2016 No Coast Trail Series

The rapid proliferation of trail races across the country has been mirrored in Iowa with new races appearing every year.  The No Coast Trail Series combines nine great Iowa trail events into a casual, but competitive, race series where the focus is on having fun on some of the state’s diverse trails.

The brains (and brawn?) behind the NCTS

The series, now entering its third year, is organized by Joshua Sun of Davenport.  “My goals for the getting the series started were basic,” Sun says. “I wanted to create a simple and fun method of tying together area trail races to help promote new and existing races with the lowest possible investment from runners and the races themselves and return the highest possible value.  So far, so good!”

The nine events range from 5ks to 100 milers and the courses range from the tight, twisty singletrack of Davenport’s Sunderbruch Park to the steep hills and stairs of Dubuque’s Mines of Spain State Park to the rolling gravel backroads of Booneville.

“Part of what’s great about the series,” according to Sun, “is that there’s something for everyone.  Long races, short races, hilly races, flat races.  They are all a little different and have their own feel.  They are unique but now they are also unified in a small way, too.”

Race directors contribute a small amount of money to be a part of the series and this money is used for the year end awards, which have been much-coveted Hydroflasks with the series logo.  For the race directors, though, participating is a no-brainer.  Matt Jasper, who helped organize the hilly Swiss Valley Trail Run outside Dubuque notes that “It’s obvious from looking at the registrations that there were definitely people choosing to participate in and travel to the races in part because they were part of the series last year.  I’m sure that will only grow in 2016.”

Foote, her 2015 prize and her new friend, Dusty.

There would not be any races without a lot of hard work by the race directors like Jasper.  Sun emphasizes that the race directors in the series do a nice job putting on high quality events that people want to run.  New to the series in 2016 will be a timed 9 hour event in Davenport (Scheutzen NEIN! Hour Endurance Run) and the Pleasant Creek Trail Run just outside Cedar Rapids.  Sun is happy for the additions. “I’m always looking to add new options and add value to the runners’ experience and I think people will enjoy these two events,” he says.

What do the participants say about the series?  Wendy Foote, of Waterloo, comments that “No Coast is great motivation to keep pushing yourself at races.  It’s so much fun to see the same smiling faces at races across the state.  I might be competing against someone race after race on challenging courses but then I can sit and drink a beer with them afterwards. I like that.”

Tim Bergan of Colfax, Iowa, ran away with the most total points (116.3) of any participant in 2015 while Ross Salinas of Iowa City participated in the most events (6).  Both will be back in 2016.  Bergan, a man who always has plentiful words to go with his plentiful miles (he plans on running four 100 mile races this year) says this:

“I've grown to love trail running, much more than road running, because it gets me out into nature, and trail runners are some of the greatest people in the world.  The best part of No Coast is that it gives those of us that run trails a reason to run them more often.  I tell people that when I go to any of the No Coast races, I'll see a dozen people I know and like and I will have made two more friends before the day is over.  The trail running community is what keeps me coming back.  This probably doesn't get said as often as it should, but I really appreciate the time and effort that all the race directors and volunteers put into making the races happen.  I know it's a lot of work, but it brings us all together and lets us have fun, share experiences, and in some of the races, drink beer afterward!”

Participation in the series has grown over the last two years.  In 2014 there were 901 total participants in the races and 29 who both registered for the series and competed in at least three of the races and were eligible for the overall prizes.  Last year there were 1118 participants and 38 who were eligible for the series awards.  Awards will again be distributed at the Wildcat trail run in Muscatine in November.

Participants accumulate points based on their race time, finishing place and the distance they ran and awards are given out at the end of the year in 8 separate categories.  Because of the inherent scoring advantage to running the longer races there is a category for those who do not race any distance longer than a marathon.  There is no cost to participate but runners do need to sign up online.

Sun, an avid trail runner himself, has invested a great deal of time and energy, as well as some of his own money to getting the No Coast series up and running. “It’s great to see this continue to grow and people having fun,” he says. “I don’t want it to get too big or corporate but I do want it to keep improving and to help grow the sport and the community of trail runners in Iowa.”

A new series website is set to debut soon but for now information can be found on the NCTS Facebook page and Google documents found below. EDIT: The new NCTS website can be found here.

2016 Race Schedule
Red Shamrock Foundation Survivorship Run 5k (Iowa City) - April 2
Hawkeye 50k/25k (Solon) - April 9
Sunderbruch Beer & Bacon Trail Races 5k/10k-ish (Davenport) - May 21
Booneville Backroads Ultra (100M, 100k, 50k, 10k) (Booneville) - May 28
Schuetzen NEIN! Hour Endurance Run (Davenport) - June 18
Mines of Spain Trail Races (half marathon, 7M, 4M) - August 6
Pleasant Creek Trail Run 45k/30k/15k (Palo) - September 17
Swiss Valley Trail Run 25k/10M/5M (Dubuque) - October 1
The Runner's Flat Trail Races 50k/25k (Cedar Falls) - October 8

For more information and updates like the No Coast Trail Series on Facebook and click here for complete scoring rules.  To sign up for the series click here.