By David Beers

If you have ever seen a blur of colorfully dressed people running through the Norfolk woods in the evening, it is likely the Hill County Trail Runners. This informal Norfolk-based club gets together at 5:30 every Tuesday evening to run the many beautiful trails in and near Norfolk. Each week features a different location and a different run, with some favorite running routes visited often. The runs are three to five miles in length and take an hour to an hour and half. This summer’s schedule includes various state lands and land trust holdings, including Pine Mountain, Burr Pond, Thousand Acre Swamp, Tobey Pond, Dean’s Ravine, People’s Forest, Great Mountain Forest and Mad River Dam.

Over three years ago, a Norfolk couple, Molly Peterson and Ryan Williams, started the running group. Initially the runs were on Thursday nights, but they were recently switched to Tuesday nights so as not to conflict with local mountain bike rides. Regardless of weather, the runners hit the trails together. Sometimes winter running requires headlamps and metal traction on sneakers, or even running with snowshoes.

There are currently about 10 regulars, with others showing up as schedules allow. Ages range from the teens to the 60s. A group email is sent out each week with an updated schedule and a reminder about the upcoming run, including directions. The group also maintains a Facebook page, with most participants finding out about the running group through word of mouth. The warm summer night I showed up there were 13 excited runners.

A steady and relatively slow endurance pace is the norm, allowing most runners not to get too winded, which makes for lively conversations during the runs. The group waits at trail intersections to ensure that everyone stays together and no one gets lost. While the majority of the running occurs on blazed hiking trails and dirt roads, occasionally a paved road must be traversed to get from one trail to another.

The club has a brief, informal business meeting every two months at the home of one of the runners to create the running schedule and to have a potluck supper. Wayne Smith summed up the trail runners’ outlook by saying, “A treadmill beats nothing, a road beats a treadmill, but nothing beats a trail.”

If you would like to try out a trail run with the Hill County Runners, the first Tuesday of each month is best for beginners, with a truncated run route available. You can visit their Facebook site at facebook.com/hillcountyrunners.

This is the second in a series about club activities in Norfolk.

Photo, top, of the Hill County Trail Runners setting off on a run through Norfolk’s Great Mountain Forest, by Bruce Frisch.