Trail Running!

Trail Running!

Trail running has been a passion of mine for a long time. I love road running too, but there is something about being in the woods, on a trail and running. They just go together so well. Over the years I’ve done a fair amount of trail running. I had stopped running trails for a couple of years just because I had gotten busy training for road races. But over the past year I’ve had a renewed interest in hitting the trails again, which opened up a whole new area of racing for me. Last year was a great year for races and I completed a fair amount of trail races.  I would have done more had my calendar been more forgiving. I loved every race, and had a great time training for them.

It opened up a whole new world that I didn’t know existed. I was introduced to Andre and Ludi who started DTR (http://www.downtorun.com/about-dtr/) or Down to Run. They run a bunch of endurance races throughout the year. A lot of them are held at Jonathan Dickenson State Park, (https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Jonathan-Dickinson) which if you haven’t been, is beautiful.  One of the races is the Night Owl. It’s a 10 mile race at night, under the full moon. It was very wet and muddy but so much fun! They have a lot of others as well and many distances. We did another this past April. It was a beautiful, crisp Saturday morning. I ran the 7mile trail race with my son Tyler. Carolyn and our friend Taylor ran the 5k. All of the DTR races are great and there is usually a distance for every ability. Plus they do a great job putting on races so a lot of people show up. 

While I was on the trails, I kept thinking what a great idea it would be to get a big group out on the trails. The more I talked to other runners, I realized they either didn’t know about trails around here, had never run trails or were afraid to run trails. But the one common thread was they all wanted to run trails! So the seed was planted and the gears started turning. With our plates being so full it took a back seat for a while. When Carolyn and I drove up to NC about a month ago, we put the 11 hour ride to good use. We planned our yearly marketing and training calendar. It was on that ride that our trail series (Rock Runners) was born. I think we just needed that uninterrupted time to visualize and plan how a training program would work in the woods. As soon as we launched the marketing for the Rock Runners (http://www.fleetfeetstuart.com/training/rock-runners) trail series, the phones lit up. Everyone was so excited to hear about this new training program. We knew then, this was something that a lot of people had been wanting and were excited we were doing.

We structured it to be all inclusive and for every ability. So how do you accommodate both runners and walkers of every level? This past Sunday we were out at Haney Creek, http://www.cityofstuart.us/index.php/haney-creek-park-nature-trails. This is a beautiful trail and approximately a 1 mile loop. There’s some sugar sand, which is challenging, some pine needle trails, a couple of little hills and it meanders through a beautiful pine forest. The goal was to simply do as many loops as you could in that one hour of training, whether running or walking. We all started together and after I completed the first loop with the lead runners, I circled back to check on everyone else in the group. I continued this process so I could check on everyone and encourage and coach them. The training session was a huge success. Everyone did such a great job and we all had so much fun!

In the upcoming weeks the goal is to challenge ourselves a little more. This coming Sunday we will be at Halpatiokee (https://discovermartin.com/directory/halpatiokee-regional-park/) Regional Park. These are some beautiful trials! The trail we’ll be going on this coming Sunday is sure to challenge everyone. There are a lot of single track (very narrow) trails with a lot or tree roots, some mud, bridges, ups and downs and everything in between.  This trail will be an out and back. So we’ll all start together, run or walk out for 30 minutes and then back. This way we all start and finish at the same time. I’ll be able to run back to check on everyone throughout the run.  It should be a great time and we’re really looking forward to it. Each week will be something different and fun. 

Trail running is challenging. It works different muscle groups and in some ways is easier on the body than the road. I think it’s just a great thing to add to the mix. It has definitely made me a better more efficient road runner. So if you’re looking for something new and exciting to try check out some trails or check out our Rock Runners program. There are so many great trails around here so go get some!  I hope we run into you on the trails sometime soon.

We’ll see you out there. Stay safe, healthy and happy.

Edgar