Greetings Runners,
We are getting excited for this years
Endless Summer Trail Run Series and look forward to reconnecting with you! It's kind of hard for me to believe but this year marks the
15TH ANNUAL! It has been even longer if you count the years that another org was doing these weekday races under a different name, also in partnership with Twin Cities Running Company as the title sponsor.
When Cheri and I took over the series and rebranded it as ESTRS, sure I was running some shorter races, but I squarely identified as a 'trail
ultrarunner'. That first year of the series really opened my eyes to a few things. 1.) the demand for non-ultra-distance trail races was already there and poised to grow rapidly 2.) the awesome, talented, well rounded, and busy people that are 'trail runners' only have so many weekends to dedicate to their running and racing and the weekday thing was going to be a hit 3.) the event created an ideal environment to introduce a broader spectrum of people to trail running. Nowadays that third one is a big focus and highlight of these special nights for us. Between the weeknight racing, the low price point yet full fledged race experience, approachable distances and terrain, great proximity to our population centers, and more, the races have proven to be super accessible. The number of first-time-trail-runners, young people, people of all abilities, and folks from all walks of life is so encouraging to see! As we look forward to the next 15 years we do so with these ideas front and center.
SO WHAT'S NEW AND IN STORE FOR 2026?We are thrilled to be announcing some new sponsors and new finish line offerings.
BEST DAY BREWING https://bestdaybrewing.com/ will be providing our beer going forward, we feel that the switch from A (alcohol) to NA (non alcoholic) beer further brings the event into alignment with our stated goals of being healthy, inclusive, family, and young runner oriented. It also brings this event into alignment with our other longer events where we have never served alcohol as this was an element of the series that we inherited. If you have not tried Best Day Brewing non-alcoholic beer yet, you are in for a treat - it's as good as any beer you can get, leaded or unleaded. In addition to the NA beer offerings we will have Coke, Ginger Ale, and sparkling water.
DOMINOS PIZZA is back... of course!
We stay the course with
STICKERS for the simple yet fun event giveaway, HERE is this year's design
https://www.estrs.com/2026-estrs-stickers/Admittedly, ESTRS has been due for a new
T-SHIRT to purchase and some prototypes are going to our printer to sample this week (hint, see the sticker artwork above) - hopefully we can have something early in the season.
We welcome back
MILE IN MY SHOES https://www.estrs.com/mile-in-my-shoes/ fundraisers this year along with the 'MiMS Trail Team' again at the French 5K. New this year, we are happy to be partnering with the
MINNESOTA CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION https://afsp.org/chapter/minnesota who will be tabling at ESTRS races.
WELCOMING ACG. If you haven't noticed, races are not necessarily cheap these days (although we pride ourselves on trying to keep ours under the national average for comparable events), and justifiably so - it takes a lot of resources to put on really good events. In the 'business world' (which we try to stay out of!) ESTRS might be considered a 'loss leader' at a pretty much unheard of $30 these days (especially with all the amenities offered), but really it is our (and our partners) gift to the trail community, and our commitment to access. In order to achieve this end these events require sponsor support (and those generous runners who voluntarily add some $ onto their entries) and a new / big one is joining us this year! We are incredibly excited to introduce ACG (All Conditions Gear)
https://www.nike.com/acg the historic Nike outdoor and trail focused brand as a sponsor of the Endless Summer Trail Run Series and all Rocksteady Running races! Our local Nike/ACG reps are fervent runners themselves and are no stranger to our events and our local trail community. We could not be any happier to have them on board! Look for ACG as they team up with Twin Cities Running Company
https://tcrunningco.com/ at the events this year, and at our other races throughout the season. As always, if you need running gear please support our local independently owned running store sponsors, and while you are there, be sure give ACG a look!
And of course a huge thank you to
ALL OF OUR LONGTIME SPONSORS AND PARTNERS! You can learn more about each, HERE
https://www.estrs.com/sponsors/We look forward to seeing you as the season gets underway! As always, please reach out if you need anything.
