The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Sports

Muddy Shoes and Brews Trail Series

When
6 p.m. Thursday (Seven Mile Creek Park), July 19 (Rasmussen Woods), Aug. 16 (Seven Mile Creek Park), Sept. 20 (Flandrau State Park)
Distance
5-8 miles
Cost
$30 (includes T-shirt and beverages following each race)

Related Photos

  • Matt Lutz (left) and Becky Brudwick are the organizers of the first Muddy Shoes and Brews Trail Series that will begin Thursday at Seven Mile Creek Park. The four-race series will also take place at Rasmussen Woods (pictured) and New Ulm’s Flandrau State Park. The Free Press

    trail run.jpg

June 18, 2012

Muddy Shoes and Brews Trail Series takes Laid-back approach

By Shane Frederick Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — With more than 200 runners partaking in each of the first two 7 @ 7 trail races, Becky Brudwick and Matt Lutz figured there was plenty of room for more trail races in the area.

“There are a lot of resources around Mankato,” Lutz said. “We thought, ‘Why not do something with that?’”

The result is the first Muddy Shoes and Brews Trail Series, which will begin Thursday evening at Seven Mile Creek Park.

The four-race series will take place once a month, using trails at Seven Mile Creek, Rasmussen Woods and New Ulm’s Flandrau State Park.

“The trails are so nice in Mankato,” Brudwick said. “They’re not real technical, and they’re pretty smooth. Anybody can run them.”

The two organizers are hard-core trail runners. Lutz has competed in two 100-mile ultra-marathons, as well as two 50-milers and four 50-kilometer runs. Brudwick has run one 50-mile trail race as well as a 50K.

However, the Muddy Shoes and Brews races are for runners of all abilities and organized as a fun and non-intimidating event, Brudwick and Lutz said.

Races will be 5 to 8 miles in length, and the field will be handicapped based on experience and previous times. It’s also affordable, with a $30 registration fee for all four races. (The organizers also ask participants to bring a watch for self-timekeeping, a water bottle and bug spray.) And as the name of the series suggests, there will be some beverages available following the running.

“It will be a laid-back atmosphere,” Brudwick said. “It’s a good way to draw people to the trails and develop some camaraderie.”

Chris Crocker of the Greater Mankato Multisport Club said the series is part of a growing trend of getting people together to exercise — to run, bike and swim in groups or as families, rather than doing those things alone. Races like the 7 @ 7 and events like the Isle of Mankato Time Trial biking series held Wednesday evenings in North Mankato have popped up throughout the community, creating options beyond the weekend 5K fun runs.

“It’s a labor of love,” Crocker said. “Everybody involved in these things all have busy jobs. But they do it because they want more people participating. ... If you can get on your bike or on the trail with other people, that’s cool.”

Naturally, Brudwick and Lutz are both advocates of trail running, which they say is better on runners’ bodies and cooler with plenty of shade in the summer heat.

“I just enjoy trail running so much,” Brudwick said. “I feel like a kid, bounding over rocks and things. I want to share that.”

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