If you’ve ever run a Daybreak Racing event, you know you’re in for a challenging ride, but the “Type 1 Fun” on the trails are always worth the sore quads. This year’s Mt. Hood Trail Games did not disappoint and will go into my memory bank as one of my favorite races of 2024.
The concept of the Trail Games is unique, and if you are one of the runners who takes on all of the 25k course, it will be a bit of a mental game as well as a physical one. But the beauty is you can really make this race whatever you want because there are three different well-marked (and gorgeous!) courses to conquer.
There’s the 5.8 mile Umbrella Loop which starts with a large descent and then climbs up again like a large upside-down umbrella, there’s the 4.9 mile Beargrass Loop which climbs at the start and rolls up and down, and the Lupine Loop, which is 4.8 miles of trails that ascend to where the ski lift at Mt Hood Meadows begins before bringing you all the way down again.
All the loops are challenging, and you can do all three, a couple of them, or just one depending on what you signed up for or what you feel like that day.
Many take this race on as a relay team of three runners, and there are a few relay options. Everyone can run all three loops or it can be split so that each team of three take on just one loop each. Teams can run together or separately. And then there’s the Lone Wolf, where participants can go the whole thing alone, which was the option I picked. Between each loop, runners come back to the lodge where they will find food, drink, bathrooms, and encouragement before they head back out for the next loop.
It’s been hot here in Oregon, with temps reaching up to 100 in Portland. Thankfully, the weather was a bit cooler in Government Camp, but it was also smoky thanks to the wildfires. The result was a muggy gray sky on race morning which was not really what I’d hoped for. Unfortunately, this is the state of Oregon currently, so I was ready to roll with whatever came my way.
It really helped that when I got to Mt Hood Meadows, everyone was in a cheery mood, and there was coffee as well as pre-race treats waiting for us. Packet Pick up took less than 5 minutes and people were milling around in an excited state while the mountains loomed in the backdrop.
The race director laid out clear instructions before each event started, and I marveled at what it takes to put together events like this, with multiple routes which often intersect at points. Each loop is assigned a different color (yellow for the Bluegrass Loop, orange for the Umbrella Loop, and blue for the Lupine Loop) and there were color-coded signs all over the trails directing which way to go depending on which loop you picked. You could do the loops in whatever order you wanted, and all of the routes started together before splitting off a little over a half mile in.
The yellow and blue loops stayed together for the first 1.5 miles while the orange loop started it’s steep decline in a different direction. The yellow and orange loop merged together towards the end with the blue loop coming in from another direction before all three came together for their finish. All headed back to the lodge from the back end through some loose gravel (my nemesis!) and up some stairs to cross the finish line for each completed loop.
All three loops had a checkpoint table somewhere near it’s route end with a holepunch so you could punch a hole in your race bib for the corresponding loop. This was your proof that you’d reached your checkpoint, or what I thought of as my “you’ve proved yourself worthy!” reward.
The Umbrella Loop, 5.8 Miles
I chose to start my adventure with what was considered the hardest of the three loops. Since the weather had the potential to get pretty warm and there were a lot of sections at this race that were very exposed, it made the most sense to tackle the longest loop while it was still early in the day. I was happy with my choice, as the downhill portion was a nice warmup for what was ahead.
When the routes split, I watched those who’d chosen the Beargrass and Lupine Loops climbing upwards and I had a nice downhill section. Though it looked like a quad burner on the elevation profile (1000 ft descent,) I found it didn’t hurt my body at all and I really got to enjoy the views.
Once we started heading back uphill, I felt ready for it. There was a gorgeous waterfall near the end (which I’d see again on the Beargrass Loop) and though I hiked quite a bit of the uphill sections, I didn’t feel like it was as challenging as I’d imagined it in my head. Thankfully I’ve been doing a lot of hills in recent months, so that probably helped.
The Beargrass Loop, 4.9 Miles
After refueling at the lodge, off I went on my second climb up the side of a mountain trail. This time, when I got the first split, I headed up where I’d previously went down, and the climb felt harder than I’d expected. Maybe it was because I’m just climbed the last loop but I knew I wanted to conserve my energy, so I walked quite a bit.
The uphill portion gave way to a nice descent about 1.5 miles in, right about where it splits off from the Lupine Loop. From here, there were some beautiful meadow views and then lots of rolling hills. I found this loop went the fastest for me, and the holepunch table showed itself sooner than I’d expected.
The Lupine Loop, 4.8 Miles
I chose to finish with The Lupine Loop because it was the shortest loop of the three and it ended with a downhill section, and I wanted this to be my reward. By the time I’d left the aid station after a pickle, some goldfish crackers, and a swig of soda for good measure, I was already tired for the third trek up to the first split. Again, I climbed the 1.5 miles that I’d run on the Beargrass Loop and then I had some more climbing to do from there.
When I saw the top of the ski lift, I knew I’d be rewarded with some downhill soon. I could hear the festivities at the lodge below in several sections of this loop and I could see down to the bottom and felt some pride in that climb.
The single-track trails were beginning to become more challenging, as some had some steep grooves and my legs didn’t really want to behave as well anymore. I almost turned an ankle a few times, and I was pretty far from any sort of aid. Sandy sections were harder than the loose dirt sections, as the roots were harder to see and felt slippery on my tired feet.
Still, the views were gorgeous and the cheers from the bottom were enough for me to keep moving forward. By the time I reached that final checkpoint table, I felt relief, especially when I saw the next blue sign and knew exactly where I was. I was close to my finish line, and I knew it because I’d already been there twice before that.
I was so happy when I was finished! They handed me a new pint glass for my collection and a meal voucher for the lodge inside. I got a huge burrito and some delicious kombucha. I was tired and dirty but felt incredibly fulfilled.
I would recommend this race to anyone. It was well marked, very organized, and scenic as promised. The finish line, which was also our aid station, was amazing as well, stocked with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit snacks, pickles, crackers, chips, electrolyte drink, bananas, oranges, Spring Energy gels, and a bunch of other stuff. I tried not to hang around there too long between loops because it would only make it harder to get out there again.
After the race was complete, there were many spots to sit in chairs looking out to the mountains, and they even had some lawn games. It would be easy to hang there for several hours. Doing the relay option would have been really fun and I’d love to convince some friends to do that with me another year.
