Another fantastic year!

Well, another Loup Garou Trail Run is in the books, and what an incredible weekend it was.  We were fortunate enough to have runners from 25 states and 2 countries joining us on the trail, and enjoying the most beautiful trail Louisiana has to offer.  From start to finish, there were smiling faces, tired legs and full bellies.  

The finisher percentages are as follows:

100 miler - 62% finish rate (vs 68% last year - the mud took its toll)

60 miler - 89% finish rate 

40 miler - 100% finish rate

20 miler - 99% finish rate (just one dnf out of 101 starters)

All day we were able to witness the sweetest, most inspirational moments at the finish line, and I smelled worse than the runners after all of the sweaty runners I hugged - and I wouldn't have it any other way! From watching a 19 year old, Alex Paille, finish his first 100 miler in under 24 hours to watching Nofal Musfy, our oldest participant at 76 years of age, finish the 60 miler, it was quite an incredible day. 

Months of preparation and planning go into these events to be sure that everything is perfect for you guys, and when it is over, it takes a while to process everything that happened.  We are already looking at ways we can make it even better for you guys, and what we can do to give you the best possible race experience (like adding a porta potty at AS1 - no more bucket :-) ).  

The trail is completely cleared of any markings or accidental runner trash (because I am sure none of you would litter in our beautiful park on purpose), and I personally checked each aid station spot, and there is no evidence that an event ever took place this weekend.  My Paix family is pretty darn amazing!  The donation has been made to the non profit that helps to maintain the trails and facilities at Chicot State Park - THANK YOU for making that possible - and the Aid Station winner will be announced soon, along with the charity that they choose.

We saw a 65% growth in registrants 2018 over 2017, and I know that 2019 will bring an even larger turnout - mainly because of the incredible individuals who worked the aid stations and took such good care of you.  Big thanks to the Mud N Guts crew at AS1 (MnG is our local trail running family, and Chicot is our home turf), the LUR crew at AS2 (Louisiana Ultra Runners is a great group of people from around the state who support each other and all of our local races.  Great people, great runners.), our Sloth crew at AS3 (the Sloths are made up of local trail runners from right around Chicot, who are some of the kindest and funniest folks you will ever meet.), and our Shipley station at AS4 (Jeff and Erin Shipley are the ones responsible for bringing you espresso and all of the bean burritos you can eat.  Erin is also our indispensable medical expert for our races - some of you got to know her well.)  

Sloths Aid Station - a welcome sight after a long 8 miles

Our Mud n Guts family minus one very important member.

Is that an espresso machine I see?  Thanks Shipley's! 

Yes, that is whiskey.  LUR style. 

Besides the people you see, there are tons that you don't see - just to name a few: logistics crew:  Randy and Kristen (X), timing: Brian, finish line food: Fawn, Justin and Derrek, moral support and advising: Joe P.; merchandise, awards, and everything else, Denise.... and so many more....

Denise - packet pickup, merch,
spreadsheet connoisseur

Fawn - finish line food,
last minute pacer, cuteness

Randy - logistics, aid stations,
reliable beer source

Justin - cook, heavy lifting, 
comic relief

  

     

X - Aid station 
expert, beer taster

Brian - sleepless timing guy

I want to thank you from all of our Paix Running family for sharing your weekend with us.  It was an honor to meet all of you and tend to your needs so that you could run without worry.  Being able to watch you guys reach new goals is so rewarding for all of us, and we are honored to have been a small part in your success.  Hope to see you all again next year!  Registration is open!  Click the registration tab for more info.

Happy Running!  

Edie

Supreme Rice at "La Taverne"

We LOVE local companies, and it doesn't get more local than Supreme Rice located in Crowley, Louisiana.  With their help, our runners and crew will be well taken care of for this year's Loup Garou Trail Run! 

When it is time for gumbo season, support the companies that support you! 

Loup Garou 2018

The excitement for Loup Garou is building!  I can't wait to see all of our runners out there, because I know it will be another fun year.  We have Ann Trayson joining us to run the 40 miler, and we could not be happier about that!  She is such an inspiration to so many, and we get to show her some Cajun hospitality. We are also having our Battle of the Aid Stations, once again, where the Sloths will be attempting to defend their title but it won't be without stiff competition from the others! 

Jaime, Josh, Shaun, Heath and Marcus.  And that is a golden cypress knee award, in case you were wondering.  :-) 

This year, we will be offering vegan options at every aid station, alongside the meatatarian options. (Just learned that meatatarian is actually a word!  Wow!) 

As always, there will be plenty of hot food and cold beer after you finish, and our 100 mile finishers can look forward to breakfast cooked to order as they cross the finish line.  We are from south Louisiana, it's what we do. 

Click the registration or race info tab for any questions, and I hope to see you all again in December. Here's a little trail video from our first year to get you fired up.  

Happy Running!

Edie

200 & 500 Mile Club

As we close the books on Loup Garou 2017, I wanted to give you all more details on the Loup Garou 200 & 500 Mile Clubs.  Click the picture above for a quick video of me explaining the idea and where it came from.

I am so touched by the loyalty many of you have shown to me, and I want to find a cool way to give something back to you. For those of you who are NOT interested in running a 100 miler (it's not for everyone), I have created the 200 Mile Club.  Once the total of the miles you have run at Loup Garou total 200 miles, in any combination you choose (10 - 20 milers, 2 - 40 milers and 2 - 60 milers, etc), you will become a member of the 200 Mile Club.  You will receive an award similar to the one pictured above or something equally cool, and your name will forever be seen on the Loup Garou and Paix Running websites.

The 500 mile club is for those of you with a total of 500 miles on the Loup Garou trail, including at least one 100 miler.  Once you reach 500 miles, you get to choose between a cool award or an embroidered jacket with "500 Mile Club",  along with listing on the Loup Garou and Paix Running websites.

Again, this is just a small way of paying you guys back for your loyalty, and give you something to work towards.  Hopefully one day we will be able to start a "1,000 Mile Club".

Happy Running, Y'all!

Edie

2017 - WOW and THANK YOU

Well, 127 runners took place in the first annual Loup Garou Trail Run, with 12 states and Japan  being represented.  A great time was had by all, and some pretty amazing things happened.  The 20 mile winner, Jason Wheat, set a pretty blazing time of 2 hours and 24 minutes, while the 40 miler was all about girl power with Sara Lopes as the overall winner at 7:01 and  our most experienced runner, Terri Hayes, a 74 year young runner from Florida finished in 15:44.  The 60 miler was no less exciting with the overall winner being Mark Allen from Texas.  Mark ran (and won) the 60 miler while celebrating his 60th birthday on the trail!  And, of course, the story of the night was the smoking fast time of Mark Hammond for the 100 miler - 14 hours and 32 minutes - and all with a smile on his face.  

Thank you to everyone who joined us.  My volunteers and I had so much fun taking care of all of you while you did incredible things! 

Here is a link to some of the pictures from the weekend.  (Click the picture)

Registration for Loup Garou 2018 is OPEN!  Go to the Registration tab at the top of the page for more info.  See you in December! 

Sample Training Plan for the 40 Miler

Here is a sample 40 mile training plan.  Adjust it to fit into your schedule.  I based it on running 4 days a week because I never run more than that, but if you feel compelled to add a day, go for it.  I would suggest doing some type of moderate speedwork on the Tuesday, and make at least a part of your Thursday run a hill workout (parking towers, stairs, something). 

Our Chicot!

Nothing makes me happier than seeing my favorite place on earth displayed in such a beautiful way.  I have run the 20 mile loop around Lake Chicot more times than I can count, and every single time I am blown away by her beauty.  Here is a short video some friends put together so that you can get an idea of what you will get to see if you sign up for Loup Garou.  It won't be quite as green in December, but it will be even more beautiful! 

Here we go....

It is hard to put into words how excited I am to say this... because of the high interest in this event, we have decided to start it a year earlier than expected, and host the inaugural Loup Garou Trail Run THIS December!!  That's right!  December 16th, 2017, will officially be the first installment of what I know will become one of the most loved trail races in Louisiana - and that is saying a lot considering the great work my race director buddies are doing in our great state.

I was hesitant to start this race up this year for a couple of reasons, one of which being finances.  It is incredibly important to me that if I am going to put on a race, I am going to do it right, with no expense spared to give the runners the best possible experience.  I was planning on saving up over the next year to prepare for Loup Garou 2018, but I am blessed to have so many people that believe in what we are doing here that I have had multiple people offer to back the race financially, knowing it will be a high quality event.

I have also had many runners express their impatience in waiting for the 2018 date (how amazing are you people, anyway?).  So, I accepted a friend of Paix Running's offer to help to get this race off the ground and it is official. The date is set.  My next step was reaching out to my key volunteers, and the quickness of their response time and the enthusiasm of their answers further confirmed that this is the right decision.  Every one was a whole-hearted "YES" or "ABSOLUTELY", or "HOT DAMN!  THAT IS EXCITING!!" (my personal favorite).

So, the volunteers are in place, the venue is booked (I love working with our Office of State Parks - good people), the logo is being amended to say 2017, and I am SO EXCITED!!  I can not wait to bring people to this incredibly beautiful trail - our stomping grounds and favorite training spot.

The registration will be open on Ultrasignup shortly - I will keep you posted.  Thank you all for your support and confidence in our Paix Running team. Our Louisiana trail running family is pretty special.

Happy Running! 

Edie