Meet ATRA Trail Ambassador – Mindy Coolman

Please welcome our thirty first American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Trail Ambassador presented by CamelBak, and the seventh in 2019. Nebraskan Mindy Coolman is a goal oriented and passionate trail runner and volunteer. Amy Cherko nominated Mindy and wrote about her, “Mindy has been a fixture in the Omaha trail running scene since I can… Read more »

Pyrenees Canfranc Alpinultras a 2020 WMRA World Cup Candidate Race

Press release by World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) council member Sergio Garasa Mayayo (Spain). ATRA founder and executive director Nancy Hobbs is the WMRA treasurer. Race sponsor Raidlight is also an ATRA corporate member.  STORY HIGHLIGHTS: Canfranc-Canfranc arrives as second stage for Alpinultras series, after Tenerife Blue Trail and before Desafío Cainejo. The 100 km… Read more »

Discrete Cirque Series Packs Big Mountain Fun into Short Distance Races

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. This past weekend, Saturday, September 7, 2019, I attended the final race of the Discrete Cirque Series. First organized in 2015, this mountain running series consists of six races that take… Read more »

Pennsylvania’s GAP Relay Goes Carbon Neutral

Press release from American Trail Running Association member Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon. Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc. (P3R) is partnering with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) to host its first carbon-neutral event and one of the first-carbon neutral trail running endurance events at the 2019 GAP Relays, a two-day non-stop 150-mile relay race along the… Read more »

Colorado Springs Plogging Day Sweeps the Trails Clean

In early March of 2019, we applied for a $250 grant through ExtremeTerrain’s Clean Trail Grant Program. The program provides eligible groups with the opportunity to win grants to fund trail improvement projects, ranging from trail clean-up to trail restoration or even trail network expansion. When we reached out to ask if hosting a plogging… Read more »

Untold Stories from the Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon

Peter Maksimow is ATRA’s Outreach & Partnership Specialist and lives in Manitou Springs, CO. He is also an elite trail runner, plogger and member of the silver medal winning US team at the 2015 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships. Photos by Peter Maksimow. The recent Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon in Manitou Springs, Colorado… Read more »

25 Years Ago in Mountain Running: An American Takes on Europe’s Best

The following is an excerpt from 1993 World Mountain Running Championship silver medalist Dave Dunham’s August 1994 training log. Dave and several other American runners competed in events which are now considered mountain running classics. At that time the U.S. trail & mountain running scene was still in its infancy. These European mountain running races… Read more »

2019 USATF Junior Mountain Running Team Announced

USA Track & Field’s Mountain, Ultra, Trail (MUT) Executive Committee has named the Junior US Mountain Running Team members scheduled to compete at the 32nd WMRA World Mountain Running Championships on Friday, November 15, in Villa La Angostura, Argentina. The Team features a mixture of former Youth (U18) and Junior (U20) Team members along with… Read more »

Six Easy Strength Training Exercises for Faster Mountain Running

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. Tayte is pictured above at the 2018 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships. Photo by Fotografia Bez Miary Magdalena Bogdan. Strength training running specific muscles in your legs, glutes and core… Read more »

ATRA Member Leslie Jordan Inc Certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise

Press release written by Leslie Jordan Inc. Leslie Jordan is an American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Switchback corporate member and preferred vendor in our Event Standards Program. Portland, OR – Leslie Jordan Brand Apparel Manufacturing was recently certified as a Women’s business enterprise. Founded in 1986, Leslie Jordan Inc. has partnered with thousands of events… Read more »

Chamonix Based Trail Race Organizer announces Val d’Aran by UTMB® for the Spanish Pyrenees

Press release written by UTMB®. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France — UTMB® and local organizers InAran Sports, have today announced the inaugural edition of Val d’Aran by UTMB®, the newest international event created by UTMB®, will be held in the heart of the Pyrenees from 3-5 July 2020. Announced at the world summit of trail running UTMB® Mont Blanc… Read more »

My Favorite Things to Do at the Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon

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. Salomon is an ATRA member. Photos by Peter Maksimow and Tayte Pollmann. This past weekend the 64th annual Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon were held in Manitou Springs, CO. On Saturday,… Read more »

Europeans take five of six podium spots at Pikes Peak Marathon

Press release written by Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon. Salomon and Sage Canaday are ATRA members. Photos by Peter Maksimow. MANITOU SPRINGS – With a comfortable lead and the Pikes Peak Marathon women’s race record in sight, Swiss runner Maude Mathys made the famous turn on the mountain’s 14,115-foot summit on Sunday. Keep it together,… Read more »

USATF U18 Girls’ Mountain Running Team Earns Bronze

Colorado high school runners Samantha Blair (5th place), Madeleine Burns (7th place) and Maggi Congdon (18th place) took home the team bronze medal at the World Mountain Running Association’s (WMRA) U18 International Mountain Running Youth Cup in Susa, Italy today. The three standout cross country runners competed against elite 16-and 17-year-old off-road runners from 14… Read more »

Joe Gray and Kim Dobson Capture Pikes Peak Ascent Titles

Press release written by Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon. MANITOU SPRINGS – Joe Gray and Kim Dobson returned to familiar territory on Saturday, winning the men’s and women’s races in the 64th Pikes Peak Ascent. Gray, 35, of Colorado Springs, set the early pace and was not challenged. Leading from the starting line in Manitou… Read more »