Trail Weekend is a popular trail race in the area and for good reason. Held in the beautiful Pinckney Recreation Area, it is one of the most challenging courses in the region. Offering 4 distances, it is a fantastic race for anyone who loves the trail.
Last year I participated in the half marathon intending to return and tackle the 50K this year. I’m very happy that I was able to complete that goal.
The Trail Weekend Course
All 4 distances followed looped courses. The half and the full marathon followed the pink loop (13.1 miles). The 50K completed both the pink and blue (5 miles) courses.
The race began at the Silver Lake parking area. The only complaint I have about this race is that the half, full, and 50K started at the same time. This created a lot of congestion for the first one or two miles of the race.
From the start, the course followed Lousely Lake Trail for a short distance where the first of the hills appeared. After that, we were dropped onto Silver Hill Road, which gave us a brief opportunity to spread out before turning onto the Potawatomi Trail.
The next 12.5 miles were spent climbing and descending hill after hill. While the trail was not incredibly technical, there were plenty of rocks and tree roots to navigate along the way. The primary challenge was the hills. The difficulty of this course was rewarded by the beautiful forested views, creeks, and lakes that appeared along the way.
Roughly 2.5 miles from the loop finish, the Potawatomi Trail joined the Crooked Lake Trail. This section was part of the 5-mile loop. Those of us running the 50k ran this section 3 times…so naturally, it had to contain the largest hill on the course.
After completing the 13.1-mile loop twice, 50K runners started the final 5 miles. We headed up a dirt road for about 0.5 miles before turning onto the Crooked Lake Trail loop…where we were greeted by a really big hill. The first of many.
This section was particularly hard for me because it was exposed to the heat of the day. However, around the halfway point where the Potawatomi joined the Crooked Lake Trail, the forest moved back in and shielded the trail from the sun to the finish.
All in all, a fantastic race course.
The Goodies
All finishers received a very cool wooden finisher medal. Participants received a coupon for a slice of Little Caeser’s pizza and a ticket into the beer tent, post-race with their bibs.
Optional add-ons were available, such as a t-shirt, but I didn’t get anything.
Those who finished in the top 3 of their age group received a mug of their choosing.
Overall
The trail race community is always amazing. However, during this race, I was surprised by the encouragement from people who were hiking the trails and had no affiliation with the race. Nearly every single person I encountered showed support. It truly was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.
I highly recommend this race to anyone who is looking for an enjoyable and challenging day in the woods with great people. It will be hard to find a better trail race in south Michigan.
For more information visit, Trail Weekend.