Photos Courtesy of Ariel Hayes
I love running and I love running in beautiful places. I am also incredibly lucky in that I get to work for the Sierra Club, running our national political program. In my role, I work to ensure we are electing leaders up and down the ballot who will make good on that promise.
I recently agreed to run the Yosemite Half Marathon with Team Sierra coming up on May 11. I’ve never raised money for a race before, but Team Sierra makes it easy and Yosemite has been on my list of must-do races for a while. With two months until the race, I am planning out my fundraising strategy. I plan to email family and friends and post on social media about my fundraising goals.
A number of years ago, I discovered Vacation Races, a company that puts on races near our national parks. Last year, I ran the Grand Teton half marathon. Not only was the course incredibly beautiful, but the race organizers also really know what they are doing -- the logistics are very well executed and events are even cup-free to cut down on waste ! My friend and co-worker, Jen, suggested doing the Zion Centennial Half Marathon, as she is trying to work her way through ALL the Vacation Races halfs.
Fast forward to February and we both arrived at the start line slightly undertrained -- the Arctic conditions in the Midwest (Jen) and East Coast (me) were not friendly to distance running, but we figured we’d at least get some selfies and enjoy the course. I did not anticipate that the freezing temperatures would follow us to Zion. It was a very cold 1 degree at the start!
Luckily, once we got moving it was only a few miles before I could feel my fingers and toes again. Jen and I spent the 13.1 miles enjoying the stunning scenery and stopping frequently to take photos -- until about mile 10.5 when we entered the “just get it done” period.
After the race we were able to spend some time exploring Zion, and the following day we drove a few hours to check out Bryce Canyon National Park. The race provided a great opportunity to check out two national parks.
Right we returned from Zion, Congress passed the most significant public lands legislation in more than a decade. The National Resources Management Act includes over 600 pages of wilderness protections and public lands expansion. At a time when the current administration continues to threaten our public lands, this legislation is critical. It also shows how the role and mission of the Sierra Club is more important than ever. I am hoping all these ties to current events will help me meet my fundraising goal for Yosemite and continue to support the incredible work the Sierra Club is doing on public lands.
And of course, as every runner knows, once you cross the finish line, you forget how hard it all was and decide to do it again. Jen and I signed up for the Grand Canyon half on the drive to the airport!
Want to join me on the course? Check out the 2019 Team Sierra Race Calendar.