Trail Animals Running Club

New TARC Podcast

bob — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:07:59 +0000

There’s a new podcast out there created by TARC member Eric Sherman featuring fellow TARC’er Mike Saporito called DFL Ultrarunning.

DFL Ultrarunning will have a focus on the “back of the pack” runners, but will also have interviews with race directors, local runners (many of them your TARC club mates), stories of improved fitness through diet and ultrarunning, and national class athletes. And sure, Eric and Mike will share their running stories and thoughts as they train and race. Mike will provide regular reviews of websites on his “Mike’s Bytes” segments and there are previews and reviews of various races around the US. Already changing and evolving, listen in and you’ll likely hear talk about and with people you know and places you’ve run.

The podcasts can be accessed at dflultrarunning.com. You can also subscribe on itunes, by searching on DFL Ultrarunning. If you belong to Facebook stop by and “Like” the Facebook DFL Ultrarunning page and if there is anything or anybody you’d like to hear don’t hesitate to reach out at dflultrarunning@comcast.net.

Podcast like a Trail Animal!

TARC100 – Buckle Up!

bob — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 02:42:11 +0000

Hot off the forge and just arrived – the TARC100 Finisher’s Buckle for those lucky runners who cross the hundy finish line will have the opportunity to earn this hand crafted beautiful nickle and bronze buckle. These one-of-a-kind beauties were designed and are being lovingly hand crafted by Colorado Silver Star, the same forge that creates none other than the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run buckles. Every 100 miler participant has the opportunity to purchase one of these keepsakes (~$50-55) and earn the bragging rights to strut their stuff with this hard-to-miss eye catcher by simply finishing in under 30 hours. If you didn’t express an interest in buying a buckle when you registered, and now that you’ve seen it you’ve got to have it, just email us at imbc@comcast.net and say, “Gotta have the buckle!” and we’ll be sure to do our part and have it waiting for you. Then you do your part and finish in qualifying time!

TARC Winter Trail Droppings – 2013

bob — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:10:02 +0000

January 1, 2013 – Dear Animals, We will start the New Year off with plenty of good cheer, opportunities to challenge yourself and meet some fellow critters of the woods.

Effective 1/1/13 four TARC races are open for registration:

Sunday, March 24^th: TARC Spring Thaw 6 Hour Ultra (http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=18255)

Sunday, April 14^th: TARC Don’t Run Boston 50K & 50M (http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=18358)

Saturday, April 27^th: TARC Spring Classic (10K, 13.1M, 26.2M, 50K) (http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=18256)

Friday, June 14^th: TARC 100 and 50M (http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=18276)

These races sell out every year so act soon- we want you all to have the opportunity to achieve your running goals for 2013.

Soon some of our other races will open for registration. They include:

Saturday, May 12^th: Wapack and Back (http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=16917)

Saturday, August 17^th: TARC Summer Classic (http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=16917) [opens April 1]

Saturday, October 19^th: TARC Fall Classic: (http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=16917) [opens June 1]

Saturday, October 26^th: Ghost Train Ultras: (https://sites.google.com/site/ghosttrainrailtrailrace/home) [opens in March]

Want TARC gear? Shop here now: http://store.green-layer.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=454

Give back to your club, fellow runners and sport and volunteer in 2013 at one or more of our races. It’s rewarding, fun and a darn good thing to do. Email Bob here: imbc@comcast.net to volunteer.

Now come out of your cave/den/hole and start training!

TARC 100 & 50 OPEN REGISTRATION

bob — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:00:36 +0000

TARC 100 & 50 OPEN REGISTRATION

Calling all TARC Critters,

We’ve a special pre-holiday opportunity for all TARC members. Starting today, we’ve opened registration 30 days early for the brand spanking new TARC 100 Mile Endurance Run – the first-ever 100 mile trail run in Massachusetts – and the accompanying TARC 50 miler. We’ve successfully secured all the permits to stage this exciting addition to the TARC Trail Series. The bucolic and convenient woods of Weston, Mass. will be our hosts. You can register now here. We anticipate this run(s) will be very popular so encourage you to register early. TARC continues to follow our mission of making trail running accessible to as many people as possible. This means convenient, welcoming, community oriented and inexpensive. You’ll find all those elements here and more….. the highlights:

Friday, June 14, 2013 7:00 pm; Weston, MA
Great course for setting PR, first-time 50 or 100 miles or qualifier for other ultras
99% single or double track trails; 10,000’ of elevation gain/loss; 25 mile loop
Unique Friday evening start time for both 100 and 50
Located just 20 minutes from Downtown Boston, easy access from I95, I93 or Mass Pike
At $60, one of the two least expensive 100 milers in the country (the other is TARC Ghost Train!); 50 mile is also $60
Technical t-shirt for every participant, included in the price
For 100 mile finishers, a snappy finisher’s jacket – men and women styles, from our partner and friends at Green Layer®, included in the price
For 100 mile finishers, the opportunity to purchase a hand crafted brass on silver commemorative belt buckle for $50
Pacers allowed for 100 miler start at mile 50; 30 hour cutoff, 12 hour for 50 mile

There are many more details at the registration site and in this FAQ. We hope you’ll join us and feel free to spread the word. We intend to make this a crown jewel event in the TARC Series for years to come.

Run Like A Trail Animal!

Josh “Sir Speedy” Katzman & Bob “Diesel-san” Crowley

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Celebrate TARC’s 30th Anniversary With Big News!

bob — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:21:13 +0000

Hey Trail Animals,

2012 has been an fulfilling period for Trail Animals all over the world. Our pack has growth to over 1,500 members, we’ve had another great TARC Trail Series with a dozen races and thousands of members participating at all distances and levels. Over 1,000 Animals toed the line for their first-ever trail race and over 300 tried their hand for an inaugural ultra distance – very, very impressive.

But the fun has only just begun…..

To kick off a year-long celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the Trail Animals Running Club [founded in 1993], we have some BIG news to share:

TARC e-Store Open For Business

We’re adding an exciting new feature that members have been asking for many years – TARC logo gear! We’ve partnered with one of the best technical and eco-friendly sports apparel suppliers in the business, GreenLayer, to bring you the first-ever TARC e-Store where you’ll find a sweet assortment of men’s and women’s TARC logo gear at member-only discount prices (30% off!). This stuff is schweeeeet! We’re starting with men and women short and long sleeve technical running shirts as well as singlets and jackets. If this goes well, as time goes on we’ll add more logo gear to the mix. And. As a TARC member you can also purchase anything from the Green Layer store (sans TARC Logo) and still receive our exclusive TARC member discount of 30% – how’s that for a free membership benefit?!

The store officially opens today – right now – so let the shopping begin! What better gift to give to a loved one or treat yourself to at the holidays than official TARC gear? Even Santa will be putting this on his list along with all our fellow reindeer critters J

TARC/Green Layer e-store is here: http://store.green-layer.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=454 or just go to the general Green Layer store: http://store.green-layer.com and click on the Trail Animals under “Event Stores” on the lower left corner. Key in TrailAnimal30 in the coupon code box in your shopping cart to receive your TARC 30% discount EVERYTIME you shop and – off ANY GreenLayer product! Everything you see is in stock in the colors shown except the jackets, which if you order between now and Nov 15^th, will ship to arrive in early December.

2013 TARC Trail Series

It’s never too soon to start planning your next year’s races and we’re giving you a forest full of choices for 2013! Click here: http://www.trailanimals.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/2013-New-England-Ultra-Calendar.pdf to see 2013 TARC Trail Series calendar of events (highlighted in green) along with other New England ultras. Many of the other races have yet to announce their 2013 dates but you can always check our web site for the updated schedule from time-to-time by going here: http://www.trailanimals.com/race-announcements/ where we post periodic updates. The TARC Trail Series dates are set but there’s a couple subject to change. We’ll keep you posted via email and Facebook.

NEW TARC (Boston) 100 Mile Endurance Run

We’ve added an exciting new event to the TARC Trail Series for 2013 – a trail hundy! Filling the otherwise ultra trail race void in June in New England, we’re introducing the TARC 100 which will be run June 14/15. You’ll want to put this puppy on your calendar. It’ll be located in metro-Boston, 100% trails, challenging but still accessible for a first-time 100 mile attempt, this New England beauty will have the usual outstanding TARC aid, trail markings and volunteers AND an official Trail Animal finisher’s jacket and an optional opportunity to collect a newly minted TARC100 belt buckle. We will offer a 50 mile distance as well – a perfect run to cap your VT100 training! More details to follow in the coming weeks but we wanted to be sure club members got the news first. We await approval of the permits – and then we’ll fill you in with more details.

Run Like A Trail Animal!

Trail Droppings – Late Summer 2012

bob — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:20:03 +0000

A Trail Animals late-summer update

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/trailanimals/

Welcome New Pack Members

Since our last update, which I believe was when Dewey and Truman were going at it in the presidential election J, we’ve added a herd of new members to our pack – swelling membership to over 1,000, with folks joining from all over the US, and world. Hum. Must be the fancy swag (none), exclusive membership (free) and tasty Ultra Cookies (yum) that has everyone so eager to join? Trail running is growing at a 16% clip every year so whatever the reason; we’re delighted to have so many diverse and enthusiastic friends to play with on the trails!

Congratulations to all the Animals who completed the Vermont 100 and/or Leadville 100 recently – you are truly Animals of the most impressive kind! Also we offer a special thanks our RD Chris Haley and volunteers and congratulations to all the members of the Pack who toed the line at the TARC Summer Classic this past Saturday in Medfield. All reports have been everyone had a great time and found the course plenty hilly and challenging.

Yo, Fogetaboutit

Members like hearing about what events Animals are running so be sure to keep updated by joining our TARC Facebook site and share your stories & pictures (https://www.facebook.com/groups/trailanimals/) – otherwise we fogetabout what you do and what fun is dat? You can request to join and become a member and that way you’ll see any updates on training runs, events, discussion about foot fungus and other good stuff.

TARC Fall Classic

Saturday, October 13^th at 8:00 am at Great Brook Farm in Carlisle, MA. We offer a choice of distances: 10K, half marathon, marathon and 50K. The course is wooded single track trail, fairly flat, a 10K loop with beautiful fall colors throughout the journey. Plenty of on-site parking, aid, rest rooms. As usual, this is a low fee ($22), community-oriented TARC event open to all skill levels from trail neophytes to veteran ultra distance runners. You can register now at http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=14914 but hurry as the event sold out last year.

There will be a training run on the course announced via Facebook soon (https://www.facebook.com/groups/trailanimals/) but looking like Saturday, September 8^th at 7:30 am at the Great Brook Farm.

Ghost Train Rail Trail Race (Part of the TARC Trail Series)

October 27-28, 2012. Spots are disappearing faster than Casper the ghost for this great autumn event. It’s the only race in the entire universe that guarantees it will be haunted. Intrigued? It’s also the only 100 miler in the Live Free or Die state of NH and offers runners a choice of any multiple of 15 miles distance. We have over 100 ultrarunners in this year’s race, over half of which are 100 milers, and we want to show them our New England hospitality. Come and join us for an hour or a weekend. You can sign up here: http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=16401. Ghosts! Goblins! Mayhem! Hijinks! Don’t miss out!

There are two preview/training runs scheduled on this course for Saturday, September 13^th at 7:00 am and Saturday, October 13^th at 7:00 am (if you choose not to run the TARC Fall Classic). To learn more go to the Ghost Run Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/128914447155469/

Volunteers

We need volunteers for both the TARC Fall Classic and Ghost Train runs.

Need volunteer hours for an upcoming hundy? Have some spare time in the middle of the night and not sure what to do with it? Getting ready to celebrate Samhain? If the answer to any of these questions is “I dunno”, then you should really consider volunteering at the TARC Fall Classic and/or Ghost Train Rail Trail race. Please e-mail RD Bob Crowley at imbc@comcast.net for the TARC Fall Classic or harried RD Steven Latour at s_latour@hotmail.com for the Ghost Train run to volunteer.

Weekly Training Runs

Yep, we’ve got ‘em and they are happening just about every weekend like weeds growing the back yard. The best way to know what’s going on is to check in on our Facebook page where weekend runs are posted by members. Anyone can pull together a training run – just post it and watch the Animals come out of the woods!

Coming Soon – Train Animals On-line Store

We’ve had lots of requests for TARC gear from our membership. Folks want to rep the club in races, strut about town with Animal-wear and unleash the Animal inside. Although we try to keep the club low key and simple as possible, we hear you. So, we’ve been talking to a few possible gear manufacturers about partnering whereby we’d be able to offer great TARC logo running apparel and maybe some other gear, at very fair prices, all available to members on-line. Stay tuned as we hope to have more news in the coming weeks.

Well that got a little too long in the tooth so let’s leave it at that and wish all of you a healthy and happy fall season of getting dirty. See you on the trails. Run like a TRAIL Animal!

1st Annual TARC Spring Thaw Is A Scorcher!

bob — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:51:58 +0000

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/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Em-and-Yeti-150×150.jpg” alt=”trail running, trail running club, new england trail running” width=”150″ height=”150″ />Well the first annual TARC Spring “Thaw” really lived up to its name, although TARC RD Emily Trespas thinks maybe we should rename the race to the TARC Spring 6 Hour Swelter! With temperatures reaching 80+ degrees in March, it became a sultry New England event with all the runners experiencing their first heat training of

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the year ….in the race!

Preliminary results have been posted here and a more complete race report will follow.

Congratulations to all the participants and a big Trail Animals Yeti howl to Emily, for leading her first-ever race and her incredible team of talented volunteers who made the day easy, fun and exciting for all the runners. Hopefully those of you who were first timers to a trail running even have come to appreciate how great a sport we all have and how low-key, helpful and welcoming the collective trail running community is. We hope you've got the bug and will come back for more – training runs, races and volunteering.

Trail Running Volunteers Needed

bob — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:38:12 +0000

Volunteers needed!

Hey fellow Animals, we are actively recruiting volunteers for our TARC Spring Thaw (3/18) in Andover and Spring Classic (4/28) in Weston, MA. It’s a great way to get involved in the Club, support your fellow Critters and have some fun. Volunteering is also a really rewarding away to give back and pay-it-forward. Email Emilyat for the Spring Thaw (3/18) and Bob at for the Spring Classic (4/28) if you can pitch in (emails below). Roles include set up, trail marking, aid stations, traffic control, course monitoring, registration, scoring, cheerleading, clean up.

We have other TARC races at which you could volunteer. The full list is found here .

We also provide hours towards ultra runs that have volunteer hour requirements (i.e. VT100, WSER, et al).

Questions? Send us an email here.

Volunteer for Spring Classic with Bob: imbc@comcast.net

Volunteer for Spring Thaw with Emily:emily_trespas@yahoo.com

Summertime Trail Droppings….For Trail Runners

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:00:10 +0000

Wow, what a great summer it has been so far for trail running in New England, and beyond! …..but boy has it been stinkin' hot!

Congratulations to all the TARC members – too numerous to mention by name – who completed Western States 100, Umstead 100, Hardrock 100, Vermont 100, TRT 100, Death Races and a plethora of 50K and 50 milers over the past several months.payday loans onlineWe have had a tremendous showing of Animals at all trail runs and with fantastic finishes. And we have had more members giving trail running a try for the first time than ever before in 2011. The TARC Spring Classic, DRB 50K and 50 Miler, Wapack and Back and Fells Spring Trail Ultra all had record breaking participation rates. And the Trail Animal membership has swelled to over 500 critters in the pack!

But there is still much more coming your way this summer and fall……so read on and don’t miss out!

Standing Weekly Runs

Be sure to come out to one of our club’s standing weekly runs this summer and meet some of the other pack members. Go here: http://www.trailanimals.com/about/ to learn more.

Summer Classic 6 & 12 Hour Ultra – August 13^th – SOLD OUT ….but we need volunteers!

The next race in the TARC Trail Series, the inaugural TARC Summer Classic 12 and 6 Hour runs, is scheduled for Saturday August 13^th at 7 am in Medfield, MA, with parking at the Medfield Sportsman's Club at 75 Noon Hill Road, a couple of hundred yards from the start at Holt Pond. This race is completely sold out. We would love to have a large herd of Animals come out and volunteer to ensure a successful first running! Volunteers will be needed to set up, man, and break down the aid station (there will only be one manned aid station), check in the runners at the start of the race, keep track of the loops the runners have completed, make sure the unmanned water drop stays supplied with water, clean up the course, etc. I will likely mark the course the prior evening, so will arrange volunteers for that separately. Given the length of the event, we would expect most volunteers would want to work only part of the race, which is certainly understandable. We are hoping to get at least 15 – 20 volunteers, some starting as early as 5:30 – 6:00 am and some staying until as late as 8:00 pm or so to clean up. If you are interested in volunteering, please let us know as soon as possible (indicating the hours you would be available) so that we can get a count and recruit volunteers from outside TARC if necessary. Please email Chris Haley at chrishaley100@hotmail.com if you can help the pack by volunteering.

TARC Fall Classic – October 8^th – Is Open For Registration

The TARC Fall Classic (10k, half, marathon and 50K options) is open for registration! You can go to: http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=14070 and register for now – the race is to be held on Saturday, October 8^th in Lexington/Burlington, MA. It is highly likely this race will sell out so we urge you to sign up now while spots are still available. A low-key, low-frills, high-fun, and high-camaraderie event. No swag, no awards, and no whinning! We will ask everyone to bring some food to share at the aid station and will supplement with a variety of GU products, and some other special treats. Race results will go to Ultrarunning Magazine, Ultrasignup and Realendurance.com. Ideal trail race for those new to trail running as well as veteran ultra runners, as many people are yet to discover the location and trails. Distances offered: 10K, half-marathon, marathon and 50K. There will be a single aid station at start/finish. A limited number of technical short-sleeve t-shirts will be available for sale at runner check-in on race day until we run out. Be sure to bring bottle to carry hydration. Course Description: A tour of Burlington, MA's Landlocked Forest, a true oasis tucked between 128 and Rt. 3. The LLF features a great mix of single track, bike trails, and is all runable. There is an out-and-back section from the start/finish, which will be the Estabrook School in Lexington, MA, easily reached off of 128/I-95. The course is a 10K loop that is 100% trails, with a good mix of rolling terrain.

TARC Fells Winter Trail Ultra – December 3^rd – Is Open For Registration

As our beloved RD describes this special event: “A nightmarish course of rocks and roots with a bit of elevation thrown in. The race uses the Skyline Trail for a lovely 8 mile loop. There is a water drop at the half way point. This race starts at sunrise and ends at sundown. You have probably never run anything like it, unless you have. Please bring something delicious for the aid station. Oh, and it is in December in New England. It will be cold. You will probably not want to get out of bed to come to it, so only sign up if you really, really want to run. See you at the starting line!”

Go here now to sign up soon as there are only 35 spots available!: http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=14107

Thanks and happy trails!

Chris Haley, Josh Katzman, Bob Crowley, Steve Latour, Norm Sheppard

Trail Running TARCers Come Out Of Their Dens, Break Out Their Fur and Strut Their Stuff at The CCFFA50K

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:00:45 +0000