Trail Running Season

One hundred or more runners along with some fast hikers will leave the starting line at 8 a.m. on Feb. 1 in Middle Concho Park as they start the first race of the 2014 Trail Running series.

This three-event running series, now in its eighth year, started back in January of 2007 as a Team San Angelo event.

I was the founder and initial race director of the series, working with a “race committee” that consisted of my wife, Pia, my friend Gary Cole, trail running partner Christian Poppeliers, and a few volunteers on mountain bikes to act as course marshals.

There were 11 of us on the start line for the first 10K trail race in 2007, with everyone grinning ear-to-ear about the “perfect” cold, wet, and muddy conditions that waited on the Spillway Hill trails.

Races two and three of the first series also had less-than-perfect weather, with cold rain/sleet, mud and strong winds providing extra challenges for the runners. The second 2007 event in particular (12K distance) was held in fun, slippery mud conditions that made not falling down a bigger challenge than trying to run fast.

Thirty-eight runners competed in one or more of the three trail events that first year, including some longtime San Angelo runners such as Terry Shaner, Lynn Zaruba, Mars Torres, Anthony Wilson, Shane Plymell, Mike Dotson, and Shirl Koeing.

After the small turnout in 2007, participation in the trail series grew rapidly over the next two years with 80-100 runners taking part in each of the 2009 series races. A 5K distance was also added to encourage entry-level runners and hikers to take part.

 The 2007-2009 trail races were low-key and friendly, with post-race traditions that included after-race refreshments such as my wife’s homemade Georgia cornbread and hot chocolate warmed on a camp stove.

Another early tradition was the infamous “Rock Award,” handed out to the person who finished the series with the biggest bruise or scrape after falling on the rough trails.

Fast forward to 2014 and the trail running series now has become a fixture on the local running calendar, with Shannon Medical Center as the event’s title sponsor and races now held on courses in both the Spillway Hill area and in San Angelo State Park.

The 2014 kickoff of the series will be the same as in 2007, with Race 1 using the same general Spillway Hill course that challenged runners during the inaugural event.

Runners will leave the starting line in Middle Concho Park, make their way to the park’s back gate and then on to the rough and rocky Mackenzie Trail that parallels the dirt access road as it winds around the base of Spillway Hill.

The Mackenzie Trail will lead to “The Bowl” where they’ll face a steep rocky uphill that leads to the

winding Big Snake Trail on top of the mesa and then onto a series of four-wheel-drive roads that meander to the top of the hill.

Runners will top out Spillway Hill and have a brief respite as they gaze out over the almost-dry Twin Buttes reservoir, and then descend down a rough track that leads into the Valley Trail.

The Valley Trail will take runners down close to the main dirt access road where they’ll connect with a gradual uphill four-wheel-drive track called “The Autobahn.”

At the top of The Autobahn climb, runners will turn onto a fun and twisty 1-mile section called “Gary’s Trail” and then onto a short rocky four-wheel-drive climb back to the top of Spillway where they’ll reconnect with the outbound course and then follow the same outbound route from the top back down to the finish line.

Gary’s Trail was named for my good friend Gary Cole, who helped me cut many of the trails on Spillway Hill. Gary passed away in 2007 but his spirit still roams the rough and rocky hill where he loved to hike.

The first race of the series will be 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of pure trail running joy and even more fun if it’s cold, wet, and muddy.

The runners and walkers doing the shorter 5K (3.1 mile) route will follow the same course to the turnaround point just past the end of the Big Snake Trail.

Trail running events have grown in popularity both locally and nationwide as more runners recognize the increased “fun factor” of being on trails instead of hard pavement.

The rural scenery is a lot better than what you’ll see in subdivisions, and it’s OK to slow down and take a walking break during a trail run. In fact, the steeper sections of some trails may be best suited to a “fast hike” pace.

Poppeliers, an avid trail runner and former ASU physics professor who participated in the initial 2007 trail series event, says the rise in trail running popularity is because “trail running can take on many flavors ranging from mellow, groomed trails up to gnarly, steep single track and anything in between.”

“Unlike road running, the softer ground is much kinder to the joints and the variable terrain tends to prevent many overuse injuries often seen in road runners. It’s my absolute favorite way to run,” Poppeliers said. “The terrain is interesting, you’re climbing, descending, and jumping over roots or rocks, the miles fly by and it’s actually fun to run.”

For more information on the 2014 Trail Running series, visit the Road Lizards’ website at roadlizards.org/events/2014-trail-race-1.

The 2014 Trail Running series is going to be fun, so come out and join me for a leisurely run/walk at the back of the pack.