Last Wednesday, I had planned to have a cross training day by taking a kettlebell class at Balance Fitness. However, when my friend contacted me to let me know that she had signed up for the Surly Furious Five Miler that evening, but she now had a conflict, I couldn’t let her spot in the small 50-person-event go to waste. So I did what any good running friend would do, and said forget about cross-training, let’s run some hills!
My friend Kelly had also signed up, so the two of us carpooled over to Theodore Wirth Park. It was a steamy 95 degree night, and the bugs were also out in full force. We found the gathering spot by the Surly flag, and chatted with the other runners while we waited to start.
The Surly Furious Five Mile runs are a series of monthly runs that are meant to help runners prepare for the Surly Trail Loppet Half Marathon, which will be held on the Theodore Wirth trails on September 21st. There will be plenty of Surly beer at the finish of course. Sounds fun, right? Well, you might have to wait until next year, because the race is already full.
In fact, the Surly Furious Five Milers are closed too. They only allow fifty people to sign up, so my guess is that they filled up pretty quickly. However, after attending this week and seeing just how fun they were, I reached out to the organizers to see if they might have an open spot. They actually had a person cancel, so I am signed for September’s run too! Woo-hoo!
Anyways, back to the run: I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was not an actual “race”. It was just a very casual run, let by a few Surly employees who are also avid runners. They had “pacers” to lead a “fast”, “medium”, and “slow” group, and then a sweeper in back to ensure no one got lost. And it would have been really easy to get lost! The trails are pretty confusing. Fortunately, Kelly and I stayed close to two other runners (one of whom had already run 22 miles earlier…so he ended up with over a full marathon distance for the day- yowsa!!!) We trailed these two guys who seemed to know where they were going, and fortunately they didn’t steer us off course.
However, we probably would have managed to find our way even without their guidance, as there were blue flags marking the route, as well as flour spread on the ground occasionally to help you know where to go. (I had no idea that was the way trail runs are marked- genius!)
However, we probably would have managed to find our way even without their guidance, as there were blue flags marking the route, as well as flour spread on the ground occasionally to help you know where to go. (I had no idea that was the way trail runs are marked- genius!)
The trails were extremely narrow throughout, with only a few spots where you could potentially pass another runner. I can imagine that would be challenging in a half marathon! In addition to being narrow, the trails were also VERY hilly. There were a few spots where all the “medium” paced runners in our group just changed to a walk from a jog.
Here are a few (amateur) tips. I know that I am not an expert, after just doing a five miler…but here are some tips, nonetheless:
- Wear bug spray
- Wear older shoes that you don’t mind getting super dirty (or invest in trail shoes)
- Don’t stress about your pace! We were barely running 10 min/miles, but it felt hard. One of the experienced trail runners said to expect to add 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds to your overall pace at the half marathon.
- Hydrate! We were pretty darn sweaty even after just five miles.
- Don’t be afraid to walk the hills.
- Watch your step! It would be easy to take a serious fall on this trail.
- Watch out for wildlife! We encountered two deer that were not afraid of us at all. In fact, we got pretty darn close before they finally ran off. Hard to believe we're still in the city!
After the run, we all received tokens to head to the Surly Taproom in Brooklyn Center for a free beer. Kelly tried the Misanthrope, the new “Belgian style Saison aged with Brett in used white wine barrels.” I went with my standard Surly Furious...what can I say, I know what I like.
Just one pint of Surly after five sweaty miles was all I could take. We socialized with the other trail runners for awhile while enjoying our free beer, and then headed home.
It was a really fun evening. It was a nice change of scenery from running on the Minneapolis paved roads that we run nearly every day, and the extra hills were a good challenge.
Great event, Surly. See you next month!
Great event, Surly. See you next month!
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