The four-mile course was the inaugural race of a new three-race series this summer and fall on local trails sponsored by Copper Country Running Company located in downtown Houghton. It was called MTU Madness.

It is the brainchild of Copper Country Running Company’s manager, and recent Michigan Tech grad, Clayton Sayen. In short, the Houghton native is hoping to give the local running community something different than the myriad of 5K’s and half marathons that dot the warm-weather calendar, and he seems to be on the right course.

Just ask 32-year-old Jonathan Kilpela who was the race’s overall winner coming in at around 23 minutes. Kilpela is no stranger to the local running scene as he was a member of the Tech cross country team as a student more than a decade ago.

“This brought back a lot of memories being back on the Tech Trails,” he said. “I like the thinking behind this and am grateful and excited about the series.”

Hancock High School student Rayna Towles was the women’s winner in Saturday’s Copper Country Running Company’s MTU Madness run at Tech Trails in Houghton. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

Rayna Towles, a member of the Hancock High School cross country team, was the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of around 31 minutes, and she echoed a similar sentiment.

“It was different than what we normally run here, and the hair-pin turn and hill made it a challenge,” she said.

For their first-place finishes both Kilpela and Towles received $25 gift certificate to the running store.

According to Sayen, who was a standout runner at Michigan Tech, it is time to think outside the box when it comes to where and how to run.

“We have all winter to run on the roads. Let’s take advantage of these magnificent trail systems we have here and create some race competition while we can,” he said.

Jonathan Kilpela, of Atlantic Mine,  was the overall winner in Saturday’s Copper Country Running Company’s MTU Madness run at Tech Trails in Houghton. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

Saturday’s run was four miles and the shortest of the three-race series. In two weeks on Sept. 8, the second race will be at Swedetown (called the Swedetown Shuffle) and will be close to five miles. The series will end on Sept. 23 at the trails of Maasto/Churning Trail (called the Churning Rapids Challenge) with a distance of 12K or 7.5-mile trek.

“I am pleased with the turnout,” Sayen added. “I thought we would have maybe 12 people and 10 of them being my friends. So, to have more than 30 runners from ages 12 to over 60 is a shot in the arm and a testament that an off-road race is wanted in our running community. I hope this is the start of something big in our community. “

Hancock cross country coach Jenn Smith agreed.

“I love to run trails,” she said. “It is much more fun, and the course here was even different than what the high schoolers run. I love what the Copper Country Running Company is doing in our community, and for runners at large, and cross country and track teams in the area.”