As usual, we are blown away and humbled by you guys! Thank you for joining us for the weekend to run the 8th Annual Loup Garou Trail Run. It was a tough year, but a great one. So many amazing milestones were reached, from Mrs. Yvonne being our "Most Seasoned" finisher of the 20 miler at 78 years young, to TWO 15 year old 100 mile finishers, to Mike Smith(67) finishing his 229th 100 miler with us (and his 8th Loup Garou 100 miler).
It is easy to get wrapped up with all of these accomplishments, but in no way do these overshadow the personal achievements of our other runners. We had so many first timers attempting a new distance this year, and that is where the real courage is found - whether you finished or not, just reaching the start line of a race like this takes incredible bravery. Thank you for trusting us enough to attempt to reach new goals here!
The week leading up to Loup Garou was a wet one in Ville Platte, but we were hopeful that the trail would dry out. By Friday, when our expert trail marker, Aaron Artigue, did the loop, he felt like the trail was in pretty good shape. Saturday morning brought a light drizzle that carried on throughout the day, making the trail good for the 20 milers but growing sloppier as the day went on for the ultra distances. Combine the light rain with cold temps, and it made for an extra challenging overnight run.
Drop rates were the highest this year for the 100 miler since the covid years where the course was an out and back totaling 106 very hilly miles. Everyone was feeling it by the end. The added challenge of wet feet, sticky mud and cold temps caused over 1/2 of our 100 mile runners to decide that discretion is, in fact, the better part of valor, and end their races early. For those who stuck with it, it meant slower finish times and extended discomfort.
In the end, regardless of distance run, the race was what I would consider a resounding success. What are the metrics that I use to declare an event a success? Our overall registration numbers were a little down this year - isn't that disappointing? No. The people who showed up are the ones who were supposed to spend the weekend with us. There were so many hugs and smiles this weekend, it really did feel like we were at a family reunion (but with family you want to visit with). Yes, cool stuff happened on the trail, but cool stuff happened at the start/finish area as well. Friends were made, phone numbers were exchanged, and REAL connections happened!
Were there disappointing parts? Yep. Someone felt the need to steal candles out of two of the three porta potties at the start/finish. Really not a big deal, but those are put there for runner comfort to mask that late-in-the-race porta potty aroma. Also, this year we had a higher than average number of litter bugs among our runners. That is the most disappointing part. Some litter is accidental, of course, but the volume of it this year - cups, nutrition wrappers, etc., was really disappointing. When we invite runners to share our home trail, we are inviting you onto hallowed ground. This is what many of us consider our sacred place, and to see it disrespected is pretty sad. Thankfully, we have amazing runners who love our trail too, so they ran behind the litterbugs and picked up their trash. How sad that that is necessary.
All in all though, 2024 went into the books as another amazing event because of YOU!!! Thank you for coming and thank you once again for trusting us with this major event in your life. We know how important it is to you and believe me when I say that it is just as important to us!
2025 registration is OPEN! Hard to believe there are only two more Loup Garou's left, with 2026 being the final year, but we are all more committed than ever to make these next two years the best yet! See you on December 6th, 2025. https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=122275
Happy Running!
Edie
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