RRR Recap

The 9th annual River, Roots & Ruts is in the record books. There really isn't a record book, but we had our best RRR ever regardless. This year we had 351 register for the Half and Relay, 107 for the Fun Run from 22 states, Canada, Switzerland, Zaire, and the Virgin Islands. We had great running weather and some great results too. In addition to providing some pretty good swag we will be able to donate the most proceeds ever to the volunteer organizations that helped us with the event.

Photos: Visit the NewsPress Photo Album, NaplesNews Photo Album and the Fort Myers Track Club website to see pictures of the RRR.

Comments: What did you think of this year's RRR? Click here to let us know how we did and if you have any suggestions on how we could make it better. We'll work on making the morning registration go smoother, and get some better markings where a few runners made wrong turns on the North Side. Click here to see what others said about the RRR.

Thanks: Many thanks to all: our generous sponsors, the staff of the Caloosahatchee Regional Park, the Mudcutters Bike Club and the loads of volunteers (many who I never even get to see, much less thank personally.) Also thanks to the Fort Myers Track Club, RunFlorida Run Shop, and my family members, without their support we wouldn't be doing this event. They make the RRR a such a fun event that we'll have to do it again.

Shall we do it again? Pencil in Sunday, January 6, 2013 on your calendar for the 10th RRR. We'll do whatever we can to make it really special! See you then. Expect registration to open late Spring.

River, Roots & Ruts Competitor Profile - This time we're profiling Pat Welsh: In 2005 Pat Welsh from Fort Lauderdale, FL was looking for a half marathon to do before the Miami Marathon later in the month. It just so happened that the River, Roots, and Ruts race fell on the correct weekend and with that the photographer from Fort Lauderdale made the trip over. Since then he hasn’t missed a race. “The whole weekend is a great experience but what I really enjoy is camping out the night before the race with a bunch of other runners doing the same thing,” Pat says. “The starting line is literally a hundred feet from my tent and so I don’t have to stress about checking out of a hotel room and driving to the park. I’m right there,” he adds. Through the years he’s struggled with injuries that have kept him less than competitive but that’s ok. “I’m out here to stay in shape and see how I stack up against the other old farts,” he adds. “My times have gotten progressively slower with each passing RRR and I’m ok with that. What I really enjoy is running a well planned event on challenging trails.” The most memorable race had to be the 2006 race when the start temperature was a cool 40 degrees. “I camped out the night before and remember waking up to a frozen arm that I had left out of my sleeping bag.” He added, “Temps dipped into the 30’s that night but I had a blast!” If you’ve seen your photograph from any of the last eight River, Roots, and Ruts races then chances are Pat took them. As the unofficial runner/photographer of the race Pat packs a compact digital camera into his sports belt and competes in the race. “Ok well maybe calling myself a competitor is a bit of a stretch, but I do run the race,” he says.  
The race itself is the most grueling one he does all year. “Until you cross North River Road--which intersects the park, the race is a piece of cake. On the north side is where hell is with the 6’ high dirt berms, endless ups and downs, rocks, roots, and other nasty obstructions. The view I have for 95% of the race is that of the feet of the runner in front of me. If I keep my head down I don’t trip on the roots. But as soon as I look up to admire the scenery—BOOM—I’m tumbling over myself,” he says.

Happy Trails!

Steve Brookman
River, Roots & Ruts Trail Run
Race Director@RRRTrail.com

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