More than a hundred participants gathered at Destruction Brook Woods on Saturday morning in the autumn sunshine to take part in Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust’s fifth annual Trail Run.

The event drew around 130 people from all over the South Coast ⁠— as well as a few from as far away as Florida and Missouri.

Family and friends cheered from the sidelines as the runners took off down 3.3 miles of winding leaf-strewn paths, while those walking set off on a 2.4-mile course.

Both trails took participants up and down rocky hillsides as well as over the titular brook before heading back to the finish line at the field near the Slades Corner Road parking lot.

Proceeds from the event went to the non-profit land trust to support its mission of preserving and protecting Dartmouth’s natural resources.

“And it’s fun too,” noted DNRT Executive Director Dexter Mead with a laugh.

“It introduces some different people to DNRT that otherwise might not know of us,” explained Kendra Murray, outreach coordinator for the land trust.

“There are almost 40 miles of trails now that we maintain on our properties,” Mead said. “And one of the benefits for people is exercise...So that was really the impetus behind us getting started.”

DNRT volunteer Nate Rego cheered on the runners in the home stretch. 

He came up with the idea for the trail race five years ago.

“At the time the races were pretty mundane,” he explained. “Everything was just like a standard 5k road race, and I’ve run a bunch of them. And they’re all the same.”

Rego went on to add that since DNRT has so many beautiful properties, he thought it would be a good use for them. 

“I thought it was just a cool way to stick out and be unique,” he said. “And obviously talk about our cause a little bit.”

After the event runners snacked on granola bars, apples, and water as well as Domino's pizza and beer from CV Liquors ⁠— plus, there was a massage table run by Kelsey Heston from Faunce Corner Road’s Milton Chiropractic.

The top male and top female runners — Martin Siefermann of Norton and Amy Steele of Boston — also won a $150 cash prize.

“I loved just being in the woods there, and the atmosphere was a lot of fun,” said Jennifer Rouillard of Dartmouth, who placed first of the women in her age group. “The camaraderie is great. And you couldn’t beat a beautiful day like today.”

But even those who didn’t win enjoyed the day.

“I loved it,” said Elizabeth Moorhead of Somerset. “Lots of great hills.”

Geoff Marshall of South Dartmouth agreed. 

“Perfect weather, perfect trail. Can’t go wrong,” he said.

“Little bit hillier than I expected, to be honest, but fun,” said Jay Zwirblis from Vero Beach in Florida, who was visiting family in Dartmouth when he heard about the run. 

“I expected to be eighteen, but I’m apparently not anymore,” he added with a laugh.

Race results can be found at jbrace.com/results/dnrt-trail-race/.