Run Wild Missoula Executive Director:
Moving Forward & Silver Linings
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The last several months have been hard on everyone. No matter where you live or work, you’ve been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Same here at Run Wild Missoula. The Missoula Marathon came and went last weekend with empty streets. On Tuesday, we cancelled the Pengelly Double Dip & Bob Hayes Single Dip races.
Let’s take a moment to talk about the Double & Single Dip cancellation. As we moved into Phase Two of Montana’s reopening plan, we began discussions with the Health Department about the ability to conduct in-person races. We were feeling pretty good about where things were headed. Then we began to see the increase in COVID-19 cases, including the highest single day reports for both Missoula and Montana during the last week.
Based on input from our participants, volunteers, staff and board of directors, we did not believe that we can, at this point in time, safely produce an event that meets our standards or the expectations of our participants. And, in seeing the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, we believe that cancelling these races was the prudent and responsible choice in the interest of public health and safety.
Even so, we’ll continue to move forward. We will continue to look for opportunities where we believe that we can provide for safe, in-person events for the Missoula running and walking community. And, we will be looking at virtual/digital events where you can challenge yourself, hold yourself and your running partners accountable, and do some good for the community.
Speaking of doing good for the community, there have been some silver linings this spring and summer.
- Through the generosity of the Missoula Marathon participants who chose the donation option, we were able to donate $23,000 to the community. (See below for more about these donations.)
- Through our June Rundraiser Challenge, we will be able to donate almost $1,500 to the YWCA Missoula Pathways Program. YWCA Missoula does such great work to empower women and to eliminate racism
- From our Four For The Fourth Virtual Race, we expect to see over $1,300 being donated to the Missoula Food Bank. Thank you for helping to reduce hunger in our community during these challenging times
- We were thrilled to promote last week’s virtual showing of the film “Runner” with the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and to take part in a panel discussion with the filmmaker and Soft Landing Missoula. Thank you to Soft Landing Missoula for providing safe spaces for our refugee community
- Run Wild Missoula will be donating $20,000 over the next two years to a project to rehabilitate the “M” Trail
- Through our spring Virtual Challenges, we have purchased several hundred dollars of gift cards from local business as prizes and rewards
So, as we continue our journey through COVID, we’ll approach it like a race. Keep moving forward one step at a time and keep looking for silver linings to bring us hope and grace.
Until next month, I’ll see you out on the roads, tracks and trails.
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Where are you all from? And how did you end up living, working, and playing in Missoula?
We all grew up in the Midwest and moved to Missoula last August! We are currently in our last month of a year-long AmeriCorps term with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. We all graduated college within the past two years and have been fortunate enough to start our lives post-grad working among many social services in the Missoula community.
Do you know s
omeone fro
m our Run Wild Missoula community that we should get to know better?
Click Here to Nominate
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As avid runners, walkers, and hikers we know how incredibly welcoming and encouraging our community is. However, many new runners and walkers may find that joining a new club (or taking part in a brand new activity) is overwhe
lming and at least a little bit scary.
Jeff Mogavero shares his story this month. As a new-to-Missoula runner, he found that
"the trail running community in Missoula is special. The moment I moved to Missoula a year and a half ago, I was welcomed into the ranks of trail runners with open arms. There was constant encouragement to show up to group runs, hop in races, and volunteer with MTC and RWM."
Jeff Mogavero continues to share his story in
THIS
article.
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Thank you to Run Wild Missoula Member and local Veterinarian Anna Odash for submitting
THIS
article about running with dogs during the sweltering summer months. Many of us love to run and walk the trails with our furry friends during these long days and it's important to keep them safe while out & about. Please read this article to learn the tips and tricks to keeping your pup healthy and safe this summer. Click
HERE
to read Running with Rufus by Anna Odash, DVM
.
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Missoula Marathon Donation Report
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Even though the 2020 Missoula Marathon wasn't able to be held in it's traditional format, the event was still able to generate $23,000 for our community partners.
We appreciate the overwhelming generosity of our race participants who selected the "Donate My Race Fees" option who made this all possible. These funds will help further the mission of some great community organizations in our corner of Big Sky Country.
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The countdown is on!
You only have until 11:59 PM on Friday, July 3rd to register for Four for the Fourth for the Food Bank.
Run (or walk) 4 Miles anytime and anywhere on Saturday, July 4th to participate in this virtual event. All registered participants will be eligible to win prizes that support local businesses.
Missoula Food Bank leads the movement to end hunger through advocacy, volunteerism and healthy food for all. They envision a community that embraces food justice, where every
one is food sec
ure, those most impacted are a leading voice in the solutions to poverty and hunger, every child is nourished and has an equal opportunity to learn, grow and succeed and every senior has access to the food they need to age with dignity regardless of mobility, transportation or health barriers. Learn more about Missoula Food Bank & Community Center
HERE
Each registered participant will be eligible for prizes in four fun challenge categories:
Fastest Four Mile, Steep Four Mile, Yankee Doodle Four Mile, and the Early Bird Special
Participate in one Four Mile challenge category, or participate in all four Four Mile challenge categories! Or maybe, complete all four categories in one epic Four Mile run (or walk)?!?! Whatever goal you decide to chase, make sure you have some festive Fourth of July fun during your activity!
Learn more about Four for the Fourth for the Food Bank
HERE
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Here are the updated running statistics for our club through June 30th, 2020:
- So far, we have run 64,611.64 miles in 2020
- As a club, we are averaging 355.0 miles per day
- 136 of our members have recorded some or all of their miles in our database
Make sure you input running mileage for 2020 before
January 20th, 2021
to be eligible for your mileage club gift. Click
HERE
to log your miles.
Find out more information about the 1200/2000 Mile Club by
clicking here
.
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Run Wild Missoula Information
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CONNECT WITH RUN WILD MISSOULA
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THE MISSOULA MARATHON IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, TOO!
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