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The Bonneville Shoreline Trail Marathon (BSTM) – An End to Community Trail Races?

Posted on 07. May, 2009 by Dirtbag in Adventures, The Road, Trail Running

In a world of increasing trail entry fees, registrations filling up way too fast, and too many race day rules – community, “free” races are a refreshing alternative to lotteries, high fees, and all those rules.  The 10th annual Bonneville Shoreline Trail Marathon (BSTM) took place on Saturday, April 25, 2009 – but this year may have been its last.

Salt Lake City’s BSTM brought in 110 racers on a foggy, blustery spring morning with ultra running superstar Karl Meltzer leading the pack.  The foothills looked a bit more like the green hills of Scotland than their high desert self.

The beauty of the Bonneville is that it is simple and free. You just show up at 7am (or even later if you would prefer) on race morning with a contribution for the aid stations or finish line, sign the clipboard, and simply run.  Racers are invited to run the whole marathon, the first loop (~11 miles or so), the second loop (~16 miles), or any combination of the two.

The trail was scantily marked – so familiarity with the trail system or keeping up with the pack was essential. The heavy fog, mist, and shoe sucking mud definitely added to this route finding adventure.

The aid stations were well stocked and manned by friendly volunteers and the finish held an assortment of GUs, sports drinks, Pabst, and donuts. The finish line was literally in a race volunteer’s driveway – thus contributing to the amazing community feel of this race.

As always, good things always seem to come to an end.  The day before the race, organizers were e-mailed by the Salt Lake City water department to tell them that they had found out about the event and that a permit was required to run a trail race on their land.  The water department allowed this year to proceed but informed them that they will need to apply for a permit for next year.  What a bummer.  Permits cost money and this is not what this race is about – and sadly this race may never happen again.

The trail race left no trace (except for muddy footprints on the pavement), built community among those who just simply like to run, and rebelled against the formal race culture – but will now need to conform or cease to exist.

Tags: Races, Salt Lake City, Utah