Announcement from American Trail Running Association member Trail Sisters.
The new partnership aims to foster community, connection and empower women with the confidence to hit the trail.
Life Time is pleased to announce a new partnership with Trail Sisters, a women’s trail running community aimed at increasing participation and opportunity in trail running through inspiration, education and empowerment. As part of the partnership, Life Time will serve as the presenting sponsor of Trail Sisters’ first-ever run event, the sold-out Women’s Trail Half Marathon in Buena Vista, Colo. on Sept. 11. The partnership brings the two organizations together to create educational content and resources on topics such as awareness, gear and conservation through digital experiences and at in-person events with local Trail Sisters run groups. Together, the organizations will tap into Trail Sisters’ 35,000+ network of women runners across the country to foster community, connection and empower women to feel comfortable hitting the trails.
As part of the partnership, a Trail Sisters Coaching Grant presented by Life Time will be created to support women looking to get into the sport. Recipients of the grant will receive training throughout the year from Life Time run coaches and a race entry into one of Life Time’s fall running events. This grant ties together both Trail Sisters’ and Life Time’s mission of growing the sport and providing opportunity for everyone. More information about the grant and application will be available soon on the Trail Sisters website.
Trail Sisters founder Gina Lucrezi
“What I’ve learned over my five years running Trail Sisters is that if someone is educated on a topic and really understands it, then they feel empowered and have the ability to help other people out,” said Gina Lucrezi, founder of Trail Sisters. “There’s a lot you can do if you’re an empowered person—it makes you feel confident and like you can take on anything. Giving people free access to help them grow their skill set and feel strong mentally, physically and emotionally can really set someone on their path to do anything in life.
Our goal is to generate more educational content for the trail running community to enjoy and learn from, while also empowering them to participate and embrace opportunities. Alongside and with the help from the Life Time team, we can grow the whole sport for women.”
The partnership kicks off during the Leadville Race Series Silver Rush 50 weekend July 10-11, the 50-mile run event that Gina has won twice, in 2014 and 2017. Gina will host a shakeout run at 4pm on Friday, July 9 for anyone in town for Silver Rush 50 weekend in Leadville, Colo. The group run will be open to anyone and will meet at the base of Dutch Henry Hill, where packet pickup is, and will be a casual out-and-back 5K on the Mineral Belt Trail.
“Silver Rush is my favorite course of all time because of the dynamics of what it includes. There’s great climbing, a great downhill finish, it’s really the perfect event,” said Lucrezi. “This year, I look forward to running the 15-mile course on Saturday and my goal this time around is to help build camaraderie and offer tips to other runners out on course.”
“We’ve worked with Gina and Trail Sisters for 4 years now on various projects, including women’s trail runs and more recently, Her Summit, both focused on empowerment for females in the outdoors. I know and see the impact that Trail Sisters has made in building confidence and education for women in this space, and am so excited to create a more formal partnership intended to enable Trail Sisters to continue their growth. Together we look forward to bringing more women into the sport of trail running,” said Michelle Duffy, Associate Marketing Director for Life Time’s Off Road Events.
After Silver Rush, the next event on the Leadville Race Series run calendar is the Leadville Trail 10K, which will also take place on Aug. 15, followed by the legendary Leadville Trail 100 Run presented by La Sportiva on Aug. 21-22, coined the “Race Across The Sky,” where it all started back in 1983. Next up is the Barn Burner Run event on Sept. 19 in Flagstaff, Ariz., followed by The Rad Dirt Fest, a new event offering from the Life Time team that will take place in Trinidad, Colo, Oct. 2-3. The final run event on the Life Time off-road calendar is the Austin Rattler Run, Nov. 6.
To learn more about all Life Time athletic events, please visit: https://my.lifetime.life/athletic-events.html. To learn more about Trail Sisters, please visit: https://trailsisters.net/
Photo courtesy of the Leadville Race Series.
About Life Time® – Healthy Way of Life
Life Time champions a healthy and happy life for its members across 144 destinations in 39 major markets in the U.S. and Canada. As the nation’s only Healthy Way of Life brand, Life Time delivers an unmatched athletic resort experience and provides a comprehensive healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment experience that goes well beyond fitness to encompass the entire spectrum of daily life for individuals, couples and families of all ages. For more information visit www.lifetime.life.
About Trail Sisters
Trail Sisters was created to constitute for an equitable outdoors both recreationally and throughout the industry. Female voice and representation are essential in the future of the outdoors, impacting the role we play both on and off the trails. To break through long-standing barriers, Trail Sisters generates educational content and resources, while fostering an inspirational community that encourages self-advocacy and life-long friendships. For more information: visit www.TrailSisters.net.
