Here is a great article by Ron Bush talking about the good that Wild Trails and the Rock/Creek trail series is doing and how fast both have grown over the past few years. Also a list of all the races and an invitation to sign up.
Click HERE to link to the article.
There is a nice article in the Times-Free Press today, by Ron Bush, about Wild Trails volunteers helping to clear the damage from the original April 27th tornado as well as the subsequent storms.
All of the trails in the area were affected in some way and some needed to be completely rerouted.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
As Wild Trails executive director Randy Whorton pointed out recently, the storms of late April felled numerous trees throughout the area’s forests as well as in residential areas, but they also “wounded” a bunch that went down during subsequent lesser storms and gusting winds.
Helping people whose homes were hit or blocked by fallen trees was the immediate priority for Whorton and his band of certified chainsaw handlers, but they eventually turned to clearing the trails. A similar responsibility fell to Noel Durant, the land manager for the Lula Lake Land Trust, which oversees one of the most beautiful wilderness sites in the area — and one of those most affected by the storms.
To read the entire article, click here!
There is still much more work to be done. If you would like to help, please contact us at Randy@WildTrails.org.
Andrew Kornylak’s latest Rock/Creek Trail Series video, from the 2011 Rock/Creek Scenic City Trail Marathon, has just been released and is now available for viewing:
Wild Trails is the organizer for the Rock/Creek Trail Series. Moving shots of runners made possible by a GoPro Helmet Hero HD camera; special thanks to Brad Cobb for playing cameraman. You can also watch directly on Youtube by following this link or on Vimeo by following this one.
As of this morning, registration for the Rock/Creek Scenic City Trail Marathon has reached its limit of 200 runners, and the Half Marathon has 50 slots remaining out of 300. With over 400 runners already signed up for the Trail Marathon and Half Marathon, the 2011 event is already destined to be a minimum of 20% larger than last year’s race, and registration will close completely when the limit of 500 runners is reached.
The Scenic City Trail Marathon is the largest and most competitive trail marathon in the South. Elite trail runners from at least 18 states will be in attendance, including favorites Josh Wheeler, Josh Hite, Matt Sims, Aaron Saft, and Sam Linhoss. Favorites on the women’s side include Annette Bednosky, Sarah Woerner, and Malinda Honkus.
Rock/Creek is also pleased to announce that race results will be published in conjunction with Ultra Signup, beginning with this race. Ultra Signup has collected all of the Rock/Creek Trail Series results, making it easier for runners to size up the competition. The top 3 finishers from the 2010 Scenic City Trail Marathon will receive bib numbers 1, 2 and 3, while bib numbers 4 through 50 will be assigned based on Ultra Signup’s pre-race rankings.
There will be some changes to the course layout this year, most noticeably with a lengthening of the road section to start the race. This paved section should reduce potential bottlenecks significantly. Already one of the fastest trail marathons in the country, the adjustment will likely speed things up even more. An updated course map for the 2011 race, along with full race details, can be found by visiting www.rockcreek.com/trailmarathon.rco and clicking the “course” tab.
The Rock/Creek Scenic City Trail Marathon and Half Marathon take place on May 21, 2011, with the race beginning at 8 AM. Sponsors include Vasque, Marmot, Smartwool, Toyota, Salomon, Patagonia, Hammer Nutrition, The North Face, Greenlife Grocery and Outdoor Research.
ALL proceeds from the Rock/Creek Trail Series go to Wild Trails.
Today, Wild Trails is proud to announce that Randy Whorton has been selected as our new Executive Director and Race Director. Randy is a founding member of Wild Trails, and a passionate conservationist and trail user. As a member of the Rock/Creek Race Team and active ultrarunner, Randy is already well-known in the trail running community throughout the Southeast.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet, here’s a quick bio:
As a child growing up outside of Boulder, Colorado, Randy Whorton had a difficult time sitting still. Today, this behavior would probably be tagged as some sort of syndrome or disorder. Sports were a great way to blow off the energy, and Randy tried them all. With a choice of college scholarships – golf or springboard diving – he picked the latter. Eventually, this led to Randy dropping out of school, in order to join a globe-trotting band of high diving performers for four years; yes, it was like the circus.
Finally deciding to finish school and get a real job, Randy earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Management. He spent over 22 years in several high-tech companies, one of which brought him to the south. He then helped transform a landscaping company into a dominant local environmental company. In his spare time, Randy founded Wild Trails.
Randy and his wife, Kris, are accomplished long-distance runners, each having completed over 100 races of marathon distance or longer. They have run all but a few of these together. Randy also enjoys rock climbing, mountaineering, golf, kayaking, cycling, slacklining, cave exploring… and if there is a better juggler in town, he’d like to meet him (or her).
“I could very well be the luckiest guy around,” Randy says. “My goal is to help others get out in the woods and experience the health benefits and positive life experiences that hiking and running in the wilderness offer, as well as helping to expand, preserve and protect our local natural resources.”
Previously, Randy has served as the President of Wild Trails for several years. We all look forward to seeing what the future holds with Randy at the helm.
