Joining the Pack Otherwise Known as the Trail Animals Running Club (TARC)

They had me at the name. I ran into one of the members of the Trail Animals Running Club (TARC) at our local Lululemon brainstorming session, and she mentioned the group as a fun way to get into trail running. I really love running on trails, but it is definitely nice to have some company when you do it—especially if you aren’t familiar with the area!

TARC has weekly organized group runs on Saturdays that meet in two different locations. Two things I loved right off the bat about the group: it’s free to join and it welcomes ALL levels of trail runners (even the trail race virgins like me!).

One of the reasons I am looking forward to doing trail running and races is the varied terrain. Running on the roads or bike paths all the time gets a little monotonous after a while, both mentally and physically.

Since the terrain is always varied, you don’t have the same repetitive motions/forces that you get from running on the road. I also really like being out in nature and away from the rat race, so I think it will be a good match.

I signed up for the TARC Fall Classic, which will be my first EVER trail race (October 13). There are several different distance options—I am going to do the 10K which is the shortest.

I am not putting any pressure on myself for this race—I just want to finish it and have fun. Hey, it’s an automatic PR anyway since I have never run a trail race or a 10K!

Today was an ABSOLUTELY beautiful day here in Rhode Island. It was cool in the morning and never left the 70s. Sheer perfection in my book! Since it was an off day for running, the boys and I decided to hit the Audubon Educational Center in Bristol. We followed the boardwalk down to the ocean, looking for butterflies, frogs (only 2 today!), and birds along the way.

The day could really not have been more perfect. I love this weather!!