Autumn is here! With it comes cooler weather, a much welcome relief in many parts of the country. You can now hit the trails and take in the changing seasons – whatever form that may taking in your neck of the woods – without needing to carry three water bottles for a two hour run. For many, it also means the end of the trail running racing season after many months of training and then racing. However, there are still some major trail races like the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon, Stone Cat 50 mile, Mountain Masochist Trail Run, The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships, and the XTERRA Half Marathon World Championships, as well as many, many other trail races. These autumn races often seem like an afterthought… a welcome bonus after a summer of hard work. In some parts, snow is already flying and the trails may be open for only a few more weeks. You’ve still got time to sneak in one last epic run in the mountains, right? Well, we’re wondering what trails runs – races or recreation – you’re most looking forward to before the end of the year. Tell us!
With two and a half months left in the year, I’ve got lots of runs I’m psyched about. In the short term, I’m excited to get in my first ever runs in the Big Sur area the next few days. When November rolls around, I’ll have two weeks of exploring the desert southwest. Never having run in Zion National Park or New Mexico, those two spots top my trip To Do list. Once I’m back in the Sierra foothills, I’m hoping to sneak in at least one more Yosemite high country run before it’s socked in with snow. Of course, once it does snow, I can’t wait to go for my first snowshoe run of the season. I’ve never snowshoed without a heavy pack, so this next snowshoe will be a fun experiment. Finally, I’ve got one more race on the schedule this year – The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship in December. I’m not training specifically for it, but it will be a good fitness test before going into a long period of race silence.
Autumn has already arrived in the High Sierras!
