For runners (and others) interested in protecting and preserving wild areas and promoting low-impact
Runners for the Wild is a place for the vibrant community of runners to voice our support for wild places. Wild areas, where nature is left to its own devices and we humans are only low-impact visitors and admirers, are increasingly threatened around the globe. This is primarily due to human development and industrial activities. And much of this activity takes place on our public lands, which we
02/07/2017
Patagonia taking the lead in the outdoor industry, standing up to Utah politicians and standing with . https://gearjunkie.com/patagonia-withdraws-outdoor-retailer-trade-show-utah
In Protest, Patagonia Withdraws From 'Outdoor Retailer' Trade Show The boycott rails against Utah Governor Gary Herbert's decision to rescind Bears Ears National Monument.
03/29/2016
Hello Runners for the Wild! Grand Canyon National Park's new Backcountry Management Plan has implications for running in the canyon. The Plan is huge, but we put together this presentation to distill it down to what it means for running in the canyon. If you're interested in this issue, please consider taking a quick look at the presentation, and sending a comment to the National Park Service by April 4th (link below). And I'd love to see a discussion get going here on the questions from the end of the presentation!
Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bON69y1eI6Df24MGV4rWIhaw5xJvoUhXzec2Y5czU_k/present =id.p3
NPS Comments Link: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=65&projectID=22633&documentID=69426
"There is nothing quite so gentle, deep, and irrational as our running - and nothing quite so savage, and so wild." - Bernd Heinrich, Why We Run: A Natural History
02/02/2016
Runners for the Wild gettin some air time! Check out this episode of the new podcast Brew Trails from Dark Sky Brewing Company for some insights into Runners for the Wild and some aspirations for the future. Also available on iTunes.
http://brewtrails.podbean.com/e/episode-2-mike-popejoy-interview/
Episode #2 Mike Popejoy and Beer Dinners In this episode, you'll hear an interview with Team DSB athlete Mike Popejoy about his training, being a beer sponsored athlete, and all the cool things he is doing while living in Flagstaff. We also share our upcoming Events, Live Music, & Beers. For ...
01/31/2016
Here's an article on some new research about the beneficial effects of trail running on mental health. Which makes you wonder, as a human, why is it that we get beneficial mental effects when we escape from our own creations (especially our machines)?
E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center
Competitor Running
http://running.competitor.com/2015/10/trail-running/feeling-anxious-research-shows-trail-running-benefits-your-brain_138204
Feeling Anxious? Research Shows Trail Running Benefits Your Brain | Competitor.com Fascinating new science out of Stanford University shows trail running can literally change your brain.
"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money."
-Cree Indian Proverb (Vanishing of the Bees)
Money in itself is morally neutral. There are good reasons for thinking that wild nature is not. Sacrificing one for the other is in most cases short-sighted.
12/10/2015
"Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of protected areas is that it teaches self-discipline and the idea that we must set aside human desires so that other life forms can survive."
On the connection between wildlands and climate change: http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/02/wildlands-protection-an-antidote-for-climate-change/
Wildlands Protection: an Antidote for Climate Change As delegates meet in Paris in the next few weeks to consider ways of reducing human-caused climate change, one topic that is unlikely to get much focus is the contribution that protected natural ar…
12/07/2015
Hey Runners for the Wild - you can tag the group in photos of yourself running through your own wild places with . Here's one of me from a 25k trail race this past weekend in McDowell Mountain Park.
News of a new partnership between two of the world's largest conservation organizations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), aimed at fostering protected areas and the biodiversity they contain. And we can help - as E.O. Wilson says in "The Future of Life", "The protection and management of the world's existing natural reserves could be managed by a 1 cent per cup tax on coffee." http://www.iucn.org/?22175/IUCN-and-WWF-announce-new-partnership-to-
IUCN and WWF announce new partnership to expand and strengthen protected areas IUCN and WWF have joined forces to enhance and promote the role of protected and conserved areas in achieving sustainable development over the next ten years.
As you're making plans for Thanksgiving-time races and runs with family and friends, consider carpooling as much as possible to reduce our collective impact!
"Surely the rest of life matters. Surely our stewardship is its only hope. We will be wise to listen carefully to the heart, then act with rational intention with all the tools we can gather and bring to bear."
- E.O. Wilson, "The Future of Life"
11/11/2015
Great article in Running Times on wilderness etiquette on the trails, written by our friend Ian Torrence: http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-running-training/wilderness-etiquette-for-trail-runners
Wilderness Etiquette for Trail Runners We've been hearing it for several years: Trail running is gaining popularity. New races on singletrack in remote locations are filling faster, and back-country parks are gaining favor as a preferred training ground for trail aficionados and roadie converts alike. The burgeoning sport doesn't come wi…