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A group of Sioux Falls runners spent time in the Blue Mounds State Park Sunday morning to get a feel for the rocks and rills and natural terrain the park trails have to offer.
Fourteen people completed an eight-mile preview run as part of their planning for next spring’s “Pound the Mound” foot race to benefit The Friends of Blue Mounds State Park.
Sioux Falls organizer Heather Namminga said the Blue Mounds State Park is popular with trail runners because it offers more than 10 miles of distance without repeating.
For ultra trail runners, like her boyfriend Kyle Raverty, the park setting has the right mix of hills and rocks and grass that athletes seek for training.
“Kyle competes in 100-mile races, and he’ll do 25 miles for a training run,” said Namminga, who is organizing Pound the Mound.
“His races take him over all kinds of terrain, so the rocks and cliff trails in the Blue Mounds are really good training for mountain races.”
Raverty volunteered for some “Adopt-a-Craig” trail maintenance with Friends of the Blue Mounds State Park and was approached about organizing a race to benefit the local group’s efforts.
Pound the Mound will be at 7 a.m. Saturday, May 16, 2020, with options to run one, two or three loops.
The course is approximately a 10.4-mile loop. Three loops is a 50k distance.
Namminga said course testers on Sunday enjoyed the route — especially the new foot bridge on the northeast end where the dam used to be.
She acknowledged that trails in the past few years have remained wet for a good share of the hiking season, especially in the spring. But she said trail runners welcome the challenge.
“They want it to be muddy, rocky and rooty,” she said. “They love it. It’s part of the culture.”
The event will be co-sponsored by Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota.
To register, see the group’s Pound the Mound event page on Facebook.