Friends, I love to lace up and hit that sweet sweet pavement as much as the next guy but one simply cannot ignore the bounty of beautiful trails we have available to us in the Upper Valley! If you haven’t given trail running a try, you are in luck because not only do we have a HUGE variety of trails for every inclination and incline, there is a dedicated group of runners that would love to have you join them on those trails! The Upper Valley Trail Runners is another great running-based club in the Upper Valley that I consider a close sibling of the UVRC and I hope that one day we will merge together into one SUPER CLUB TO RULE THEM ALL! But until then I highly encourage you to check them out! And if you weren’t sold yet here is Michele Maxson from the UVTR with some good olde fashioned hype and more details than I can give!

By: Michele Maxson

Hey my fellow running peoples.  I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet or not, but we live in a perfect place as far as trails go. We’ve got everything you can ask for, double-wide tracks that are great for a lunchtime stroll, or rolling slightly technical trails in the middle of town to feel like you’re getting away from it all while still being all in it, we’ve even got Mt. Washington if you feel like having a nice epic day in the mountains.  I’m here to tell you we even have a group of people who love to run on those trails!  We are far more prevalent in the area than black bears, but can be just as elusive.  Let’s be honest, as a group, us trail runners are pretty independent, we may or may not shave….or use deodorant.  We’re all fairly different, some of us find it thrilling to pack as light as possible and get FKT’s (fastest known times) on a hut to hut traverse, other’s like to load down our packs with snow shoes, first aid gear, and an obnoxious amount of PBJ sandwiches and get lost up in the Whites.  The great thing about us though, is that we’re a pretty low-key group of folks who would love to share our trails with roadies.  It’s not that we don’t like road running, I mean, you roadies are way fast and you all look crazy hot in your running shorts.  Seriously, I love you guys, but when I stand toe-to-toe with you at a race, I feel like a buffalo standing in a herd of gazelles.

As the snow melts and the black flies return, so do the Upper Valley Trail Runners.  We're a pretty loosely formed group of runners who are always looking for other masochists, I mean, running friends to share the trails with.  You can find group runs on www.meetup.com (search for Upper Valley Trail Runners).  We’ve been meeting every Thursday at Parcel 5 at 5:30p and exploring some of the trails in the area.  This run is a NRLB (No Runner Left Behind) and we can do anything from 1 mile to 7 depending on the group dynamic.  If you’ve ever wanted to try trail running, but have been intimidated, I say that you should come join us. Why?  Cause we’re as intimidated by you as you are of us!  As the summer progresses we’ll probably start rotating our Thursday runs to different locations, but they will always be NRLB and, knowing us, someone in the group will probably be carrying a first aid kit, whiskey, and/or a sandwich so there’s no need to worry if you’re not sure about yourself.  We can patch you up, fatten you up, or just give you a shot of courage. 

So this was my plug for the Upper Valley Trail Runners.  I hope to see some new faces on the trail soon.  And if any of you see a new face at a TNT that slightly resembles (or smells like) a buffalo or Sasquatch, be nice to them, talk calmly and quietly, and don’t make too much eye contact, it’s probably a trail runner.