How to pick your first trail race

Picking your first race or planning for your race season can be a daunting task. With so many options in Colorado alone, finding that perfect race is difficult. Here are some key things to think about when picking a race that might help narrowing your options easier.

1. Pick your ideal race length. Do you want to run a 5k or are you looking for a longer race such as a marathon? When thinking of an ideal length make sure to consider the time commitment it will take to train for that race length, where your starting from physically and how much time you have to get in shape for the race.

2. Once you pick your race length you can decide when you can be ready by or what time of year suits you best to race. Do you like the heat or cooler temps? Do you need extra time to be ready to run your best race? Do you prefer an off road or on road race?

3. Decide if you want to travel for your race or if you want to keep costs down. If you choose to race out of state are there conditions like humidity or altitude you need to consider.

4. Ask yourself if you can train on similar terrain in similar conditions. If you can’t then you need to decide if you’re up to the challenge of facing something new on race day.

5. Last find a race that fits your personality. If you love lots of cheering and large crowds think of a big race. If you like solitude find a quite race. Maybe you are a big giver to charity. Look for a race where you can raise money for charity or one that supports a cause that is important to you.

After considering all those factors, you still may not know what race to pick. If you’re still not sure, then check out Racevine.com to see other athletes non- biased personal reviews of races based on a scale of one to five stars. “Racevine was really built to support the entire endurance community whether you're looking for your first race, or trying to plan your race schedule for the whole year,” said CEO and Cofounder Gregory Lou.

The site lets you search for races via race distance (half marathon or marathon), city, state and for a range of dates. You can even find international races. Look for a course type (road, off road) search option in the future as well as more race distances as the website grows.