Running has brought me a lot of things over the years. One of the most important things running has brought into my life is friendship and community. After several years of battling a variety of different nagging injuries that have kept me from being as much of a part of the running community as I would want to be I was feeling a little lost in my pursuit of running.

I have struggled with thoughts about why do I even run anymore. What kind of runner am I? Am I even a runner anymore? I haven’t been able to do the things in running that make me love running. Last year I was finally able to get back to that a little bit. But then this year another injury setback has me full of doubt just when I was building hope for the future.

I am the kind of person that likes to dream up big adventures and take on big challenges. That is part of what drew me to ultra running. But that has been out of my reach for the most part lately. But dreaming up big things has always been part of me.

And when it comes to running I have always dreamed of putting on running events.

For several years I was on the board of our local running club, the Southern Tier Running Club. I was involved in putting on the running events our club hosted. I loved the community and excitement around planning organizing and putting on a running event.

A lot of hours were spent daydreaming and noodling over ideas and plans for potential events. STRC eventually branched out into trail running, which is the form of running I most enjoy. Eventually life got busy and I stepped away from the board.

Trail running faded from our local scene. I tried to stay active in running despite my injuries. Saving myself for fun trail events I knew I would enjoy through organizations like FLRC and TRC. And the FLRC Challenge, a virtual challenge, that my friends and I could run together but on our own schedule kept the fun and joy in running.

I watched from a distance as it seemed our local running club was fading. Struggling with rapid turnover on the club board due mainly to a lot of personal life situation happening to a variety of people at the same time. I continued to connect with clubs like TRC and saw the massive community they had built, where dozens of people come out in sub zero temperatures to run every week. I wanted a running community like that for our area.

I decided to start attending our local STRC group runs when I began to see posts about them again. I heard that they were looking for more board members for the club. I decided to join the board. I wanted to focus on building our running community and bring trail running back to our area.

We committed to weekly Tuesday night runs and began weekly Saturday runs as well. We managed to stick to the Tuesday night run plan despite both myself and our club president who were co leading the runs struggling through injuries and at times attending the group runs on bikes. We began hosting brewery runs where we visited area breweries for post run hang out after a group run.

And during each board meeting I continued to subtly push for rail running to make a comeback. Putting for ideas I had about trail running. Potential events we could host. And different styles of events that could be fun and inclusive.

As the seasons changed and we began to discuss options for our summer picnic I had an idea. With all the turnover in the club in recent years events like the summer picnic had not been as well attended as the club would like. I suggested that we combine our summer picnic with a running event. We could host a race followed by the picnic.

Traditionally the summer picnic was for STRC members. However, Everyone who attended the race would be welcome at the picnic.

I had an idea for a fairly simple from a logistics perspective race. A trail race.

In the past I was involved with a trail race that used a loop course at one of our state parks. That event has since gone defunct. So I borrowed the course from that event. A loop that while challenging was accessible to people who were new to trail running. The trails we not particularly technical so footing would not be a huge issue for people coming to this event with a road running background, which in all likelihood would be most of our club members since our club had not been hosting trail events for several years.

We planned to have the event at Newtown Battlefield State Park. And STRC Trailfest at Newtown Battlefield was born.

The goal was to have a low key no frills event like many smaller trail races are. No swag. No finishers medal. No shirts. I did however, plan for a fully stocked aid station with all the things trail runners like to eat. One of the best things about trial running is the food. We had all the staples: oranges, bananas, watermelon, PB&J, Pringles, and Oreos. Plus Gatorade and water for hydration. And boy was that needed. Race day was hot.

We had a good turnout for the event despite the Fast and furious way we put it together and only got registration available about a month before the event was to happen. It made me really happy that we had a lot of people who were relatively new to trail running and probably to timed loop courses as well. I don’t think everyone appreciated the challenge of the big climb on the first loop, but everyone accepted it as part of the experience and recalibrated their expectations.

I have been really excited to have an opportunity o bring trail running events back to our area. Through all my struggles with running and injury the last several years being part of the larger running community has been what I have missed most about not being able to get out there and run as much as I want and in the ways that I want. I have had so many ideas for events and races that could be possible bubbling up inside me. And now it seems I have an outlet for those ideas. And I have a way to be a part of the running community even when I am not able to run. Maybe being a Race Director is the next logical step in the progression of someone who loves the sport of running the ay I do and has ideas they would love to bring to the community. I am excited to try and bring more opportunities to run on trails to our area.

If you love running and a re looking for community seek out your local running club. That is a great place to start and get involved. I guarantee you will have a good time and most importantly you will meet some of the best people you can ever meet. They will change your life. And you will change their lives as well. That is where it all started for me and I hope it will start there for you.

We are currently planning the return of the Trailfest at Newtown Battlefield for 2026. I look forward to seeing you out there.