Exciting Things Happening!

My name is Edie and I love my job.  Or, should I say, "I love my jobs!"  I work full time for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a fundraiser, and for fun, I put on trail races.  I hesitate to say that either of those are jobs, though, because I honestly love doing both of them.  

I currently have three trail races that I host:  Red Dirt Ultra, Loup Garou Trail Run, and Chicot Challenge 100 Mile Trail Relay, all in my beautiful home state of Louisiana! 

I started running trails in 2008 and ultra distance trail races in 2009.  Since then I have run 27ish (I can't remember) ultras, with 4 of them being 100 milers.  Leading into 2015, I started to see some race directors around the country who didn't seem to have their runners' safety and success as their top priority.  Many of my early ultras were put on by Joe Prusaitis, formerly of Tejas Trails, and those wonderful events were what formed my idea of what a trail race should be.  I guess I was spoiled.  Joe's races always had well stocked aid stations, most being manned by experienced trail and ultra runners,  his courses were well marked and nearly impossible to get lost on, and he was a fixture at the finish line, handing out medals, buckles and hugs (he gives the BEST post-race hugs) to every single runner.  Since then, Joe has retired, but he remains a dear friend and inspiration for Paix Running.

It was after a few cringe-worthy experiences at other trail races that I had my revelation - that our sport and our runners deserved better.  Hence, the birth of Paix Running (paix=peace in French).  Next month we are hosting the inaugural Loup Garou Trail Run on our home trail of Chicot State Park in Ville Platte, Louisiana.  My volunteers and I know every inch of this trail and love our girl (we have deemed the Chicot trail female because she can be a beauty and a beast all on the same run - I'm a girl, I can say that).  We are all excited to show off her beauty to all of the runners coming out there for the first time.  I think my team and I are more excited than you guys are for this race! 

I just unveiled the ever growing list of First Timers at Red Dirt (more details HERE) and I will be making an exciting announcement about Loup Garou in the next couple of days via video (HINT: You will want to come back.) 

We will also be leading a group up to the Red Dirt trail soon for a group run, so stay tuned for more info on that here.   

Phew!  So much going on, and I could not be happier to share it all with you.  Check back here for updates, but until then, Happy Running, Y'all!  - Edie

That's me after a 50 mile training run on the levee.  Happy to be finished!