The first race, dubbed “MTU Madness” will be a trek through the Tech Trails starting at 9 a.m.

Houghton and Michigan Tech graduate Clayton Sayen, who manages the Copper Country Running Company’s local store on Shelden Avenue in Houghton, felt that since he spends so much time running in the Copper Country and he wanted to find ways to give local runners a chance to race something other than a half marathon or a triathlon.

“I’m doing this because since we’ve opened, and I guess throughout the years I’ve been here, there’s been a fairly large trail running community,” he said. “We have great trails around here, but there’s really never any races.

“So what I wanted to do is give all the local racers, or even those who like to run the trails, not necessarily race, an opportunity to do something organized. Give them a reason to go out to the trails and actually use them.”

The second race will be on Sept. 9 at the Swedetown Trails and will be called the “Swedetown Shuffle,” at a distance of 8k. The third race will take place on Sept. 23 at the Maasto/Churning Trails and will be called the “Churning Rapids Challenge,” at a distance of 12k.

Sayen gave a simple reason for the varying distances.

“I just wanted to break up the monotony of running 5k’s, because people run 5k’s all the time,” he said. “I’d imagine that people think (not) another 5k, but (if) they see a four-mile or a five-mile, or an 8k, they might think like, ‘Oh, it’s something different, let’s give that a try. I haven’t done that distance before.'”

In talking with other local runners, Sayen admits he has gotten some very clear advice.

“I guess part of the feedback is the longer, the better,” he said.

There is still time to register, and the cost is $10 per race, or if you want to sign up for multiple races, the cost is $20.

“We wanted to keep it (the cost) pretty low just because it’s not like we’re using any fancy timing equipment, but (it is) enough to make it worth their while,” said Sayen.

Prizes will be provided for the top finishers of each race. The top three finishers, both male and female, will be recognized for their achievements.

“Race winners will get a $25 gift certificate to the store,” Sayen said.

While Sayen is excited to promote the CCRC’s store, the Trail Series has another level of accomplishment that will be recognized. If racers participate in multiple races, they have a chance to earn points towards a larger prize at the end of the series.

“This is where I think this is cool,” said Sayen. If you participate in multiple races, and you place high up, I don’t remember the exact scoring breakdown, but say you win the first race, you’ll get 25 points. Then it’s kind of just like scoring Formula One or something, where you can just accrue your points. At the end of it all, the top five, male and female, highest point scores over the course of the series, that’s where the bigger prizes are.”

Sayen said that the local trail organizations are very excited to have their trails featured as part of the series.

“I think it’s a cool thing just for the community to know about,” he said. “The runners that read the paper, which I’m sure there are plenty, know they get to see that there’s something going on the trails. Everybody knows the Michigan Tech Trails, but Swedetown and Maasto Hiito, or the Churning Rapids trails, a lot of people don’t really know about them.

“The trail organizations, they’re super fired up about this. They want to have their trail system shown off. Maasto Hiito just got a huge grant, and they fixed up all their biking trails, running trails, skiing trails. So they’re all like, ‘Yeah, we want to show them off,’ but they don’t have the time or the resources to broadcast it, because it’s just trails.”

Each trail organization set the race map for their corresponding race. Also, the CCRC’s store anniversary is coming up on Oct. 1, so Sayen feels that the series is a nice kickoff to their one-year anniversary.

“We’re using their race maps, like their routes that they’ve made for us,” Sayen said. “This is kind of part of a longer term plan to build up exposure for the trails, as well as our store, and then lead into the fall with something huge.”

Race maps, including parking, are featured on the website for the series.