“Sustainability will depend on having informed, ecologically literate citizens working toward healthy ecosystems, genuine social inclusion, and equitable distribution of resources.”

– Margaret Robertson, Sustainability Principles and Practice

Introduction

Over 10,000 youth from 22 countries recently surveyed by Amnesty International ranked climate change as the most important issue of our time. Young people in the United States make the same case. Increasing average temperatures, rising sea levels, extreme weather, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and mass extinction associated with climate change threaten public health, water supply, food security, decent livelihoods, economic opportunities, and international relations. Furthermore, climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately and unjustly impact Indigenous communities, communities of color, and low-income communities.

Using the lens of environmental justice, Runners for Public Lands (RPL) organizes and mobilizes runners for climate action; environmental sustainability; the protection of public lands and expansion of conservation efforts; and seeing to equitable access to nature.

It’s time to better connect our love for running, our communities, and the natural world to urgent and much-needed transitions and transformations that limit climate change and minimize its impacts, and reduce pollution, as much as possible. As the largest outdoor recreational group in the country, 60 million strong, runners can make a difference. RPL applies its passion for human endurance, beautiful landscapes, and coming together to inspire and support runners for environmental advocacy, conservation work, and promoting environmental corporate responsibility and international cooperation.

Environmental Sustainability

Supporting running communities in our common work to use resources in the most responsible and sustainable manner for current and future generations

• RPL supports race directors in reducing their respective race-related, environmental footprints
• RPL supports the sustainable creation, use, and maintenance of trails

Equitable Access

Working for equitable, sustainable, and safe access to public lands, nature preserves, and local parks, especially for youth in underserved communities

• RPL educates communities on how to access, and what to expect on, local and regional trails
• RPL educates communities on local and regional disparities in access to green space in underserved communities, and supports community efforts to improve such access

Climate Action

Supporting climate-friendly practices in our running communities that reduce CO2 emissions, limit global warming, and minimize its impacts

• RPL works to transition the sport of trail running to carbon neutral races by supporting the use of carbon offsets
• RPL raises awareness of the climate impacts of what runners eat
• RPL fights against the expansion of the natural gas compressor station in West Ventura, CA
• RPL fights for mandatory all-electric building codes in our communities

Environmental Sustainability

Supporting running communities in our common work to use resources in the most responsible and sustainable manner for current and future generations

• RPL supports race directors in reducing their respective race-related, environmental footprints
• RPL supports the sustainable creation, use, and maintenance of trails

Public Lands

Protecting and expanding public lands and natural landscapes to enhance their ecological, cultural, and recreational value, and for climate change mitigation

• RPL fights against oil and gas extraction on public lands
• RPL educates runners on the ecological, cultural, and recreational value of public lands

Equitable Access

Protecting and expanding public lands and natural landscapes to enhance their ecological, cultural, and recreational value, and for climate change mitigation

• RPL fights against oil and gas extraction on public lands
• RPL educates runners on the ecological, cultural, and recreational value of public lands

Runners for Public Lands is based on the ancestral homelands of the Chumash people. We express our gratitude for their understanding and stewardship of the living lands through which we run.

– RPL Land Acknowledgement