Trail Kids Run & Orienteering

The Run & Orienteering program is part of the Loppet Foundation’s Trail Kids year-round programming.

Participants ages 7-13 will learn the basics of orienteering skills while enjoying the trails around Theodore Wirth Park. This program also incorporates ultimate frisbee, slack line skills, and other running games as warm up activities for the main session which is focused on trail exploration and orienteering.

Practices include:

• Orienteering skills using orienteering maps to find hidden controls in the woods like a treasure hunt
• Agility and strength exercises to develop age appropriate motor skills
• Balance work and slacklining
• Games, relays, ultimate frisbee, pillow polo, and soccer mixed in throughout the sessions

Gear: Participants will need a good pair of running shoes and water bottle for each session.

Ability Levels: Participants are assigned to coaching groups based on age and past experience with orienteering. When you register you can indicate the appropriate orienteering ability levels listed below:

• White Level: Beginner with no experience in orienteering
• Green Level: Beginner to intermediate orienteering skills: Participant has participated in at least one or two 6-week sessions of the Trail Kids orienteering program.
• Blue Level: Intermediate to advanced orienteering skills. Participant has participated in at least three to four 6-week orienteering sessions.
• Black Level: Advanced orienteering skills with two plus years of orienteering experience and a desire to be challenged and compete at local MNOC meet events.

Swag: Trail Kids T-shirt and water bottle for all participants available at no additional cost. In an effort to reduce waste, TK Swag is now listed as an optional “add-on” during your registration. If you’d like your participant to receive this swag please ensure it is selected.

Friend Requests: For safety and equity reasons, Trail Kids does not offer friend requests as part of registration. The mass quantity of friend requests made it impossible to accommodate them all and greatly impacted safety and group dynamics. We would love to allow everyone to practice with their friends, but if we cannot accommodate all friend requests, we cannot offer them to everyone. We encourage riders to embrace the opportunity to form new friendships through our programs!

Trail Kids R/O Race: As part of our Trail Kids program all participants will have the opportunity to participate in our Adventure Run Race which is included with the Loppet Trail Kids Run Orienteering Program registration fee. The goal of the race is to introduce youth to trail racing, as well as to provide some competition for more experienced participants. There will be one race scheduled for each of the three sessions during a normally scheduled practice.

Weather Cancellations: While Trail Kids embraces the belief that the outdoors can be enjoyed in any weather, there are some weather circumstances, including high temperatures, thunderstorms, etc. that can create unsafe or wildly unpleasant experiences for our coaches and participants. We will occasionally cancel or shorten practices due to extreme weather.  We make weather calls the day of, 90 minutes before the start of practice. We will contact you via email and/or Team App about adjustments to practices; please do not ask in advance. Assume practice is always running unless you have received an email or a Team App notification otherwise (be sure that you can receive Team App notifications and do not unsubscribe from RunSignUp). Due to the lack of adequate indoor space and additional programs utilizing it already, Trail Kids is unable to shift practices inside on days where we have inclement weather/AQI. In instances where practice is canceled due to inclement weather, we do not offer refunds or make up practices. 

Financial Assistance: To apply please fill out the Loppet Financial Assistance Application. We will follow up with you with instructions on how to register at a price that is manageable for your family. Applications for programs that start two weeks or less from the date of submission will not be approved. *Limitations apply, please see the application form for rules and restrictions. In most instances there will be a $500 financial assistance cap per person/per year.

Sibling Discount: For those families who have three or more kids in the Trail Kids offering we can provide a fifteen percent discount code. Please email trailkids@loppet.org for more information.

Refund Policy: The Loppet will issue a full refund of the program fee minus the original processing fee up until 6 weeks before the program starts. Between 6 weeks and 4 weeks from the program start date, a 50% refund will be issued. Between 4 and 3 weeks from the program start date, a 25% refund will be issued. There are no refunds for any cancellations within less than 3 weeks of the start of a program. During the program, if your child has a medical issue that makes it impossible to participate, please contact the TK Admin team email at trailkids@loppet.org. If the Loppet cancels a program, a full refund will be issued. For instructions on how to request a refund, click here.