Anyone who has run on the trails around Salt Lake City, Utah, knows that the air quality isn’t always the best.
The sprawling metropolis extends for more than 80 miles, from Ogden on one end to Provo on another. Despite the small population of 1.2million people, the Wasatch Mountain Range east creates an inversion in which polluted air is trapped in the valley to west. This is where the city lies. Salt Lake City has the unfortunate distinction of being the “Best City in America”.This is the worst air quality countrywide and 18th in the world.. This type of air can be dangerous for vulnerable groups and is unfavorable at best. The trail running community must climb high into the peaks to breathe fresh air and train safely.
One of those runners Jared CampbellHe often trains for races and runs like this Barkley Marathons, Nolan’s 14, and more on Grandeur Peak, one of the most popular high-vert trails around Salt Lake City, and was horrified by both the amount of air pollution, and how little public involvement there was to change it.
View from Grandeur Peak, Salt Lake City, Utah. It shows the pollution below. Photo by iRunFar/Meghan Hickey
Campbell, a ten-year-old fundraising guru, created a Grandeur Peak race called Running Up For Air (RUFA).The series eventually evolved into the, which was a multi-event series. Air Series Series UpTo raise awareness about air quality issues, and to raise money for organizations that work to improve it.
It was Campbell and his friends who trudged through the snow, postingholing up and down the mountain, and raising money. “The fundraising started out small,” said Campbell. “It was almost sometimes like a dare from friends or donors to see how many laps their runner could get in.”
Campbell decided to make the fun run a full-fledged event in 2016. He obtained permits, official timing and charged a nominal entry fee. The race also gave runners the ability to raise money, allowing them to become active participants in the fight for clean air. Each lap of Grandeur Peak’s course is approximately 6.2 miles. It climbs 2,700 feet from the Mill Creek Trailhead, and then back down as many times possible in six, twelve, or 24 hours.
Runners are connected to the internet at the time they register. Sign upThis is where registration fees, money raised through runners and donations of larger organizations are gathered into one place. The money is then given directly to the chosen clean – air charities. Breathe Utah Utah Clean Energy.
Runners climb Mount Sentinel during 2022 Running Up for Air in Missoula, Montana. Photo: Anastasia Wilde
The event was so popular, that the Up For Air Series now hosts five events in three states: Grandeur Peak (Malans Peak) and Rock Canyon (Utah); Mount Sentinel in Missoula (Maine); and Staunton Rocks Pine (Colorado). Each event offers six-, 12-, or 24-hour race options. How much do YOU want to climb and how much money do you need to fundraise? The Missoula race raises money Climate Smart Missoula, and the Colorado Race for Winter Protection Conservation Colorado.
“We have plans to continue expanding the series,” said Campbell. “I’ve already got people who’d really like to see this race format in Washington and California. It makes sense to keep things local, and the charities they support local to help that community.”
The Up For Air Series format was so well-received that local climbers also wanted to be involved. Climbing Up For Air was created around the same model. Some athletes would even complete six- or 12-hour versions in Salt Lake City of RUFA before moving on to another city. The Front Climbing ClubYou can also climb for six to 12 hours.
Runners put on spikes at Grandeur Peak during the 2018 Running Up For Air. Photo: Andrew Burr
“What’s really cool about this race series, is not just the funds that are raised, but the public awareness,” said Campbell. “It’s cool to see how much it’s shifted … companies like Black Diamond and Patagonia supporting, but [also runners] talking to their families and friends … that’s a powerful thing, starting a conversation.”
It’s not only Campbell who sees this conversation as the most important element of the race: multi-year participant and two-time winner of the 24-hour race in Salt Lake City, Katie Brown, agrees.
“I feel like this format needs to be a more common thing among trail runners. We have a purpose. It’s an extremely special race,” said Brown, who has lived in the Salt Lake City area for over a decade. “We’re all working together for a cause, one that we’re intimately aware of we can see and feel the air quality very viscerally here. Being able to raise money toward efforts that are helping to bring cleaner air and better legislation to the state is such a wonderful motivator.”
Katie Brown, second at the 2022 Running Up for Air 24-Hour Race to Grandeur Peak in Utah. Photo: Mike McMonagle
Brown is not only a runner in the mountains surrounding the city but also a keen skier and climber. She feels that the race has the best community. Brown made connections with her local community through the race. David MitchellWhile training for her second year in 2019, she was accompanied by her husband, Mitchell. Though he couldn’t participate that year ironically twisting his ankle on the very run where they met Brown and Mitchell came together the next year to both win in 2020: Brown with 11 laps, and Mitchell with 13.
“In addition to raising funds … you just feel like you’re in this huge party working toward a ginormous goal. You get people in the six- and 12-hour races with so much energy, revitalizing you the whole way,” said Brown. “It feels really good and fulfilling to make this place better and … to put your money where your mouth is.”
iRunFar’s own Managing Editor Meghan Hicks has participated in the Salt Lake City Running Up For Air event a couple times and talks about the series’ position in the sport: “Without our natural environments, we don’t have trail running. Trail runners took their trails for granted for a long while, including me. I thought they’d always be there for us. Every wild place is at risk from air, water and noise pollution, development encroachment, climate changes, and many other factors. Our advocacy and action for wild places must be integrated into our sport’s core, and the Up For Air Series does exactly that. It’s awesome that Jared’s model is growing because our environment and sport need it.”
Call for comments
- Have you ever participated the Up For Air Series?
- Would you consider bringing this event or something similar to your community to help raise money and awareness for an environmental problem?
- Do you have a story to share about an event that took place near you and used the same concept of advocacy and binding recreation?
Volunteers and runners gather at the aid station during the 2018 Running Up For Air event at Grandeur Peak, Utah. Photo: Andrew Burr
