I’m always searching for those unique races that offer not just a physical challenge but also a chance at an adventure. The Flirt with Dirt Trail race is one such event.
Flirt with Dirt takes place on the beautiful trails of Maybury State Park in Wayne County, Michigan. Its 5K and 10K options are appealing on their own, but it was the Dirty Duo challenge that captured my interest. The Dirty Duo allows participants to run both distances back-to-back, creating a fun and unique experience.
The 5K Course
Participants of the Dirty Duo needed to cross the finish line of the 5K in under 45 minutes in order to make it back to the start line in time for the 10K. The sooner you returned, the more time in between the races you had to recover.
The course itself was a beautiful loop through Maybury’s wooded trails. I loved that it was almost entirely trail with very minimal time spent on pavement, gravel or grass.
We started on a wide pavement section to allow time for runners to spread out and get into their stride before moving onto singletrack. This is one of the only trail races that I recall where we didn’t end up in a conga line. The start of the course was well thought out to create a great experience for all runners.
While not overly technical, the trail did offer plenty to keep us on our toes with its abundance of roots and rocks, plus enough rolling hills to keep things interesting.
After crossing the 5K finish line, Dirty Duo participants were instructed to hold off on collecting our finisher’s medal until after we completed the 10K course. We were eligible for overall awards for placing in our age groups for the 5K and the 10K individually, and could pick up those awards after completing the race.
The 10K Course
Forty-five minutes after the 5K had started, the 10K began.
The initial and final sections mirrored the 5K course. In addition, the 10K course was extended to include a large loop around a beautiful wetland and a smaller loop through an open field. The heavily wooded section around the wetland was one of my favorite parts of the course. The section through the open field was my least favorite, but thankfully, it was relatively short.
Both races were well-supported. The 10K had two aid stations placed along the route. The aid stations had Gatorade and water.
The course, in my opinion, was mostly well-marked. There was one section where I did miss the flags, or the trail wasn’t marked very well, but I was only slightly off course, and it was easily correctable. However, there were other people who got confused and went the wrong way or missed flags and struggled to get back on route.
There is a 90-minute cutoff for the 10K.
Overall
The Flirt with Dirt is a fun and unique race that is an excellent opportunity for those interested in getting into trail running. Maybury State Park is a beautiful location and has a little bit of everything.
The race in general was well-marked, had amazing volunteers who were friendly and helpful, and overall was a great way to get some miles in for the day.
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