Shalini Bhajjan has always been a runner, so she’s no stranger to long-distance running. Fittingly, the journey from high school and college track competitions to finding her own path and eventually building St. Louis’ trail-running community has been much like completing an ultramarathon: full of twists and turns and best done by tackling one step at a time.
The Terrain Trail Runners founder says there was never a master plan, just a desire to chase the next challenge.
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“It was addictive,” Bhajjan says. “Every time I knocked out a distance, I would think, Could I do 50 miles? Could I do 100k? What does 100 miles feel like? And it just started spiraling from there.”
Thirteen years after first hitting the trails, the athlete, coach, and race director is still running strong with no finish line in sight. There are barriers—on the trail and in the sport—that she’s determined to help break, especially when it comes to bringing more women into ultrarunning.
“We’re still seeing a lot of disparity,” she says. “It’s always around 40:60 women to men, but once you get into 100K and 100-mile distances, that number shrinks pretty quickly.”
To help bridge the gap, Bhajjan and Terrain Trail Runners started the STL Women’s Summit, designed to engage more women in the sport through a comfortable, inclusive environment. Terrain Trail Runners’ “Run Your First Ultramarathon” women’s initiative takes applicants every year for a chance to receive free coaching toward completing their first ultra marathon.
Bhajjan’s own entry into trail running and, eventually, competing in ultra marathons across the country started with road racing at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Juggling full-time roles as a freelance merchandiser and mother of three young children when she returned to running, Bhajjan found the pressure of chasing the “perfect pace” on the road felt too limiting, too defining.
“I wanted the finish to be celebrated, no matter what it looked like,” she says. “No one asks how fast you ran 100 miles, and nobody cares. Everyone and anyone can do this without being judged for their pace. It’s more about setting the goal and getting to it.”
By contrast, her first experience of trail running was a self-described “holistic, therapeutic” moment that shifted the entire trajectory of her life. Running with the Wisconsin-based group Coyotes and meeting members of the trail running community in Crystal Lake, Illinois, inspired Bhajjan to build Terrain Trail Runners from the ground up.
Today, the group organizes a dozen annual races, drawing runners from across the country to experience what St. Louis’ trails have to offer. “There’s just something about being on a trail, being out in nature is beautiful” Bhajjan says. “And it requires presence. You can’t zone out. You’re navigating a lot of terrain, rocks, roots. Even on my best day, there’s something humbling about it.”
Terrain Trail Runners pays that experience forward with a commitment to sustainability and inclusivity. On the sustainability side, the goal is to keep their impact as close to “just feet on the trail” as possible. The races have been proudly cup-free for more than a decade, an unusual move for a sport known for its aid-station refills, but one that aligns perfectly with the group’s ethos. Bhajjan says the group also commits to reusing course markers and flagging, recycling gel packets, and energy bar wrappers, as well as working with Forest Releaf of Missouri to give participants the option to forego their event T-shirts and plant a tree instead.
Part of valuing the great outdoors means helping introduce others to it. Bhajjan says the group kicks off each New Year with the Doomsday 5K in Cliff Cave County Park, an event that, despite its ominous name, is designed to be as accessible as possible for runners of all ages and experience levels. For those who prefer exploring on their own, Bhajjan recommends Queeny Park, Castlewood State Park, and Al Foster Memorial Trail.
“There’s really no easy way to do it. You have to go out and try it and find your place,” Bhajjan says.
Terrain Trail Runners also organizes Sunday group runs, monthly womens’ runs in the summer, and kids’ group runs to help as many people as possible discover and enjoy the sport. It’s all part of the philosophy that inspired the group from the very beginning.
“Running is free, and it should be free,” Bhajjan says. “If you want to be part of something, just come out and support it. That sense of exclusivity was always a stick in the mud for me—there’s no need for it. Anyone, from any walk of life, belongs here. Show up, get a little dirty, support the effort, and you belong.”
