New Mexico Trail Racing Season

Fall trails in Nuevo Mexico are the realist

La Luz is on the calendar next weekend and so it begins. Was chatting about all of this earlier in the week with friends and trail companions, always exciting to prognosticate and gauge fitness. August/September/October are the golden months to be charging up and about the hills. 

Right, so my own fitness could use a lot of work which is why I turned instead to updating the site's race calendar in a bid to distract. Found several event items in the calendar worth noting:

Big Tesuque Trail Run is just ten weeks away and online registration is now live. Race date is Saturday October 3rd and it's gonna be another big year. I know all this because I assist Pete Fant (race director) with some of the setup. 31st year for this Santa Fe classic. Dustin Martin seeks to defend his three year reign at the top.

Dustin Martin floating the Big Tesuque descent

Oh shit, La Luz is next week! Always a mix of elation and physical horror at this thought. It will be the 50th running of this grand old race. A run-down (run up?) of this year's Santa Fe contingent ought to be up shortly. Several local runners in the mix this year.

Pajarito Trail Fest is a jewel of the Los Alamos racing scene though long overshadowed by ultras and triathlons and generally inaccessible to most of the Santa Fe running community as it shares its race weekend with Big T. Not this year. The race moves back two weeks to October 17th. Stoked to see this change, planning to race myself into a swifter me by about that time.

This June's FIBArk White Water Fest in Salida had a trio of running events. A hill-climb, a trail run, and a road race. Awards were given out for the triple crown as well. Been needing an excuse to make this event for several years now and now it's a done deal. Believe they raced MTB too. An earlier start will set me up a bit stronger for next year's La Luz and help lever-off the gravity of middle age for just a bit longer.


Other Area Events:
- Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon
- Taos Up-and-Over
- SF Waldorf Trail Run - Arroyo Hondo Trails