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May Newsletter
The month ahead holds multiple opportunities to get involved with RPL. Once again, our continued growth wouldn’t be possible without YOUR support! |
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Outdoor Alliance Grasstops Collective |
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We are thrilled to announce that our Executive Director, Kathleen Baker, was selected to be part of the first cohort of Outdoor Alliance’s Grasstops Collective program! The program will build the power of grasstops outdoor recreation leaders to better advocate for public land and water conservation, climate action, and outdoor recreation. Click here to learn more about the program! |
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Outdoor Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of organizations that includes American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, The Mountaineers, American Alpine Club, the Mazamas, Colorado Mountain Club, and Surfrider Foundation. For 10 years, Outdoor Alliance has united the human-powered outdoor recreation community to achieve lasting conservation victories. For more information about Outdoor Alliance, click here! |
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Trail Work Series: Colorado |
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| On May 21st, we hosted our second Colorado Trail Work Series event of the year in partnership with Trail Runner Volunteers and Jefferson County Open Space. Twelve volunteers worked to improve drainage on the trails to help prevent further erosion. This work is helping keep the trails safe and usable at North Table Mountai! |
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Interested in joining the next Colorado trail work event? Click here to sign up for our June 4th work party at Mount Falcon Park, or click here for the June 20th event at South Table Mountain! Be sure to check out our complete list of trail work events here. |
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Trail Work Series: Indiana |
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| This month, we kicked off the newest Trail Work Series in Indiana! Seven volunteers attended our May 9th work party in Indiana Dunes National Park despite the rainy conditions. Together, the volunteers were able to remove 154 pounds of invasive garlic mustard over 15 volunteer hours. The educational focus of the event was native and invasive plants. Our next Trail Work Series event in Indiana will occur on June 20th, with a focus on trail maintenance. Sign up here! |
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A special thanks to the brands sponsoring these events: GU, Suffer Better, Fractal, Patagonia Provisions and Patagonia Trail Running, and last but not least, Athletic Brewing who is funding this program through a Two for the Trail grant award! |
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RPL is proud to announce that earlier this month, we signed Outdoor Alliance's joint letter on fully funding the outdoor recreation budgets at land management agencies like the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Visitation is increasing on America’s public lands, yet funding for outdoor recreation on public lands and waters has decreased. We are proud to be part of the groups of outdoor recreation organizations and businesses speaking up to advocate for better funding. Check out the joint letter here. The Outdoor Alliance press release, which quotes Kathleen Baker, can be found here. Want to take action yourself? Click here for the easy-action form to write to Congress!
Kathleen Baker and Board Member Jason Keith published an Op-Ed in the Salt Lake City Tribune titled “Opinion: Utah runners must support the EPA methane rule.” Check out the full article here! |
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Earlier this month, irunfar published a piece discussing the upcoming Camp & Run 2024 event. Click here to read the full article and learn more about the weekend.
Last week, RPL Founder and President Vic Thasiah had an article published at irunfar. This creative writing piece, in honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, recounts the 67-mile trip along the Backbone Trail in search of stillness, or jing. Read the full article here! |
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Ready to spend a weekend camping, running, caring for the lands, and learning from local experts with fellow RPL members in the Colorado mountains? Later this month, we will bring back RPL’s signature Camp & Run! We will host the 2024 Camp & Run in partnership with Cloud City Conservation Center, Friends of Lake County, and the Lake County Tourism Panel in Leadville, Colorado, from Friday, June 21st to Sunday, June 23rd! |
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RPL proudly announces Zoë Rom, RPL National Advisory Council, and Emily Olsen, Executive Director of Cloud City Conservation Center, as our 2024 Camp & Run mentors! We are so excited to have these individuals join us for this inspirational event. This year's camp hosts also include Adam Ducharme - Tourism Director of Leadville/Lake County Tourism District, and the RPL Team - Vic, Kat, and Bretty!
Interested in learning more and want to sign up? Did we mention that attending only costs $45, including three nights of camping, most meals, and product giveaways? Check out all the details and register by clicking the button below! Spots are limited, so be sure to sign up soon. |
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Community Runs with Patagonia |
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| Our scheduled community runs in partnership with Patagonia are a great way to connect with fellow RPL supporters and members. Join us every third Tuesday of the month at the Ventura Patagonia store with RPL Ambassador Denise Graves, Wilson Turk, and Holly Scala and every final Sunday of the month at the Cardiff Patagonia store with RPL Ambassaor Rich Hidalgo and the Coastal Run Club. |
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Beginning next month, you can also join RPL at one of the monthly runs from the Patagonia store in Boulder! This run will kick off on the evening of Wednesday, June 26th with RPL Ambassador Edwin Hassenstein - stay tuned for more details! |
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Wander Project: Charity Bibs |
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We wanted to thank all the runners registering for charity bibs to support RPL! We have partnered with the Wander Project to offer charity bibs for six races in the year ahead. These charity bibs act as free entry into one of our partner events in exchange for raising awareness and funds for RPL. Sign up for a charity bib and check out the upcoming races below, including the newest race addition, Cocodona 250! |
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Sunset Trail Running Festival |
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On June 23rd, The Boulder Watershed Collective, a nonprofit committed to helping communities and landscapes within the Boulder Creek watershed thrive, will host the third Sunset Trail Running Festival in Gold Hill. This fundraising event was created to bolster community-led wildfire preparation efforts.
In addition to fundraising, the aim is for runners to understand their position as stewards of the land where they recreate and travel. Stop by and meet RPL’s newest Ambassador Edwin Hassenstein and learn more about opporutnities to get involved with RPL in Colorado! |
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RPL will be present to meet the community, share our work, and offer ways runners can get involved in protecting the environment at the following RUFA events on June 1st: Ventura, Cardiff, Boulder, and Telluride! These global Strava events will bring runners together to celebrate a shared passion for trails and outdoor rec, amplify informed dialogue about air quality issues, and support related organizations. For more information on the individual events, including where to time and locations, follow these links: Ventura event, click here; Cardiff, click here; Boulder, click here; and Telluride, click here. |
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| The Denver Colfax Marathon took place earlier this month. We want to extend our thanks and gratitude to all the runners who competed in the marathon and half-marathon on behalf of RPL to help raise funds and further awareness! Your support means so much to everyone at RPL. |
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Thank you for your continual support as our organization continues to grow. We look forward to the year ahead and many meaningful miles shared on the trails! |
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