Trail runners, it’s time to get your game on when The North Face Endurance Challenge Series’ races into Park City, Utah. The “mountain region” part of the national race event happens Sept. 24 when the resort town hosts not only the highest elevation start within the North America series at 7,000 feet but it will also climb to the highest elevation of 10,000 feet. If you want a run that will push your limits and make you feel like you could hurl, this is it. Heck, core skiers can consider this the ultimate pre-season conditioning. Athletes will navigate Park City Mountain using a mix of double and single track trail, ski runs, mountain bike trails and various dirt access roads.

Welcome to Park City

The Park City Race is one of six across North America, each with seven distances. The GORE-TEX® 50 Mile, 50K, Marathon, Marathon Relay and Kid’s 1K race will be held on Saturday, and the Half Marathon, 10K, 5K races and a Kid’s 1K race are on Sunday. In case you didn’t know, The North Face is the largest trail running series in the world and the North Face Endurance Challenge Championship offers largest prize purse in the sport of trail racing ($30,000 total), awarding $10,000 to the top male and female runners in the GORE-TEX® 50 Mile distance.

Endurance Evolution

The iconic The North Face Endurance Challenge race series was born out of Ultrarunner Dean Karnazes’ 2006 quest to run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days. The brand launched the race series the following year and it has since grown into a full-weekend festival with a challenge for every fitness level. In 2015, the series hosted more than 16,000 runners over six weekends. Nearly 90,000 runners have participated in the nine years that Endurance Challenge has been in existence.

“The North Face Endurance Challenge motivates runners at all levels to experience the trails and challenge their physical limits,” said Katie Ramage, director of Sports Marketing at The North Face. “We are thrilled to bring the series back again this year and attract more people to the sport of trail running. We’ve seen urban marathon runners who have never run on trails and novice runners revel in the success of their first 5K.”

Register by September 21 to ensure your slot. Race packet pickup for Park City begins Thursday, Sept. 22, at The North Face stores in Salt Lake City and Park City.

Date nights in Park City just got a little more interesting. Sure there are the free concerts at Deer Valley on Wednesdays, the ones at Kimball Junction on Thursdays and those on Saturday at PCMR/Canyons but when you want a bit more sophistication, take your honey to Hops on the Hill at Deer Valley’s Stein Eriksen Lodge.

Every Tuesday night this summer Hops on the Hill brings you regional craft beer tastings with specially selected food pairings starting at 5 p.m., followed by a concert at 6 p.m. 

Local breweries include Squatters and Park City Brewery, Red Rock Brewing and Epic Brewing Company, Uinta Brewing and Bonneville Brewery, 2 Row Brewing and Bohemian Brewery, Wasatch Brewery and Proper Brewing Company. This summer’s bands feature Mister Sister, Gary Tada, Red Desert Ramblers, Fastback and Utah County Swillers.

Ten percent of the proceeds from food and drink sales go toward the Youth Sports Alliance, an organization dedicated to supporting and enabling youth to participate, learn, compete and excel in sports.

Here’s your 2016 calendar for brews and beats:

 

The Tuesday events costs $40 in advance and $45 at the door and if you want more than “tastes”, the bar is open with $5 beer, $10 wine and $10 liquor. Hot dogs, brats and burgers will be on sale from $5-15.

 

Calling All Sippers!

Mixologists who think they’ve got what it takes to craft the top cocktail of the season have signed up for a chance to be crowned Park City’s top bartender, take home $200, and other perks.

Registration opened last month for the annual Park City Area Restaurant Association summer cocktail contest. The actual contest starts July 1, 2016. Here are the entrants ready for the ultimate taste testing.

The entrants include:

Billy Blanco’s: The Firewater

Deer Valley Grocery-Café: Hard Green Tea

Flanagan’s On Main: Blood Orange and Smoked Serrano Margarita

Fletcher’s: Manhattan Beach

Ghidotti’s: Gin on a Tangent

Grappa: Fiorello (little flower)

Lespri Prime Steak Sushi: Some Golfer

Molly Blooms Gastropub: Mulligan Limonata

Powder at Waldorf Astoria Park City: Blackberry Jalapeno Margarita

Red Rock Junction: Farm & Feed

Red Tail Grill:  Greens Fee

Royal Street Café: Strawberry Scrub Collins

Silver Star Café: The LaBounty Bourbon Ice Bomb

Squatters: Handsome Zach’s Apricot 75

Sushi Blue: The Powder Hound

The Brass Tag: Hawkeye

Tupelo: Sweet Summer Heat

Wahso: S.S.

Wasatch Brew Pub: Basil Trance

Windy Ridge Café: Garden-2-Glass

 

Try Them All

Starting July 1, anyone who likes to drink cocktails in Park City will have the whole month to sample the offerings from the competing bars and then vote online for their favorite libations; rating each they taste on a 1-to-10 scale, judging both flavor and presentation. Online voting will run through July 31 on the PCARA website, www.parkcityrestaurants.com.

Last year, Brass Tag’s “Evangeline” took first place with an average score of 10 out of 10, earning top marks for its refreshing blend of Beehive Distillery Jackrabbit Gin, cassis vinegar, basil-infused Utah honey, rose lemonade and a garnish or lemon strings and a basil leaf.

 

More than 10,500 votes were cast in the contest.

 

“Online voting was a huge success last year and so much fun,” PCARA executive director Ginger Ries said. “We are very excited to see how this summer’s contest unfolds, and we can’t wait to crown the winner.”

 

In the online-voting format, everyone gets a chance to participate, giving residents and visitors the opportunity to help choose Park City’s summer cocktail champion – and of course one more reason to visit the participating bars and restaurants to sample all the entries.

 

“Any PCARA bar and restaurant can enter, and any patron can vote,” Ries said. “We think this approach works out really well for both our members and for all their guests — and we’re especially looking forward to tasting each of the entries.”

 

The winning cocktail and its creator will be featured in a marketing campaign following the contest leading into PCARA’s popular Fall “Dine About” event. He or she will also walk away with a cash prize and some serious bragging rights.

 

To learn more visit the PCARA website.