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For many who have finished the Race Thru the Redwoods during the previous 39 years, there is one thing about the course that stands out.

"The sand hill up to the observation deck," said former race director Steve Richmond.

While the course no longer goes all the way up to the observation deck, the 300-foot elevation gain between mile markers 2.5 and 3.5 helps racers forget the beauty of the surrounding Henry Cowell State Park and focus on simply making it to the top.

"It compares to the Firecracker 10K in Santa Cruz," said race director Gary Hafley, who coaches cross country at San Lorenzo Valley Middle School. "A relatively flat first couple of miles … and the hills come all at once. We’re definitely tougher than the Wharf-to-Wharf."

Ken Thomas, the former principal of Santa Cruz High, ran the race for the first and only time in 1968 while he was coaching the Soquel High track team.

"We ran south on Highway 9 and then ran up and up and up and up," Thomas said. "Then you got to the top and ran down, down, down."

He said the 9.3-mile course was mostly on pavement, and the heat mixed with the downhill was hard on the runners.

"Felton in August is not the Santa Cruz coast," Thomas said.

San Lorenzo Valley High School cross country and track coach Rob Collins ran the race one time in 1998 — and went straight into retirement.

"To me, it was the toughest 10K I’d run in my life," said Collins, who says he just might run again this year.

Collins finished second, while he and his competitor, Ernie Freer of Scotts Valley, both broke the existing course record.

"It’s one of the toughest races around," Collins said. "You definitely need to be in shape to run that race."

The course has changed numerous times over the years, but has been consistent for the past few years with leadership of Richmond and now Hafley.

Thirty-nine people ran the 9.3-mile celebration of Felton’s Centennial in 1968. Today, Hafley expects nearly 400 runners to tackle the 6.2-mile course and about 100 children to participate in the 1-mile run.

"It’s a real treat for me to work on (a race) in my home town," Hafley said.

The Felton Business Association has sponsored the race since its inception, and Felton Fire provides an annual pancake breakfast at the Felton Covered Bridge after the race.

"At 40, it’s going strong, and it will be here for a lot of years to come," Hafley said.