I'm new to this group but have a bit of experience with the salt flats...If
I may give an answer to Keith...
The international course is the one used by all land-speed attempts from the
nineteen thirties on. It was the course of choice because of the
length...some thirteen miles most recently. It begins just north of I-80
and parallels the Salduro Loop at the start and passes between the loop and
the end of the access road. The northmost part aims for Floating Island.
When John Cobb ran there he looped to the east up there to get more length
for his runs. With the flooding onto the area north of the freeway of
magnesium chloride in November of 1993 from the Reilly ponds, that course
broke up...turned granular like sugar...and there were some serious
incidents because of it. We had to move the course several times to even
have something to run on and have had to do so ever since. The course we
have used recently is the "hot-rod" course which crosses the International
Course at the six mile area. It has been used when the longer International
Course has been too wet. That area north of the dike is where Ab Jenkens,
and the Brits and the 1970"s runs by Bobby Isaac had their ten mile
endurance circles. If we have a nine mile course this year you can be sure
it is on the International Course. That is the area of the greatest salt
depth and the longest area of good salt.
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