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.)
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| Sloths Aid Station - a welcome sight after a long 8 miles |
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| Our Mud n Guts family minus one very important member. |
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| Is that an espresso machine I see? Thanks Shipley's! |
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| 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....
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| Denise - packet pickup, merch, spreadsheet connoisseur |
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| Fawn - finish line food, last minute pacer, cuteness |
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| Randy - logistics, aid stations, reliable beer source |
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| Justin - cook, heavy lifting, comic relief |
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| X - Aid station expert, beer taster |
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| 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
