Next weekend, the FLRC Trail Circuit kicks off with the Thom B Trail runs on May 13. For those of you new to the club, new to the trails, or both, our annual Trail Circuit is a series of FLRC and non-FLRC organized off-road races spanning from May through October. Each race is pretty low-key, with a home-grown feel, low entry fees, and little-to-no swag or fancy awards. These races are a great way to meet some new people, get more in touch with Mother Nature, and come up with some wacky trail tales to impress your buddies over a post-race beer.
How about running through the beautiful gorges at Robert Treman State Park at the Monster Marathon and Half Marathon, then sticking around for our volunteer picnic that same afternoon? Some of you might even decide to double up and run the gorge again the next day at Lucifer’s Crossing. What about conquering your fear of hills while surrounded by bright green flora at the Forest Frolic? Or escaping the confines of your cubicle on a Thursday evening in August to get down and dirty at Forge the Gorgeous? Not running? It’s just as fun to pitch in and volunteer at an aid station or road crossing, and then join the post-race gathering afterwards at the finish line. There’s something here for everyone!
Our Trail Circuit ranking system helps keep things fun and a little more competitive. Anyone who completes at least one series race is automatically added to the rankings. At the end of the season, awards are given in three categories, to the top male and top female in each. (Thank you to Karen Ingall for compiling the statistics year after year!)
- Stonehead – Top points earner across all series races that a runner has completed. A runner’s “score” for a race is determined by dividing the winning time by his/her time, then multiplying by 100.
- Pebblehead – Same as above, except only the runner’s top three scoring races are counted.
- Boulderhead – Points are based on the total number of Trail Circuit miles a runner completes, regardless of finishing position. A DNF (did not finish) is scored as a 0.
After the aforementioned Thom B, the next series race is the Tortoise & Hare at Buttermilk Falls on June 4. Click here for a full list of races that are part of the series. (Note: We’ve confirmed that the Highland Forest 1-2-3 will not take place this year, but will likely return in 2018. Also note that the Finger Lakes 50s is already sold out.) Registration is open for many of the trail races, and will be open soon for the others.
So whadd’ya say? It’s time to bust out the gaiters and trucker hats and get a little mud on your new shoes!
