrison, downtown Auburn)
- The Clock Tower Iron (in front of or next to it, Lincoln Way at High St, downtown Auburn)
- The Courthouse Iron (in the parking lot in front of the historic courthouse building)
- The Claude Chana Statue Iron (at the corner of Park St & Washington St, Old Town Auburn)
Location
City insight: Auburn
Auburn is a city in Placer County, California, USA, and its county seat, within the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is known for its California Gold Rush history and is a registered California Historical Landmark. Summers are hot and dry, so spring and autumn are the best seasons to race.
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