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Community grows out of shared ambitions and common ground.
Running Up For Air
Jared Campbell had had enough with the Salt Lake City smog. It was February of 2012, and an inversion of thick, polluted air had settled over his home city like it does so often in the winter. So he decided to run up and down local Grandeur Peak as many times as possible for 24 hours in exchange for donations to an air quality advocacy nonprofit called Breathe Utah. “I thought I was the only one who’d want to posthole up a mountain repeatedly in the middle of winter,” he says. Turns out, others wanted in on the fun as well.
At first, the whole thing was unofficial: no entry fees, no race bibs, no awards. Just a small community of likeminded runners brought together by a common goal: to do something about air pollution while enjoying a bit of physical discomfort in the process. Each year, they’d raise a few thousand dollars for local advocacy groups.
But it quickly grew. “People would reach out and ask me to run events in their communities,” Campbell says. Today, Running Up For Air is an example of what happens when collective action and running communities collide. It’s now a fully permitted event, with close to 1,000 runners participating annually in six events across the U.S. In 2022, runners in Chamonix, France put on a hybrid-style event, where 30,000 participants embarked on regional RUFA-style challenges at local peaks across Europe. Each event takes place on a prominent local peak. “That way, people can turn around and see the city where they live,” Campbell says. “They look down on the pollution. And then they run back down into it. It really brings these issues into focus.” And each event is led by a local race director who chooses beneficiary nonprofits specifically serving their home region. The result is not one race franchised across the country, but a suite of individual races built by local communities and for local communities, with the intention building a better future for all.
All in all, the events bring in roughly $100,000 a year in fundraising. Though Campbell sees that as only a starting point. He hopes to add more events to the RUFA roster, and is exploring ways to adapt that European model to bring even larger audiences into RUFA’s running-advocacy network.
Photos: (Top) Luke Nelson makes a final push to the summit of Grandeur Peak at the Salt Lake City edition of Running Up For Air. Wasatch Mountains, Utah. ANDREW BURR (Middle) When most others are settling in for the evening, the 24-hour participants at Running Up For Air are getting ready to run through the night. Wasatch Mountains, Utah. ANDREW BURR (Bottom) Jared Campbell and Luke Nelson high five on the summit of Grandeur Peak at Running Up For Air. Wasatch Mountains, Utah. ANDREW BURR
Running Up for Air
Running Up For Air
Jared Campbell had had enough with the Salt Lake City smog. It was February of 2012, and an inversion of thick, polluted air had settled over his home city like it does so often in the winter. So he decided to run up and down local Grandeur Peak as many times as possible for 24 hours in exchange for donations to an air quality advocacy nonprofit called Breathe Utah. “I thought I was the only one who’d want to posthole up a mountain repeatedly in the middle of winter,” he says. Turns out, others wanted in on the fun as well.
At first, the whole thing was unofficial: no entry fees, no race bibs, no awards. Just a small community of likeminded runners brought together by a common goal: to do something about air pollution while enjoying a bit of physical discomfort in the process. Each year, they’d raise a few thousand dollars for local advocacy groups.
But it quickly grew. “People would reach out and ask me to run events in their communities,” Campbell says. Today, Running Up For Air is an example of what happens when collective action and running communities collide. It’s now a fully permitted event, with close to 1,000 runners participating annually in six events across the U.S. In 2022, runners in Chamonix, France put on a hybrid-style event, where 30,000 participants embarked on regional RUFA-style challenges at local peaks across Europe. Each event takes place on a prominent local peak. “That way, people can turn around and see the city where they live,” Campbell says. “They look down on the pollution. And then they run back down into it. It really brings these issues into focus.” And each event is led by a local race director who chooses beneficiary nonprofits specifically serving their home region. The result is not one race franchised across the country, but a suite of individual races built by local communities and for local communities, with the intention building a better future for all.
All in all, the events bring in roughly $100,000 a year in fundraising. Though Campbell sees that as only a starting point. He hopes to add more events to the RUFA roster, and is exploring ways to adapt that European model to bring even larger audiences into RUFA’s running-advocacy network.
Photos: (Top) Luke Nelson makes a final push to the summit of Grandeur Peak at the Salt Lake City edition of Running Up For Air. Wasatch Mountains, Utah. ANDREW BURR (Middle) When most others are settling in for the evening, the 24-hour participants at Running Up For Air are getting ready to run through the night. Wasatch Mountains, Utah. ANDREW BURR (Bottom) Jared Campbell and Luke Nelson high five on the summit of Grandeur Peak at Running Up For Air. Wasatch Mountains, Utah. ANDREW BURR
The Senderos Community
Senderos began with a simple goal: to introduce runners to beautiful trail systems under threat from human impact. Felipe Cancino had spent years in the mountains and valleys of Chile’s Maipo Valley—and years watching the Alto Maipo hydroelectric plant threaten the landscape’s biodiversity and vital water source. “We had a significant environmental issue, and a community that wasn't necessarily involved in advocating for the protection of this sensitive ecosystem,” he says. “I wanted to create a link between the places where we run and the threats facing these places.”
For those who live around Santiago—and those visiting—the Maipo Valley is an outdoor mecca. It comprises a 43-mile stretch of the Maipo River, which carves a winding path through alpine valleys and bright-green forests, home to many miles of trails and some of Chile’s highest peaks. Then it veers north to Santiago, where it supplies 7.1 million people with drinking water. The valley has also long played host to dams and mining projects. So Cancino decided to bring runners, activists, and scientists together to experience the trails and take action.
At each Senderos event, Cancino leads a group run, which is bookended by educational talks from local environmental leaders and workshops on how to be a responsible trail steward. Participants get to experience the Maipo Valley’s breathtaking alpine, glaciers, and forests, while simultaneously learning about its environmental threats. “My goal is to connect runners with the places and ecosystems they are part of,” he says, “To create awareness of how important these places are, and empower them to be advocates.” Each event ends with an opportunity for direct engagement, through signing petitions or collecting signatures.
As with so many movements, one small step has inspired others to join. In 2022, Senderos expanded to Ecuador. Cancino partnered with several Ecuadorian runners and environmental leaders to host an event in the Choco Andino: a rainforest that supports vital biodiversity and provides food and water to Quito, but which is threatened by mining activity.
Photos: (Top) Felipe Cancino teeing up a group run in Ecuador. ESTEBAN BARRERA (Middle) Experiencing flow state at one of the Senderos events in Ecuador. FERNANDO DÁVILA (BOTTOM) Moving through lush, green trails at a Senderos event in Ecuador. FERNANDO DÁVILA
The Senderos Community
The Senderos Community
Senderos began with a simple goal: to introduce runners to beautiful trail systems under threat from human impact. Felipe Cancino had spent years in the mountains and valleys of Chile’s Maipo Valley—and years watching the Alto Maipo hydroelectric plant threaten the landscape’s biodiversity and vital water source. “We had a significant environmental issue, and a community that wasn't necessarily involved in advocating for the protection of this sensitive ecosystem,” he says. “I wanted to create a link between the places where we run and the threats facing these places.”
For those who live around Santiago—and those visiting—the Maipo Valley is an outdoor mecca. It comprises a 43-mile stretch of the Maipo River, which carves a winding path through alpine valleys and bright-green forests, home to many miles of trails and some of Chile’s highest peaks. Then it veers north to Santiago, where it supplies 7.1 million people with drinking water. The valley has also long played host to dams and mining projects. So Cancino decided to bring runners, activists, and scientists together to experience the trails and take action.
At each Senderos event, Cancino leads a group run, which is bookended by educational talks from local environmental leaders and workshops on how to be a responsible trail steward. Participants get to experience the Maipo Valley’s breathtaking alpine, glaciers, and forests, while simultaneously learning about its environmental threats. “My goal is to connect runners with the places and ecosystems they are part of,” he says, “To create awareness of how important these places are, and empower them to be advocates.” Each event ends with an opportunity for direct engagement, through signing petitions or collecting signatures.
As with so many movements, one small step has inspired others to join. In 2022, Senderos expanded to Ecuador. Cancino partnered with several Ecuadorian runners and environmental leaders to host an event in the Choco Andino: a rainforest that supports vital biodiversity and provides food and water to Quito, but which is threatened by mining activity.
Photos: (Top) Felipe Cancino teeing up a group run in Ecuador. ESTEBAN BARRERA (Middle) Experiencing flow state at one of the Senderos events in Ecuador. FERNANDO DÁVILA (BOTTOM) Moving through lush, green trails at a Senderos event in Ecuador. FERNANDO DÁVILA
