Durango is a trail runner's paradise. Located in the high mountain desert in the Four Corners Region near the common corner boundary of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, Durango residents see the sun shine about 330 days a year. On the few days when running might be problematic, there is probably fresh snow on the trails that would also make for great snowshoeing.

Will Rogers says, "Durango is pretty far out of the way,,, and glad of it." The lycra-bound athletes are especially smitten that in the late 1980's, USA Today named Durango the worst dressed town in America. However, that's another story; this one is about soft, dirt trails, spectacular vistas and all of those poorly dressed runners who frequent the Colorado Trail, Sale Barn and Crites.

Founded in 1881 by William Palmer, he envisioned Durango as an important smelter site to process ore that was to be delivered by the Narrow Gauge railroad from nearby Silverton. Times have changed and now the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad hauls little of anything except for thousand of tourists.

Trails2000 is a local group that maintains, builds, and plans trails which provides for multiple uses, including running. Trails2000 was founded in 1990 in conjunction with the World Mountain Bike Championship that was being held in Durango that year.

Bill Manning, happily unemployed, was walking down a street in historic downtown Durango in 1993 when a friend tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Manning, there is this new trails group in town and they could really use your help." Manning thought that becoming involved would be a neat little hobby so he decided to sign up. That was 10 years ago and Manning is now full-time director of a group that has put more trails in Durango than developers have put in new subdivisions.

"It's all about legitimacy and trust and bringing partners together," Manning said. "We now have a huge network of Western Trails. We already had a large system of trails and old roads as part of our heritage but Trails2000 has successfully brought many partners together from different jurisdictions to improve all of the areas."

Those areas are plentiful. Trails2000 has had a part in improving and maintaining trails on Animas City Mountain, in the West Side Mountain Park, Horse Gulch and on the Fort Lewis College Campus.

Local resident and avid trail runner, Deborah Van Winegarden loves the Animas City Mountain trail system. She says, "Given its ready access, sterling views, and nice little uphill, the Animas City Mountain 6.5 mile loop trail is a local favorite. Allow one to two hours - one if you are really fast and two if you are really slow (no offense)."

I have a special place in my heart for the trails within the West Side Mountain Park. One access on Avenida del Sol is right across the street from my residence. Once in this area, you can explore some of the easier rolling trails or if you are really daring, you can tackle the "Hogsback." Following a steep, exposed naked ridge, the top of Hogsback offers a spectacular view of the city below and challenges the fittest of runners. Only the strongest can run this baby. Most runners will be reduced to a thigh shivering power hike.

Horse Gulch, which contains the Telegraph trail system, is accessible from the eastern intersection of 3rd St. and 8th Ave. There are 30-plus miles of trails within this area. With names like Cuchillo, Sidewinder and Cowboy, these trails are almost as fun writing and reading about as they are running.

Regina Fallace, who moved to the area three years ago, says, "The Telegraph Trail provides the runner a glimpse of the expansive, beautiful wilderness that surrounds Durango. Running this trail, on a non-race day, allows you to enjoy the solitude, trees and rock formations."

Besides the plethora of opportunities for runners to go out any day of the week to nearby trailheads and prance about the wilderness, Durango and the surrounding area is also a hotbed of racing activity.

In addition to the Telegraph 10K on Mother's Day and Animas Mountain Mug Run on the last Saturday in October, the Durango area boasts enough races to keep any competitor busy.

The Kennebec Challenge in August takes place in La Plata Canyon. Just to start the race, a 10-mile drive over a rocky road is mandated. Notice all of the abandoned mining history that engulfs you. Thirteen miles through the "Notch" and a seated slide down the steep snow-covered slope on the other side, is required to get through this adventure run. With views of the Lewis Mine and Snowstorm Peak, this race is as much of a sightseeing outing as it is a trail race.

Nearby Silverton hosts the Hard Rock 100-mile Endurance Run during the second weekend in July and Kendall Mountain Run, also in Silverton, is one week after that.

Durango Motorless Transit (DMT), the area's running club, boasts nearly 300 members. Two years ago, Runner's World mentioned DMT as best club name. Founded in the early 1970's, DMT has had its share of good times and bad times. Recently, however, DMT has seen tremendous growing participation in all of its activities including the famous "Thursday night group trail runs."

It started out simply in 1999 with the notion that anybody who wanted to come along for an early evening 6 p.m. trail run would meet at the Colorado Trailhead, at the end of 25th St. on Thursday nights. The route was always the same; out and back along Junction Creek with a steep ascent to Gudy's rest and the easy run back down the switchbacks. Incidentally, the Colorado Trail traverses 14 National Forest areas and 25 peaks while winding its way 480 miles all the way to Denver.

That routine stayed intact for the first year. On a good night, participation exceeded a dozen but on a poor night, attendance might be only two or three. Towards the end of the first year, people were generally happy with an opportunity to get in a good run with friends, do a little socializing and maybe have a beer in town at Storyville or Steamworks before retiring for the evening.

During the next year, Nick Nichols and Vic Rudolph did some serious thinking and decided that it would be more fun to meet in a new place every week. They made a schedule, posted it around town at a few key locations and also put it up on the running club's website, www.go- dmt.org.

The success was immediate and dramatic. Participation escalated with as many as 20 fit Durangoans and folks from the surrounding towns participating in the runs. I wouldn't say that A Star Was Born, but a Durango tradition was well on its way. Robin Favreau, frequent trailrunner and also an avid cyclist loves the Thursday night trail runs. "I started doing the group trail runs and found out how much fun it was and I also made many new friends."

Pack your bags and come to Durango for a day, a weekend or a lifetime. I'm glad that I did.

Marc Witkes is a free-lance writer and has lived in Durango for 13 years. Always looking for new adventures, Marc is currently busy training for Ironman Arizona this spring.