Get Your Rear In Gear

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off the field

Get Your Rear in Gear

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A local running group focuses on long-distance trail runs.

Tanya Sylvan was an avid hiker and backpacker before she moved to Birmingham. But she discovered her new athletic love, trail running, thanks to a newly formed group of runners and social media.

A native of New Jersey, Sylvan discovered ultra running – essentially long-distance offroad running- - in March 2013 after connecting to the newly formed group Birmingham Ultra Trail Society through social media. Sylvan says she became intrigued by ultra running’s bipolar nature: It’s an extremely physically demanding sport, often attracting of laid-back people.

“The whole community is just so welcoming and so laid back and relaxed,” Sylvan adds. “Everyone is out there to have a good time,” Sylvan says.

“I had never even thought about trail run22

| Birmingham |

July 14

ning. I didn’t even know what an ultra marathon was and then I just happened to meet some guys on Twitter who were ultra runners,” she says. “We started talking about these insane distances - 50 miles, 100 miles. I didn’t even know that was humanly possible.

Mostly, however, she just likes running through the woods and trails because it provides so much more that road running can’t.

“I’ve always loved mountains and loved the outdoors. It’s just so pretty,” Sylvan says. “It’s just you and the environment. It’s completely unlike road running where you’re not really racing against anyone. It’s just you against yourself, you against the elements, you against your body.”

Three trail running buddies--Kyle Stichtenoth, John Gregg and Dan Ripple—formed

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BUTS in December 2012. As with many of the world’s great ideas, the three friends hatched their idea over a few drinks at their favorite watering hole. “We were just drinking a couple of beers at Good People and started talking about it,” Stichtenoth says. “We figured there were all these people that do what we do in town, there are all of these great resources, but no one had put it all together. So, we kind of decided that we should start something here.”

They started with a simple Facebook page which grew to more than 200 members by the time Sylvan joined three months later. Now, the group’s Facebook page has more than 700 “likes” and BUTS boasts more than 200 official members, whose dues fund events. The growth in the sport locally hasn’t gone unnoticed. National publications, such as Runner’s World,

have noted Birmingham as one of the hottest trail running communities in the country-which surprised Stichtenoth. “I don’t know if we just brought that many more people out to experience it for the first time or if they were already doing stuff, but it’s incredible how big it’s gotten.”

A generous number of available trails – Oak Mountain, Red Mountain and Ruffner Mountain are just a few – and great weather make Birmingham and other communities throughout the state an attractive place for ultra running.

Several competitive ultra-marathon races, such as the Oak Mountain 50 and the Pinhoti 100 in Alexander City, continue to grow in participation each year. The opportunities are so great, Sylvan says she isn’t sure she would have discovered trail running elsewhere.

Sylvan, who works in marketing with the outdoor publishing firm Keen Communications, has already completed a handful of 50mile races and is considering competing in a 100 mile within the next year or two. She says, “I never thought that Birmingham would have been such a mecca for trail running.”

Details Birmingham Ultra Trail Society Membership is $20 annually. The group participates in a number of runs throughout the week; check the website for details. runbuts.com

By Loyd McIntosh Photos by Mary Lou Davis and courtesy of Zach Andrews

July 14

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