US Trail Running Conference fund raises for American Trail Running Association

The 2016 US Trail Running Conference, the fourth annual event in Estes Park, Colorado, included several initiatives to raise funds for ATRA (American Trail Running Association). The American Trail Running Association, ATRA, was formed in mid-1996 as a Colorado not for profit corporation to serve the trail and mountain running community. Their mission is to represent and promote trail and mountain running. They offer individual, club, race and corporate memberships. A quarterly newsletter is a primary benefit of membership, and includes a national events calendar, thoughtful articles, and timely information about the sport of Trail Running. A total of two thousand US$ was raised during the Conference for the non-profit that is based in Colorado Springs.

The main fund raising initiative was the ATRA prize draw, with eighty four prizes generously donated by a number of supporting sponsors. Prizes included a lactate threshold test and wellness assessment from founding sponsor Estes Park Medical Center, sets of Icespikes, Hydration packs & bottles from Orange Mud, books from Best Front Range Trail Runs, Boulder Running Journal, Velo Press, Fixing your feet, Charlie Engle, David Clark, and Erik Stensland. Shoe certificates came from Xero Shoes, Icebug, Altra, Carson Footwear, Inov-8, & Adidas, along with socks from Balega. Race entries came from Pirate Perry events, and the Moab Trail Marathon. The “e-harmony” of sponsorship, WeRaven, donated two memberships, Petzl provided seven different headlamps, Generation UCAN donated a variety of their nutritional products, Northern Lights a pair of snowshoes, rounded off with gift certificates from Shoes & Brews and Estes Park Mountain Shop.

Conference attendees were also encourage to become members of ATRA, and this initiative generated 20 new members for the Association. The final component was provided by the Trail Running Film Festival that took place on Friday, September 30, and featured the Colorado premiere of FIFTY THE MOVIE, a remarkable and inspiring film about New Zealand trail runner Malcolm Law, and his bold quest to run fifty mountain marathons over fifty New Zealand peaks in just fifty days, raising money for The Mental Health Foundation.

Adam Chase, President of ATRA, is pictured receiving the donation check from Terry Chiplin, Event Director for the US Trail running Conference.

The fifth annual US Trail Running Conference is scheduled for October 11-14, 2017. Registration will open in December for trail race directors, trail runners, sponsors and vendors. Contact Event Director Terry Chiplin for further details – terry@ustrailrunningconference.com, or 303-304-9159.