2021 Trail Series Race Recap

I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped out this year, several helping in multiple roles in several races. Thank you to all our sponsors who helped us with funds and in-kind gifts. And of course thank you to all the participants who signed up, ran, and supported us yet again this year. I'm humbled that in a year when races were a plenty around us, we again set records for signups when we were definitely forecasting less numbers than in 2020, when we were about the only races still going on in the area.

This year we had an awesome mix of new and old. New this year was a race at Great Bear, which has been off limits to organized races for all of its history. We thank the Great Bear staff and board for allowing us to show them that their park is indeed a place that people love, and want to be in for races such as ours. We hope that we can go back in the future and that other races can pop up there now that we've shown it can work. Runners had great weather, albeit humid, and walked away with a Bella Canvas zip up hoodie and smiles on their faces.

We went back to Tuthill after Greg Koch at 605 Running Company had said he'd never heard so much positive feedback from a race at the store, than after the Tuthill races in 2020. Because of the short loop, we pivoted to only one distance and replaced the longer distance race with a kids run. We gathered freebee gifts (ice cream, donuts, arcade tokens, stickers, etc.) for the kids who ran, and they had a blast. We had over 35 kids run, some with their parents. Personally, being able to run a race with my son was very special, and cheering on my daughter as she crossed the finish with her friends was worth all the work putting on the entire series. We definitely hope to be able to squeeze in another kids race each year, but we'll have to see how things shake out. We were blessed with more nice weather for Tuhill and runners all received glass bottles with infusers.

And onto the old...as we celebrated the 20th anniversary race at Newton Hills to wrap up the 5th year in the series. As I spoke about in the pre-race announcements, Newton Hills was the first trail I ran back in '08 and it quite literally changed my life. I had been running seriously for about three years at that point, but after running a trail race, I found a whole new level of love an appreciation for running. Next to spending time with loved ones, I don't know if there is anything better than a good trail run to make me happy and fulfilled. We all owe Scott Walschlager a huge debt of gratitude for starting and putting on the Newton Hills race from 2002-2017. Our community must agree with me because we had record registrations for Newton Hills for the second consecutive year. The weather was magnificent with temps above 60 degrees at the start, which is almost unheard of. We also saw the course record fall and everyone stuck around to have Woodgrain beers and enjoy the weather. Everyone got Bella Canvas long sleeve shirts and beer glasses to remember the special day too.

We can't forget our partner races that were both back this year. Oakwood Lakes added a 7.5 mile race to the 4 mile distance they've had for several years. The park is just north of Brookings and the course is pretty flat and has plenty of scenery. The race is held yearly in August and is put on by Andy from the Prairie Striders Run Club of Brookings. It was a great morning and runners got breakfast burritos and yoga following the race. Our second partner race is the Broken Toe Trail Race that is held in the beautiful Stone State Park in northern Sioux City. Tucked far in the park, this small and quaint 4 mile race (2 mile walk/run) runs through the all purpose trails that reminded me a lot of Newton Hills. The race barely touches most of the trails in the park too, so a return trip is definitely a must.

The points series was something we wanted to make easier to understand and also include more people. In prior years, the formula for points was complex and only the overall winners received accolades. This year and going forward, we have simplified the points and will give out awards three deep in each age category. Gift cards were mailed out after the final points were tabulated for all 5 races that you could earn point at, and we're planning on doubling the amount of money going out next year. The overall points earner (M/F) will also get a custom framed print of their race of choice (example here). We hope the point series encourages runners to participate in as many of the 5 races as possible and hopefully we can add more races to the mix in the future.

Speaking of the future, we'll be back next year with another series, and look for some special announcements and different race locations. If you're interested in helping put on races, I'd love to mentor some new race directors. We could put on more races every year with some more help!

Stats:
104 Registered for Great Bear (91 finishers)
101 Registered for Tuthill (88 finishers) 35+ kids finishers
157 Registered for Newton Hills (140 finishers)

$8000+ in expenses & $1200 in gift cards to participants
$6000 raised which we'll likely donate a majority to Falls Area SingleTrack to help build more trails in the Sioux Falls area.

Lastly, if you want to get some SF Run Club or Trail Series swag, head over to the online store by Wire Design Company and get something for yourself. They make great gifts too! HERE

See you on the trails…

Nathan Schwab
Trail Series Race Director
njschwab@gmail.com