2025 may be coming to an end, but I want to think back to early May (remember spring?) when I ran my first trail race of the 2025 season at Happy Trails’ Rugged Raccoon.
The Rugged Raccoon is a looped trail race in the Wildwood Conservation Area in St. Mary’s, Ontario, offering a 25k, a 50k, and a night 10k and separate night 25k. I opted for the night 25k and what a fun evening it was!
The course is pretty flat as far as trail races go. According to my Strava the 25k has only about 350m of vert for the whole loop, which makes it a great way to add a hard effort to the start of your season. Flat(ish) doesn’t mean boring though! Since the course takes you around either side of Trout Creek, you get plenty of views of the sun setting over the water and then eventually behind the trees. I wish I had some lovely photos to show you but I was busy racing my legs off, so you’ll just have to go out there next spring to see for yourself.
I was a bit nervous heading into this race. I was certainly comfortable with the distance and terrain, and hadn’t really set any goals other than having fun and finishing strong. I had just returned from an academic conference in Croatia, so I’d been able to scramble around on some trails in Dubrovnik. Unfortunately I’d been dealing with a nagging shin injury, so I wasn’t sure how my shin would feel over the course of a 25 kilometer race. I’d been diligent with my rehab though, and added a big honkin’ calcium supplement to my daily routine, so I went out hard and hoped for the best.
This turned out to be the right move. I felt confident and comfortable for the first two thirds of the race. I’d spent a lot of the winter honing my fuelling strategy and training my stomach to accommodate 70-80g of carbs per hour, even at higher output levels. I won’t lie I did have some minor GI issues near the end of the race, but I was happy with how I was able to execute my fuelling plan.
I put on my headlamp around 2/3 of the way through the race. I love running and racing in the dark and with the Rugged Raccoon I really got to enjoy myself bopping around on some dark but very well-cleared trails.
After running and saying hi to many runners doing other distances (and unfortunately declining an aid station pierogi) I crossed the finish line, finishing 18th overall and third in the women’s division, a result that genuinely surprised me. I was so happy to see my pacing risk pay off, and I finished without any shin pain.
I would absolutely recommend the Rugged Raccoon, or any Happy Trails race. At this point I’ve done five unique Happy Trails races a total of seven times. Their support is always fantastic, and they accommodate any and every fuelling desire at their aid stations. The courses are always so well marked, and I always love that you can show up ready to rip or just have a good time and the race environment and infrastructure is able to accommodate both those desires. They put on great trail races whether it’s your first time venturing off road or you’re a seasoned pro at extracting dirt from your toenails.
So, see you there next year?
