Photo by Gary Smits of Extreme Photo
Trail runs of 2.5 miles and 5 miles were held in conjunction with seven of the 12 mountain bike races in the Wisconsin Off-Road Series last year.
WORS Trail Run Series seeks its own identity
by Joel Patenaude For the third consecutive year, trail running races will be featured at several of the Wisconsin Off-Road Series mountain biking events. This will be the first year, however, that the trail runs will be organized by runners with fellow runners in mind.This represents a fundamental shift and rededication to the struggling seven-race series. Overshadowed by the popular 13-year-old WORS series, the running races have suffered from the MTB-centric mindset of the organizers. So while 700 to 1,200 bike racers on average showed up at a WORS event last year, only 40 to 60 runners toed the line for the 2.5-mile and 5-mile races at seven of the 12 MTB series stops.
"It's not that people don't want to do (the trail runs). They just don't know they're there," said Cassie Gran, the new director of the WORS Trail Run Series. "I think 150 runners per race is doable and sustainable. I'm shooting for 250 at the Teva Devil's Run."
At Devil's Lake State Park on July 16, more than 1,000 feet of elevation gain will challenge competitors in the 10-K and 15-K foot races. Not only masochists will turn out when word spreads that the
USATF-certified courses will serve as qualifiers for the U.S. Mountain Running Team and a shot at attending the trail running world championship in Wellington, New Zealand. Such an opportunity has never before come to the Midwest, Gran said.
Gran was also quick to mention that Teva, the outdoor footwear company, has donated $3,000 worth of gear to be given to participants as prizes.
The Devil's Run "special event" is a good example of what could spice
up the series every year, Gran said, and attract runners from well beyond Wisconsin's borders. Gran said she hopes to hold a true trail marathon in the years to come.
Gran of Monticello said she has no prior experience organizing events. But as an avid adventure racer, orienteerer and past WORS Trail Run Series competitor, she has spent much time informally critiquing events.
She's also recruited several seasoned runners/event organizers to
takeover the individual races in the series: Kevin Eccles will handle the Alpine Valley Open; John Novak will front the Iola Bump and Jump; Dave Hasse will back the Sunburst Showdown; Lisa Schreiner will be the catalyst for the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic and Peter Stinski and his wife will get the Calumet Sun Run done. Gran and WORS founder Don Edberg will oversee the Devil's Run and the East Bay Trail Run (no longer sharing the Big Ring Classic name).
Gran said her co-race directors are actively reaching out to running clubs and high school cross-country teams. They also plan to get race series literature into the hands of competitors in other trail running events being held in the Midwest.
Trail Running Trophy Series
Adding additional prestige three of the WORS Trail Runs in the 2005 Trail Running Magazine Trophy Series. More than 120 races in the United States and Canada are included in the points-based series
between March 1 and September 30.
The racer who finishes the the most races in the trophy series wins a trip for two to the 2006 Dolomite Sky Race in Italy a 22-K race that climbs 1,700 meters to the highest peak in the Sella mountain range. That's the first 10K, anyway.
Every finisher of a trophy series race earns points based on the distance covered (and bonus points for finishing in the top three). The three WORS races the May 22 Alpine Valley Open (5K, 10K) in Elkhorn;
the July 16 Teva Devil's Run (5K, 10K, 15K) in Merrimac; and the September 25 Sunburst Showdown (5K, 10K) in Monticello are in the marathon and shorter distances category of the trophy series.
Speaking of the trophy series, several other Upper Midwest races are included: May 7 Pilot Knob Trail Race (15K) in Forest City, Iowa; June 11 Lake Mingo Trail Run (7.1M) in Danville, Ill.; July 2 Afton Trail Run (25K) in Afton, Minn.; Sept. 25 Wild Wild Wilderness Trail Run
(7.6M) in Danville, Ill.
There are also regional races in the ultra distances category of the Trail Running Magazine Trophy Series: April 16 McNaughton Park Trail Races (30M, 50M, 100M) in Pekin, Ill.; June 4-5 Kettle Moraine 100 Endurance Runs (100M, 100K) in Whitewater, Wis.; July 2 Afton Trail Run (50K) in Afton, Minn.; July 30 Minnesota Voyageur Trail Ultra (50M) in Carlton, Minn.; Sept. 10 Dances with Dirt Ultra XI (50K,
50M) in Hell, Mich.; Sept. 17 North Country Trail Run (26.2M), 50M) in Manistee, Mich.; Sept. 25 Rock Cut Hobo Run (25K, 50K) in Rock Cut State Park, Ill.
Minnesota Trail Run Series
Some of the aforementioned events are part of the 12-race Minnesota Trail Run Series. Points in that series are awarded according to finishing times, and points for up to six races are totaled to determine the series standings.
The races in the 2005 Minnesota series: April 23 Trail Mix (25K, 50K) in the Hyland Lake Park Reserve, Bloomington; May 7 Runnin' in the Ruff (10K) in Milaca; May 14 Clearwater Plaza Five Mile Trail Run at Warner Lake; May 21 Superior Trail Ultra (25K, 50K) in Lutsen; June 11 Aviary 10 Mile in Byron; July 2 Afton Trail (see above); July 16 Minnesota Half Voyageur Trail (26.2M) in Carlton; Aug. 21 Dances with Dirt Trail Challenge (4M) in Plymouth; Sept. 10 Moose Mountain
Marathon (26.2M, 50M) in Lutsen; Sept. 24 In Yan Teopa Trail Run (10M) in Frontenac State Park; Oct. 15 Nerstand Big Woods (13.1M, 5K, 10K) in Nerstand Big Woods State Park; Oct. 22 Graystone Trail Run (25K) in St. Cloud.
For more information on the Minnesota Trail Run Series, go to www.mntrailrunning.com.
2005 WORS MTB and Trail Run schedule There are 12 mountain bike races and seven trail running races (plus the Teva Devil's Run) in the WORS series. For more information and to
register, go to www.wors.org or www.trailrun.wors.org.
May 15: MTB Race #1; Trail Run #1, Iola Bump & Jump, Iola
May 22: MTB Race #2; Trail Run #2, Alpine Valley Open Elkhorn
June 5: MTB Race #3, Rome Around, Wisconsin Rapids
June 19: MTB Race #4, Big Ring Classic; Trail Run #3, Nine Mile Harrier Classic, Wausau
July 3: MTB Race #5; Trail Run #4, Chippewa Valley Firecracker. Eau Claire
July 16-17: MTB Race #6, WORS Cup & Special Trail Run, Teva Devil's Run, Merrimac
July 24: MTB Race #7, Phillips Dirtfighter Classic, Phillips
August 14: MTB Race #8; Trail Run #5, Calumet Sun Run, Hilbert
August 28: MTB Race #9; Trail Run #6, Alterra Coffee Bean Classic, Franklin
Sept. 11: MTB Race #10, Kewaunee XC Adventure, Kewaunee
Sept. 25: MTB Race #11; Trail Run #7, Sunburst Showdown, Kewaskum
Oct. 9: MTB Race #12, Wigwam/Ultimax MTB Challenge, Sheboygan
Oct. 29: WORS Awards Banquet | |
