I currently (for one more week) live in a rather small town. It has all the small town charms and you pretty much end up knowing everyone pretty fast. As a runner, small towns have their perks; you’re way less likely to get hit by a car, you see a lot of the same people on the trails, and generally, most areas in town are very safe. In a week, I am moving to a metropolitan area of over 1 million. I imagine Salt Lake won’t have the small town charms of Manhattan, KS, however, I have already started to discover some of the major perks of being in a larger city.
I have found TONS of races around the Salt Lake area. As you all know, I am already signed up for the Utah Valley Marathon (there will be a giveaway for that next week in celebration of my move) and I am also running the Salt Lake Half Marathon. I also signed up for a fantastic race series put on by the Wasatch Trail Runners. It is a total of 9 races; all on Wednesday nights, and the races are either 4 or 8 miles on fantastic trail around the SLC area. There are points for each race and at the end of the season, they tally it up and declare a winner. I have no idea what the winner gets, but it sounds like a fun time to me.
I have already purchased a trail race season pass and my first race with the Wasatch Trail Runners is on March 29. I will blog about each of these races and talk a little about trail running in one of the trail Meccas of the country. My race schedule for fall was very sparse which made it hard to have much blogging material. Now, it’s almost unlimited! I have no goals for these races. I’ll run them for fun and to hopefully meet other runners in the area (seriously guys, I need some friends out there).
Although I will miss many of the small town charms of Manhattan, KS, I am very excited to have a chance to meet some new running partners. I have a ton of trails to explore and an entire city to entertain me! I always have had trouble finding races in my area, and I am especially excited to have some on weeknights so my weekends can stay free for hiking and backpacking with Frank!
Have you ever run a race series? Is there any good trail running or racing near you? Have you participated?
BTW: If any of you are in the SLC area, definitely visit their website and consider signing up for the trail racing series package. It ends up being $13 per race, and really, you can’t beat that. Each race takes place at 6:30 pm and they are at a few different spots within a 45-minute radius of SLC. I’d love to meet some fellow runners and bloggers!
She Runs the Wasatch 
While it’s hard for me to move to a new place — I’m shy & an introvert — I’m also glad that we’ve lived in 3 different states (actually, we’ve both lived in 4 different states, but a couple were on our own before we were married). It gives you a different perspective.
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The trail series sounds perfect! I am always nervous to run trail alone and explore new areas but because it is a race, you will feel super safe! And you seriously can’t beat $13. There are some nice trails here. Some are at State Parks and then there are also lots of places to hop on the Appalachian Trail.
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That sound so cool! You certainly can’t pass up $13 a race. The area looks beautiful. I’d love to run out there. They are just starting up a race series in my town, but I can’t make all of the dates due to other race commitments.
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Hi Kerry. I just found your blog via Hanna of Millenial Runner fame. I am a somewhat lapsed blogger but have been living in SLC for the last 7 years and have run both the SLC half and the Ogden full. Currently recovering from (another) strained muscle but just thought I’d say hi and welcome to Utah.
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Welcome to Utah! It was a great race last night for the Wasatch Trail Series! Might I recommend the Revel Big Cottonwood marathon this summer? Great scenery, fast, and did I mention, fast?! Happy Running!
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It was such a great race! I was so happy to be able to run it despite my recent injury. I’m running St. George in October, but that half marathon has me very intrigued! Are you involved in the race at all? I very well might sign up!
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Injuries are a bummer right?! Glad the race went well!!
On the Revel, we ran the Big Cottonwood marathon last year, my wife ended up BQ’ing with a 3:27 and I PR’d with a 3:09 (4 minutes shy of qualifying ha ha). The course was crazy fast! The vibe is intense, everyone around you is pumped up. We’ll be repeat participants until we can’t stand on our own will! You should totally put a pin in it!
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I went to school in Manhattan and lived there for six years! I currently live in Boulder, CO, a trail running mecca to be sure. I’m curious regarding what trails you run around on near the “Little Apple?” My sister still lives there, so I do visit occasionally. Go Wildcats!
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There isn’t much out there and was one of the reasons I really wanted to move. I highly suggest running out at Konza Prairie. I went out there a lot and there is a 4 or 6 mile course that is a really great run. Also, the river trails are very good, but I was almost clobbered by a mountain biker on them once, which scared me a lot. The Linear Trail was always my go to for a training run, and I occasionally went out to Fancy Creek. If you are looking for hills, definitely consider hill repeats at Manhattan Hill. Hope that helps!
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