Tonight begins the 12-week Mine Falls Summer Trail Series put on by the Gate City Striders. It's a nice, low key race held every Monday at 6:30pm, starting from the Stello's Stadium entrance to Mine Falls in Nashua.
Actually there are two races to choose from, a relatively flat 5k trail race run mostly on the well groomed trails along the canal and a slightly more challenging 5 mile trail race that takes advantage of some of the more technical single tracks in Mine Falls. In fact, the last mile runs along the Mill Pond Trail, one of my favorite trails in Mine Falls. For $5, you can't go wrong.
Don't be deterred by my description of slightly more challenging though. Unless it's pouring rain, regular running shoes are just fine. The 5 mile course has some rocks and roots but for the most part is a fairly easy, dry trail run. Heck, some of the times aren't that different from a road 5 mile race.
The past couple of years I've volunteered more than I've raced, marking the course or manning the water stop (or both). We even put mile markers out there for all you split-nazis, but I can't guarantee they're accurate (what do you want for $5?). This year I may try to sprinkle in a few races along with my volunteer duties. Who knows, you might even see me out there tonight :-)
