A (free!) race report written by American Trail Running Association (ATRA) member David Reed. Texas based Tejas Trails is an ATRA corporate member. ATRA should be renamed to A-ATRA or Awesome – American Trail Running Association. Why? Because they are simply AWESOME. They give away free race entries to their members!! How AWESOME is that?… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Trail Running
ATRA Member Salomon Announces Format Change For 2020 Golden Trail World Series
Announcement from American Trail Running Association (ATRA) corporate member Salomon Running. The Golden Trail World Series (GTWS), now in its third year of existence, announced tentative plans for an altered 2020 race format. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, sports competitions and leagues around the world have been forced to adapt and that has also… Read more »
But Doctor, Can I Still Run Trails? A Story of Three Injuries
Written by ATRA executive director Nancy Hobbs. Nancy founded the American Trail Running Association (ATRA) in 1996 and is chairperson of USA Track & Field’s (USATF) Mountain, Ultra & Trail Running Council. She is also treasurer of the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA). Sidelined by injuries — or not — rest and recovery is important…. Read more »
Utah’s Bryce Canyon Ultras Are “Game On” For This Weekend
Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you liked this article, read even more of Tayte’s articles on our website. Photo above by Lucid Images. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most trail races scheduled for this… Read more »
Origin Stories of Top American Trail Runners – Part 2
Redemption, Wrong Turns, Silver Linings and Cigarettes: How a Few of the Nation’s Top Mountain/Ultra/Trail Runners Found Their Way to the Trails. Written by Shannon Payne. Shannon is a Colorado native trail runner currently residing in Auburn, California. She was a 2-time qualifier for the US Mountain Running Team, 2-time winner of the Mt. Washington… Read more »
Origin Stories of Top American Trail Runners – Part 1
Redemption, Wrong Turns, Silver Linings and Cigarettes: How a Few of the Nation’s Top Mountain/Ultra/Trail Runners Found Their Way to the Trails. Written by Shannon Payne. Shannon is a Colorado native currently residing in Auburn, California. She was a 2-time qualifier for the US Mountain Running Team, 2-time winner of the Mt. Washington Road Race,… Read more »
Spring 2020 Trail Runner Survey Results
Each spring, the American Trail Running Association conducts a survey to measure trail running trends from our national audience. This year we had over 2700 respondents. Complete survey results are made available to corporate members at the Switchback, Steep & Rocky and All-terrain levels. The following selected outtakes are from our most recent trail running… Read more »
Trail Runner Product Review: Mudroom Backpack’s Quartable
Mudroom Backpacks Quartable 18L reviewed by American Trail Running Association (ATRA) advisory board member and Wisconsin trail runner Susan Kendrick. Susan is the Director of Sponsorship for the American Birkebeiner® Ski Foundation and was featured in our View from the Pack series of articles. This product was provided at no charge by Mudroom Backpacks for… Read more »
Runners for Public Lands Publishes Its Environmental Commitments
Launched on Earth Day, 2019, Runners for Public Lands (RPL) is a laboratory for experiments in runner environmental activism. RPL is a 501(c)(3) non-profit environmental organization committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, and to doing conservation work and environmental advocacy based on training in these areas. Consistent with our 2020 theme of “Climate Action”… Read more »
Get Dirty; Run Clean – Our Handmade ATRA Soap is Back!
Handcrafted by Soap Master Creighton in Douglas County, Colorado, this is our third edition of the ATRA Run Clean soap. The base oils are all 100% natural with an “energy” blend of essential oils. To order this artisanal soap send a check to: American Trail Running Association, PO Box 9454, Colorado Springs, CO 80932. $11… Read more »
MUT WiLD Drops New “Social Distancing” T-Shirts to Benefit ATRA
Elite trail runner and 2017 World Mountain Running Championship women’s team gold medalist Allie McLaughlin’s (pictured below) MUT WiLD brand has just released a series of social distancing T-shirts to benefit the American Trail Running Association. These original “My Kind Of Social Distancing” designs are printed on Tultex brand 100% ring spun cotton fine knit… Read more »
Climate Neutral Proudly Certifies More Than 70 Companies
Press release from Climate Neutral, a non-profit organization creating the new trusted consumer standard for corporate climate action. Climate Action is ATRA’s 2020 theme. Trail running footwear manufacturer Icebug is one of Climate Neutral’s committed brands. For Earth Day, dozens of brands unite under a new standard for climate action. Climate Neutral, an independent non-profit… Read more »
RunRepeat Survey Shows Which Runners are the Most Obsessed – Spoiler: It’s Ultrarunners
Survey by Paul Ronto at RunRepeat and republished here with permission. The original survey results was published on RunRepeat.com April 1, 2020. This stats page from Run Repeat is a simple look at the participation patterns of runners in the 5 most common distances – 5 km, 10 km, Half marathon, Marathon and Ultra. In… Read more »
RunRepeat Study Shows Exercise is Up 88% During COVID-19 Pandemic
Survey by Paul Ronto at RunRepeat and republished here with permission. The original survey results was published on RunRepeat.com April 2, 2020. The world is in crisis because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between government lockdowns, layoffs, furloughs, work from home mandates, school closures, and sports facility shutdowns, we wanted to understand how this virus is… Read more »
Why Race Directors Need Event Liability Insurance for Virtual Trail Races
Nicholas Hill Group, Inc., provides event liability insurance for American Trail Running Association (ATRA) event members through our Trail Running Insurance Program (T.R.I.P.). The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of most trail races leading to a sharp increase in virtual trail races. Our executive director Nancy Hobbs (pictured below) recently had a conversation… Read more »
Climate Action: Our Theme for 2020
The American Trail Running Association (ATRA), is proud to announce “Climate Action” as our theme for 2020. This important topic follows our recent annual themes including last year’s Trail Running Responsibly, 2018’s Trail Stewardship: Leaving a Lasting Legacy, and the 2017 theme, Community: Building Trail Running Connections. At ATRA, our mission is to represent and… Read more »
Guest Editorial: Why We Don’t Need Virtual Trail Running Events….Right Now
This guest editorial was written by Pacific Coast Trail Runs Race Director Greg Lanctot. The views expressed are Lanctot’s and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the American Trail Running Association. Lanctot resides in California and is President Emeritus of Quicksilver Running Club, a retired NASM-PES-CES-CPT Trainer, retired Youth & Special Needs Fitness… Read more »
Harrison Walter’s Race Redemption
Written by Harrison Walter, whose article, “What Running Means to Me,” was published last year. Harrison runs on the varsity high school track and cross-country teams at Custer County High School in Westcliffe, Colorado and regularly competes in trail races. He turns 16 in April and was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum when… Read more »
Social Distance Learning Videos with Nano on Trails
It may be April 1st, but this is no April Fools joke! Stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, our founder and executive director Nancy Hobbs is sharing her non-trail running knowledge in a series of short, entertaining, social distance (learning) videos. Covering subjects including homophones, fractions, geography and oenology, these bite sized videos… Read more »
A Trail Runner’s Tips for Working from Home
Due to the COVID-19, many of you may be working from home for the first time in your career. Having worked out of my home on and off for the past 30 years, I have a few tips to share. Movement Although you may be tempted to sit at your desk for hours on end… Read more »