A small step for inclusivity, a giant leap for trail running

Broken Arrow co-race director Ethan Veneklasen has worked to fix complex political structures both at home and abroad. He wants to do the same for trail.

Trail running is the fastest-growing section of the running world, so it demands attention, if not scrutiny. Diversity on the trails is a topic that I’ve written about a number of times. There’s an insane (hopefully out-of-date) stat that 75% of ultrarunners are white men. We want it to be different, right? We want it to be better than that.

There are far too many women and people of color speaking up about wanting to be included in the sport to ignore. Definitely too many to argue against, anyway – something I’ve sadly seen first-hand. I have long thought that positive action is required, and the good news is that it’s here.

So what do we do when someone is actually doing something to improve equity in diversity on the trails? We support them. When SheRACES pushes for improving race conditions for women, we celebrate their successes. When Ultra Black Running makes a freely accessible suburban trail…