Lace up your running shoes because Kremmling’s 2008 “Center of the Universe” Trail Running Series is about to start.

The local running series will kick off Saturday, May 17, with the Coyote Creek Run. The event offers both 3-mile and 8-mile courses that start and finish at the town’s Ceriani Park.

The other races planned for this year’s trail running series are:

– The Kremmling Classic on Saturday, June 21, offers a 10-, 5- and 3-mile fun walk/run courses that start and finish at the Town Park. The event is part of the Kremmling Days Celebration.

– The Road Kill Half-Marathon and 5-Mile Race is planned for Saturday, Sept. 13. The start and finish for both the 13- and 5-mile courses are at Town Square.

– The Gore Grind 6 Mile is slated for Sunday, Oct. 12. The start and finish areas are on County Road 14.

The 2008 “Center of the Universe” Trail Running Series is sponsored by the Kremmling Chamber of Commerce, Big Shooter Cafe and the Kremmling office of the Bureau of Land Management.

Race organizers are Shawn and Stephenie Scholl, owners of the Big Shooter Cafe in Kremmling.

“This is the second year for the Center of the Universe series,” Stephenie said. “Last year was a development year for it. We decided to take out a couple of summer races for the 2008 series because there are so many other races across the state at that time of year.”

A major goal of the trail running series is to help introduce the public to the Kremmling area as an excellent place for a number of recreational activities.

“Kremmling is already well known as a great place for hunting and fishing,” Stephenie said. “By holding this series, we want to showcase what a great trail system we have here with miles and miles of BLM and state land. Our goal is to get people to make Kremmling a stop where they’ll run, hike and mountain bike.”

Another goal is get more local children and young adults involved in outdoor sporting events.

“Because they are trail runs, it makes the races much more interesting,” Stephenie said. “On the trail, you have to hop over rocks and climb hills. It’s a lot more like play for them and they’re not running on pavement.”

Along with the recreational aspect of the race series, Stephenie said it’s also designed to be a social event.

“For example, after the Coyote Creek Run on May 17, we plan to hold a barbecue at Ceriani Park,” she said. “We’re planning these races as a fun time, which will be a great way to meet people.

“We called the series the Center of the Universe because Kremmling is sort of in the middle of everything. We hope to pull in runners from Steamboat, Summit, Walden and the eastern side of Grand County as well as across the state.”

For more information about the 2008 Center of the Universe Trail Running Series, call (970) 724-3472 or http://www.runkremmling.com.