Out&About
No Race to Run? Head for the Hills!
Rainier’s Wonderland Trail, Nooksack Ridgelines, Goat Rocks, Yosemite and California’s Lost Coast.
In the spring, residents of Cascadia are typically planning their outdoor recreational calendars in anticipation of the season ahead. But this year, most every organized event is on hold and the normal plethora of races is—for the time being— unavailable. This presents a double-edged conundrum: runners, as we all know, need to run and the stressful and isolated times that we have been experiencing have only increased the desire for authentic experiences in the great outdoors.
“Covid has torn apart our social fabric, leaving us isolated by our social distancing and hyper- zoomed by our screens,” says Aspire founder Abram Dickerson. “While it’s essential to preserve the physical health and well being of our society, there is no replacement for gathering as a physical community.”
But take heart: One purveyor of topdrawer outdoor running experiences has found a way to continue offering inspiring running opportunities—and in fact, has expanded their offerings for 2021. Aspire Adventure Running has been leading supported backcountry trail running trips since 2015 in some epic wilderness areas—both in Cascadia and Northern California. Their trips have become famous for their meticulous planning and organizational prowess, affording runners opportunities to maximize the ecstatic trail running experiences in these spectacular settings.
Aspire Trips are unique on the local running scene, offering opportunities for truly remote running experiences, a model that the company borrowed from white water rafting and supported cycling trips. “It’s both humbling and empowering to be in a position to provide connection and community for small groups of runners deep inside wilderness and backcountry spaces,” Dickerson says. “Aspire’s mission has always been centered in connection, and this year the need for deep, authentic, experiential relationships has never been greater.” In addition to the trail runs, Aspire is launching what they call ‘Skills’ trips this year.
Photo by Nick Danielson
And, thanks in part to the very nature of these back-of-beyond experiences; they’ve adapted their logistics to incorporate safeguards in this time of COVID-19. Precautions include socially-distanced base camps, sanitized equipment and daily health check-ins. Obviously, it is not difficult to maintain social distancing on the trails themselves in the wide-open wilderness areas that Aspire has chosen. Upcoming trips include runs at Desolation Peak, Ross Lake, Mt.
“As runners are traveling deeper and more frequently into wild spaces, there is a growing need for us to understand the fundamentals of backcountry medicine and how to treat injuries common to our sport,” explains Dickerson. “We’re teaming up with Backcountry Medical Guides to provide a three-day, retreatstyle Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification course on Sucia Island. This is our first Skills trip focused on empowering runners to run deeper, with more offerings in the works.” Although the trips are carefully organized to minimize COVID-19 risk (pre-trip vetting, personal transportation encouraged to the race base camps, “restaurant informed’ cooking and serving practices for all meals, etc.), Dickerson is clear that zero risk—as in any trip to the wilderness—is not possible. “As runners make decisions to attend and/or register for one of our trips, we cannot guarantee a COVID-19-free experience any more than we can eliminate all of the risks associated with wilderness and backcountry travel. We are committed, as always, to following best practices to mitigating those risks without compromising the essential nature of the wilderness experience we provide.” Learn more at www.aspireadventurerunning.com
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The heartbeat of Cascadia
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