Oak Mountain Stage Race kicks off Sept. 25

The demanding, 21-mile Stage 3 of the annual Birmingham Stage Race — an eagerly anticipated event for trail runners — will be at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham Sept. 25 at 8 a.m. The race will begin at the BMX track on Tranquility Road.

Stage 1 of the three-day race is 17 miles and will be at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve Sept. 23, and the 18-mile Stage 2 will be at Red Mountain Park Sept. 24.

Oak Mountain is the largest state park in Alabama and has more than 50 miles of hiking and biking trails, making it ideal for Stage 3 — the longest portion of the three-day event, said race director David Tosch.

“We usually do a two-lap race; that is, runners will complete two 12-mile loops,” he said. “However, the park is big enough to easily have a full 24-mile single loop.”

The course at Oak Mountain is a tough one, Tosch said.

“Double Oak Mountain is the highest mountain in any of the area parks, rising over 600 feet above the surrounding terrain,” he said. “Trail runners like diverse, difficult terrain. The more difficult we can make the race, the better they like it.”

Tosch, who lays out the courses, said he tries to make sure that participants are challenged.

“I try to design the course [to be] fun and interesting to run,” he said. “I also want it to be difficult, sometimes very difficult.”

This desire for difficulty stems from what Tosch calls “the primary purpose” of the entire Southeastern Trail Runs series, to prepare area runners to do well in the other “ultras” — runs longer than a marathon, with some as long as 100 miles  — held in mountainous areas around the South.

“We have to get runners accustomed to steep, difficult climbs on rugged, technical terrain,” Tosch said.

The Birmingham Stage Race is demanding, which limits the number of participants, he said.

“Hopefully, we will increase our numbers a bit this year, but the number will probably be 75 to 100,” Tosch said.

Participants do not have to run all three days, however.

“We do have a two-day, Saturday and Sunday option, and anyone is welcome to sign up for just one stage,” Tosch said.

Tosch helped found Southeastern Trail Runs, which hosts the Southeastern Trail Series. Eight of the races in this year’s series are at Oak Mountain.

To sign up or get more information, go to southeasterntrailruns.com or to ultrasignup.com.