The organisers are the team behind the successful Trailfest Scotland event, also based at Mugdock Park, and they are looking forward to introducing trail racing to a broader audience. Ryan Scott at Trailfest told runABC Scotland:

"The inaugural Solstice Trail Series features some of the best trails to be found between Glasgow and The Trossachs. The routes have been carefully designed to challenge and reward runners, whether you’re chasing a time, or running your first trail race. Each evening race will start and finish at Mugdock Country Park Visitor Centre and will feature wide tracks, technical single-track, hills and stunning views on the extensive trail network both within the country park and in Craigallian Woods.

"The 7k (100m+) is a fast course which will see runners vying for early positions and eyeing up the two long sections of flat, wide trail where speed will be the order of the day. All this before some twisting, technical sections and an uphill finish to see if those flats have left anything in the tank! If you’d rather a slightly more leisurely approach, the route highlights include the 13th century Mugdock Castle, the remains of anti-aircraft gun sites from WWII (built to protect the shipyards of Glasgow and Clydebank), Mugdock Loch, the Drowning Pond and Gallow Hill.

Race 2 is a 12k (180m+) route which follows parts of the 7km route before it leaves the park and crosses into Craigallian Woods. Here we mix wide forest tracks with some awesome, single-track. The wide tracks offer a chance to look up and take in your surroundings, while the single-track will demand your concentration on the forest floor. You may think technical single-track doesn’t exist so close to Glasgow, but we promise you, it does!

The series ends on Thursday 21 June with the 15k race (270m+). This course follows a mix of trails in the park in the first half of the race, before heading deep into the woods for a thrilling mix of wide tracks and tight, technical single-track. The route allows for speed goats to thrash themselves on the wide tracks, for the nimble-footed to float through the technical sections and for trail running newbies to appreciate why we get so excited about running trails. In essence, this is why we #RunDirty!"

Race director and co-founder of TrailFest, Ryan Scott, continued: "We're really excited about the Solstice Trail Series. The trail network in this area is outstanding and we're looking forward to showcasing some amazing trailrunning right on the doorstep of Glasgow. The long, light nights will bring a special atmosphere to the races and some sections will prove a stiff challenge to runners, especially those who are new to trailrunning."

The Trailfest team is looking for volunteers for the new series and you can contact them via the event website.

Full details at the event website.