Sometimes a champion isn't necessarily the fastest or the strongest, but the one who most steadily and consistently gets the job done.

Helena's Tara Thompson may not have been the fastest woman in last year's South Helena Trail Series, but she was certainly consistent, finishing in the top four in all four events, including one first place finish. Her consistency gave her the Helena Running Club's overall series championship, just edging out Anna Rudolphi from Bozeman.

The 2008 version of the South Helena Trail Series kicks off this Saturday with a 7.3-mile run on the Little Blackfoot River Trail, near Elliston.

"It was fun to have competition through the series and into the final and deciding race," Thompson said. "There's a nice, familiar feeling to race with mostly locals on hometown trails and see how well we can do under race conditions, rather than just training conditions."

Dewey Peacock won last year's men's title, winning two of the three races he entered.

In fact, Peacock was so fast that in the final race, he made it to a checkpoint before the race volunteers arrived and made a wrong turn. That wrong turn caused Peacock to finish 15th in the race, and technically cost him the title. But the actual winner in points, Thomas Jodin, gave the title to Peacock in the spirit of sportsmanship.

Thompson had some adventure of her own last year. In the series' moonlight run, her first ever race in the dark, she didn't wear a headlamp, thinking that the nearly full moon would provide enough light to run by.

"That was just plain dumb and against the rules," Thompson said, "but the race director didn't know I didn't have (a headlamp). Somehow, I ran the course without biting it, but I came in third because I had to slow down on the dark corners more than everyone else."

Thompson said the Mount Helena Ridge Trail event -- the race she won -- was her favorite.

"There's only one uphill at the beginning and then it's basically downhill to the finish," she said. "I wasn't super fast, but it felt really easy and it is always fun to let off the brakes and fly down the hill."

A modest Thompson said she felt like her championship last year was more by default than merit. Two of the top runners -- Michele Bazzanella and Marta Fisher -- each had to miss two races, making them ineligible for the championship.

In addition to this Saturday's run, events this year are:

• a 3.2-mile run in the moonlight starting at the Tubbs Trailhead on the north side of Mount Helena Sept. 19;

• a 6.6-mile time trial run on the Mount Helena Ridge Trail Oct. 12;

• and a 4-mile run at the Elkhorn Endurance Retreat Oct. 19 with steep hills, a creek crossing and some technical singletrack.

Thompson will be traveling during this year's series, so she will have to miss some of the events and won't be able to defend her title. But she plans to run every race she can.

"Runners are somewhat loners in training, so the series is really a social release and great gathering for local runners -- and so much more fun than the Vigilante Tuesday noon track workouts that Pat Judge leads us through," Thompson said.

For more information, visit www.helenarunningclub.com

Features editor Joe Menden: joe.menden@helenair.com or 447-4087