The North Face Cares

Pine Mountain, GA. This weekend over 1200 runners challenged their strength and endurance at The North Face Endurance Challenge outside of Atlanta, GA. The FD Roosevelt State Park trail system provided a technical course for the athletes that competed in either the 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon, 50k, or the 50 mile race. Once again, these athletes showed an unbelievable amount of determination and physical toughness as each person crossed the finish line.

Kids of all ages took part in the Karno Kids Race

There were many children in attendance that took part in the Karno Kids Race, including one of Leave No Trace's biggest kid at heart- Bigfoot!  A local middle school brought 53 students to the 5k portion of the Endurance Challenge as part of the Fit Club at their school. We even watched as an eight year old boy completed his first 5k race on Sunday. Way to go!

The North Face takes many steps to minimize the impact placed on the event locations.  In addition to encouraging all of the athletes to practice Leave No Trace during the race by packing out all trash, including goo packets, and staying on the established trail, they give each athlete a reusable water bottle and have staff scouring the grounds for microtrash.  They even used clothes pins to hang up the trail markers along the route, instead of nailing them into the trees!  We appreciate all of the proactive efforts The North Face takes to protect and enjoy the outdoors.

Trail Marker along the 50 mile race route

Be on the look out for Team West, Jason and Agata, at the final stop of the 2011 Endurance Challenge Series in San Francisco on December 3-4.

Explore Responsibly...Kate and Tracy

The North Face Endurance Challenge-San Francisco, CA

Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnzes prepares kids for the half mile Karno Kids Run.

The fifth and final stop of The North Face Endurance Challenge took place at the beautiful Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area just north of San Francisco. On Saturday, runners braved the elements as they tackled the Gore-tex 50 mile race, 50k race, or the full marathon. The athletes exhibited unbelievable endurance and strength as they, one by one, triumphantly crossed the finish line. An addition to the race line-up was the Karno Kids Run. Led by ultra-marathon runner and North Face athlete Dean Karnazes, who is best known for epic journey completing 50 marathons in 50 days, the Karno Kids Race challenged children to a 1/2 mile run around the festival grounds. The children had a blast running and receiving their medals as they crossed the finish line.

Sunday was dedicated to the half marathon, 10k, and 5k races. With approximately 2,000 athletes on the course over the weekend, The North Face encourages all participants to practice Leave No Trace during the race, and to pack it in, pack it out.

Whether you are an ultra-marathon runner or a once in a while jogger, The North Face Endurance Challenge embraces all athletes in their quest to "run farther than you ever have". Check out The North Face website for dates of the 2011 series!

Happy Adventuring...Kate & Tracy

350 at The North Face Endurance Challenge

Saturday we joined Kevin from The North Face and over 1,500 runners and fans at the Kettle Moraine State Park in Eagle, WI for fourth stop of The North Face Endurance Challenge! After a chilly start to the day, the sun came out and warmed the trails for all of the athletes. It was a perfect day for a race!
October 24th was also the International Day of Climate Action orchestrated by 350.org. Currently the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere is at 390 parts per million(ppm) . In an attempt to bring that number to a healthy level of 350 ppm and to help spread awareness of the dangerous levels of carbon in the atmosphere, we collected 350 signatures on our poster about the Bigfoot Challenge. The big guy was honored to help us take action and be a part of one of the over 4,000 events going on world-wide. All of these events are meant to encourage world leaders at the United Nations to re-think policies at the final meeting of the Climate Change Conference in Copehagen, Denmark this December.
It was an honor to be a small link in such a huge chain of events. World leaders will be unable to ignore this grassroots effort to let the people be heard. We are one COMMUNITY!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy