Please welcome the 12th and final honoree in our 2017 American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Trail Ambassador program presented by CamelBak. We’re proud to introduce you to 45-year-old Chad Wikander, a community builder, accomplished athlete and trail devotee who has lived in Southern Oregon for the past 22 years. Michael DiGiorgio wrote in his nomination… Read more »
Posts By: Nancy Hobbs
Meet ATRA Trail Ambassador – Chris Russell
Please welcome the 11th of our 2017 American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Trail Ambassadors presented by CamelBak. We’re proud to introduce you to Chris Russell, a giant in stature and personality. “Chris is hard to miss,” writes friend and nominator Brian Ricketts. “Standing 6’8″ tall, he doesn’t look like your average trail runner. His personality… Read more »
Know where to look: Discovering trails in my hometown
On the most recent trip to my hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, I discovered some trails I didn’t know existed. It was April, 2017 and spring was just thinking about awakening from its winter slumber. And me, I was wide awake and tired of running on the roads and longed for a bit of trail adventure… Read more »
ATRA includes Nicholas Hill Group as a preferred partner in Event Standards Program
The American Trail Running Association (ATRA) is pleased to welcome Nicholas Hill Group as our newest partner in the Event Standards Program. We introduced our Event Standards Program in 2012, and for the past two years, have included vendors and suppliers as partners to further assist trail race directors in meeting our 15 criteria necessary for… Read more »
Chase and Hobbs collaborate on a series of four trail running guide books
American Trail Running Association (ATRA) president Adam W. Chase and executive director Nancy Hobbs have joined forces again to coauthor a series of four trail running guide books. These “where-to” guides follow on the heels of their successful “how-to” book, The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running, first published in 2001, with a second edition published… Read more »
Book Review: The Way of the Runner: A Journey into the Fabled World of Japanese Running
The Way of the Runner: A Journey into the Fabled World of Japanese Running, by Adharanand Finn. Pegasus Books, 2015. Reviewed by Laura Clark for the Fall 2017 edition of the Trail Times newsletter. Upon his return from Kenya (Running with the Kenyans), A. Finn posted an impressive series of PRs in a variety of distances…. Read more »
Meet ATRA Trail Ambassador – Soleil Gaylord
Please welcome our tenth 2017 American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Trail Ambassadors presented by CamelBak. We’re proud to introduce you to Soleil Gaylord, a high school senior who builds community by sharing her passion for trail and mountain running in her hometown of Telluride, Colorado, and beyond. This dynamo ran her first trail race in… Read more »
Book Review: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate, by Peter Wohlleben. Greystone Books, 2015. Reviewed by Laura Clark for the Fall 2017 edition of the Trail Times newsletter. Deep into a difficult trail race, I always seem to recall this common quote: “I ran by the trees as if they were standing… Read more »
Warm up and cool down
Written by Stephen R. Santangelo and originally published in the Fall 2017 edition of the Trail Times newsletter. If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? ~John Wooden Many factors are essential in maintaining a healthy body to continue running the trails over the years and performing… Read more »
US Trail Running Conference inspires, engages and entertains – Highlights from the 2017 event
The 5th annual US Trail Running Conference was held October 11-14, in Estes Park, Colorado, and provided three and a half days of presentations, networking, vendor displays, morning trail runs, and panel discussions. Content was geared to trail race directors for the first two and a half days with a presenting sponsor in Race Roster…. Read more »
Harry Potter comes to Mt. Greylock
Written by Laura Clark for the Fall 2017 edition of the Trail Times newsletter. Members of the Western Massachusetts Athletic Club always knew Mt. Greylock was magical, with its mist-enshrouded War Memorial crowning the top and its winter-white hump inspiring Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. But this year provided firm confirmation: Harry Potter & Company chose Greylock… Read more »
Pikes Peak Trekker Expedition a Success
This past August an American Trail Running Association team captured panoramic “street-view” imagery of the entire Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon course using Google’s backpack-mounted camera system. The resulting imagery will enable fans of the Pikes Peak race to view the entire length of the trail from the comfort of their home, or on the… Read more »
ATRA’s Richard Bolt recognized for contributions to snowshoe running
At the 16th annual Birkie Trail Fest in Hayward, Wisconsin on Saturday, September 30, ATRA’s Director of Marketing Richard Bolt was presented with the 2017 Cindy Brochman Memorial Snowshoe Magazine Person of the Year award. The upper Midwest was a fitting spot to celebrate Bolt’s accomplishments as a snowshoe ambassador and role model, since the… Read more »
Team USA leads medal count at NACAC Mountain Running Championships
In spite of Team Mexico winning individual golds, Team USA led the medal count with five of the 12 medals awarded at this year’s 14th North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Mountain Running Championships in Golden, BC, Canada. A deep USA men’s squad led the scoring to take gold in the team competition with… Read more »
Base Camp Las Vegas, book reviewed by Laura Clark
Base Camp Las Vegas: 101 Hikes in the Southwest, by Deborah Wall. Imbrifex Books, 2017. Fly nonstop to Las Vegas (as easy as flying the tourist nonstop to Disney World), take in a few shows and then escape to the desert trails. What a deal! Described public recreation areas are handily sorted by distance from… Read more »
Meet ATRA Trail Ambassador – Carol Tatom
Please welcome the ninth of our 2017 American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Trail Ambassadors presented by CamelBak. We’re proud to introduce you to Carol Tatom, a trail runner who builds community by sharing her passion for the sport with others. She offers advice, encouragement and support which extends well beyond her training partners. This busy… Read more »
Book Review – The Brave Athlete: Calm The F*uck Down and Rise to the Occasion
The Brave Athlete: Calm The F*uck Down and Rise to the Occasion. Velopress, 2017. By Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson. Book review by Laura Clark. Photo above by Nancy Hobbs. I must admit my initial difficulty in dealing with the title of this book. Outside of exceptions like Terry Fox, the cancer amputee who… Read more »
Mountain running specialist Gray repeats at Pikes Peak Ascent; Abrha first for women in mountain race debut
On a nearly cloudless morning, 1800 runners set off from Manitou Springs, Colorado with the goal of ascending 7800 feet over 13+ miles to reach the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak, site of the famed Pikes Peak Ascent. Ascent veteran and last year’s winner Joseph Gray, 33, Colorado Springs, confidently took the lead after about… Read more »
Meet ATRA Trail Ambassador – Dave Dutro
Please welcome the eighth of our 2017 American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Trail Ambassadors presented by CamelBak. We’re proud to introduce you to Dave Dutro, a trail runner who builds community as a coach, race director, club organizer, and dog lover. Photo above by Jon Jonkers. “The only regret I have is that I didn’t… Read more »
Record Set At The 2017 Barr Trail Mountain Race
The 17th Barr Trail Mountain Race was held in Manitou Springs, Colorado, on Sunday, July 16. On a day which started under cloud cover and slight fog, the skies cleared and temperatures warmed to the upper 60s for the 7:00 a.m. start time. Nearly 300 runners finished within the three hour and thirty minute cutoff… Read more »