Registration for the 2010 Trails To Ale 10k road race along the oceanfront here in beautiful Portland, Maine opens 
tomorrow, Saturday March 27th. The Portland Trails race, which is set to take place on Sunday, September 19, 2010, is a full 10k road race along the Eastern Prom trail and around Back Bay, ending at the Portland Company on outer Fore Street in the East End.
But what makes this event both fun and unique — more so than any old road race — is that the course ends at a warehouse full of Portland Pie pizza, Whole Foods Market snacks and lots and lots of Shipyard beer (hence the name, Trails to Ale). Not only have I recently begun to run a bit myself (and am participating in my first 5k this Sunday), but I really enjoy unique events like this one which make great use of beer-as-reward. Oh, and there will also be post-race massages provided AND the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad will provide free train rides from the finish line at East End Beach to the after-party at the Portland Company; pretty freakin’ cool.
Registration for the Portland Trails 2010 Trails to Ale 10k begins online tomorrow morning at 9:00am at active.com/running/portland-me/portland-trails-10k-trail-to-ale-2010, and the first 400 registrants receive a free technical fabric race teeshirt from Mizuno. However, last year the race had more than 1000 runners participate, so be sure and sign up early. All proceeds, I believe, go to help Portland Trails. See you on the race track!
