At this year’s board retreat we talked about the rise in popularity of timed races. These are events that are based on time, not distance. Participants have a set number of hours to complete a looped course as many times as they can, racking up mile after mile. Some runners may choose to bring down the hammer and conquer as many miles as they can, without stopping. Other runners may run a few miles, eat a snack, take a nap, and stroll back out when they’re good and ready. It’s a low-key format that appeals to runners of all ability levels.
We’ve decided to add a whole new race series this year that focuses on these fun timed races. If you visit our new Timed Series page, you’ll see all the races that we’ve selected for this inaugural year. Each duration is its own race for determining points, so you can sign up for the duration that works best for you and still have a shot at the overall winner title!
For our first season we will have an overall winner for male and female. If participation is high enough, we will add age classes either this year or in the future. Because this is the first year, there is no planned prize money for this series.
For any questions and to sign up for the Timed Race series, email timed.series@umtr.net. Remember that all series are open only to current members, so if you haven’t renewed yet for 2018, head over to http://www.umtr.net/membership/ and help support the sport and trails that we all love.