Our founder and executive director Nancy Hobbs recently wrote an article for the March / April 2021 issue of Sports Destination Management magazine. In addition writing about trends in our sport, this article covers the role of the American Trail Running Association and the resources it provides for trail runners, race directors and fans of trail running.
“There’s definitely an uptick in people getting outdoors to use and enjoy the trails as a result of the pandemic. People are looking for an outlet and trails fill that need.”
Brittany Charboneau at the 2020 Moab Trail Marathon – Sports Destination Management
With over 800 finishers in 2020, the Moab Trail Marathon is a popular mass participation event and host to multiple USATF national championships.
“Whether or not we need more trails in the United States is a good question. In some regions where there are no parks or trails there’s a definite need, but it’s not always feasible to create new trail networks. Where trails exist, it’s of the utmost importance to care care of them first, before considering building more.”
Start of the 2020 Moab Trail Marathon in Utah – Sports Destination Management
“We’re starting to see more diversity on the trails. This is really important to us because if someone is trying to find a way to work out and the only people they see in events or in advertising for events are people who don’t look like them, it makes it harder to convince them to get involved.”
Images from the 2020 US Trail Running Conference in Fayetteville, Arkansas – Sports Destination Management
The mission of the US Trail Running Conference is to lead, educate, connect and empower an inclusive family of trail runners, race directors and industry leaders working to share best practices with the trail running community. The 2021 edition of the US Trail Running Conference takes place October 27-30 in Fayetteville, AR.
For more information Sports Destination Management visit their website.
