Maria Fowler started Endurance Trail Runners on Meet Up because she fell in love with trail running and wanted to find other similar-minded runners in the area to run with so she did not have to run by herself. The group schedules meet-ups that consist of either upcoming races that one or more members have signed up for, or group training runs of varying distance. Usually, members meet on the weekend, sometimes just one day, sometimes both. At times there have been recurring scheduled week-day events as well, such as Tuesday Track Night at one of the local high schools or shorter Thursday morning group runs in Forest Park.
Many of the group runs occur in Forest Park, starting and ending at various trailheads (N.W. 53rd, the Archery Range in the Arboretum, Leif Erickson @ NW Germantown, etc.). Endurance Trail Runners run in the Tillamook Forest at least several times each year. They are trying to schedule a group run or join a race in the Corvallis area once per month, and will run in the Gorge more now that it is recovering from the fires a couple of years ago. Sometimes the group goes to other areas further from the Portland area, especially when highlighting a race that members might be interested in. Sometimes the group will also meet after the run to socialize at a nearby brewpub or bakery – Lucky Lab on NW Quimby and Skyline Tavern being two favorites in the first category.

Reto on the footbridge to Tillamook Forest Center

Maria met her husband Art through Endurance Trail Running.  The two decided to get married at the Clackamas Ranger Station by Mt. Hood and then ran the Timberline Marathon together immediately after as husband and wife. Maria and Art have also met so many amazing people through trail running, some of whom have become very close friends. Endurance Trail Runners have also had great get-togethers for pre-race dinners the night before the Siskiyou Out Back races in Ashland and the Peterson Ridge Rumble in Sisters. Joining Moe Codino’s annual birthday End-2-End on the Wildwood is always fun. As Art says, there is nothing better than hanging out with friends and family. Art is a mild-mannered lawyer in my non-running life, Maria is a hair stylist and esthetician.

Art posing on the bridge

For runners interested in running with Endurance Trail Runners, simply join MeetUp, look up the group and send a join request.