Coronavirus has put an end to “normal” life. For runners that means races, access to public lands, and group runs are cancelled, closed, and postponed. Runners across the world are adjusting to a world of virtual races and training in isolation. Trail Running Film Festival: Virtual Edition is a 2 hour live stream event of never before seen films, commentary, inspiration, and prize giveaways. As a fundraiser for the YWCA Covid Relief fund and a virtual gathering of thousands of runners across the country, this event represents the best of how the trail community is responding to covid with resilience, love, and creativity. Join us on Friday May 1, 2020 at 5:30pm (PST). $10
Traditionally the Trail Running Film Festival consists of a 3-day event in Seattle WA, followed by a select reel of films that tour theaters across the country and tell the year’s most inspiring stories of adventure, heartbreak, and expressions of the trail running spirit. The Virtual Edition is the same hometown, feel-good, theater experience, streamed into the comfort of your own living room.
We’re excited to feature a wide variety inspiring stories of runners challenging themselves in beautiful and rugged locations. There are films of folks pushing their limits, there are films that are funny, there are films that celebrate our past, and there are films that feature our furry friends. From elite speedsters to ultra-long distance warriors to folks pulling up the rear and everyone in between, these stories highlight the values and spirit of the trail and ultra running community. Wild and iconic locations like the Sierra Mountains, the rugged Oregon Coast, and bean country of Australia will give the viewers plenty of beautiful scenery. And films like “Trail Medicine” and “The Ripple Effect” delve into the positive elements of what running can do for each of us.
The Virtual Edition of the Film Festival is also a fundraiser for the YWCA Covid Relief Fund. The human and economic impacts of the coronavirus have not been distributed equitably. Thousands of lives have been lost and millions of people are unemployed. The impact of the virus is incredible and overwhelming. While some people can set up home offices, connect via zoom, and adapt their employment to social distancing, there are others who are much more vulnerable. The directors of the Film Festival wanted to direct our communities' support to the families, women, and children who are most vulnerable economically and socially. The YWCA is an organization with an outstanding history of empowering women and families and their work happens on the front lines of COVID-19 response and recovery. Their covid relief fund directly supports the work of supporting our communities’ most vulnerable children and women. These families continue to rely on the YWCA for critical services like healthcare, childcare,shelter, and pathways out of domestic violence.
What we are experiencing is a once in a generation shock to our way of life. Human beings, and especially trail people, are incredibly adaptive and resilient, but adjusting to this situation isn’t linear or easy. Our hope is that by gathering our community across the country, the Virtual Edition of the Trail Running Film Festival will be a rejuvenating, inspiring, and much needed fostering of the trail running spirit.
Trail Running Film Festival, is a production of Outdoor Arts and Recreation 501c3, whose mission is to support artists and athletes who take inspiration from recreation and adventure. The festival supports the filmmakers whose films capture the inspiration, artistry, and stories unique to the trail community and provides a platform for the trail community to watch them. Trail films are both a living history of our sport and a source of inspiration and adventure for those who love trails across the globe.
Friday, May 1st at 5:30 p.m. (PST) It would be our honor to share the evening with you.
