On June 25, Patagonia is organizing the third European edition of Running Up For Air (RUFA). Whether it's for an hour or 24 hours, you'll be running for a good cause: raising awareness of air quality.
Particularly involved in the preservation of the environment (as in its contribution to the clean climbing about which we recently spoke to you), Patagonia puts forward this time an essential but invisible element, the air. On June 25th, the brand is organizing the third European edition of Running Up For Air. This virtual charity race will be dedicated to raising awareness of air quality.
Objective: to eat up some altitude!
On the format, each runner will be free to choose the distance he wants, the place and the time of the race. Whether it's an hour or 24 hours, you will simply have to try to chain the D+, in a natural environment or in the city (you can for example run on stairs). For the occasion, a Strava challenge was created with the aim of accumulating a maximum of positive elevation gain and raising as much money as possible for the preservation of the air we breathe (you can donate directly to associations fighting air pollution via the dedicated platform). The money raised will go directly to 18 European environmental groups who are taking concrete action to raise awareness and find answers to this issue. Last year, the event raised over 20,000 euros to educate and engage the responsibility of our governments for the quality of the air we breathe.
Run as a group to motivate yourself
If the challenge will be virtual for most of the runners (each one running on his own), Patagonia will allow some to meet physically. Thus, in ParisThe meeting point will be given at 10am in front of the "Trail And The City" store for a group run along the Seine, passing by the Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Mars before returning to the store for a closing drink of the race. Several Patagonia stores in Bayonne, Chamonix or even Lyon will also be mobilized for the occasion.
"I imagined this event so that everyone can actively engage against air pollution," explains Jared Campbell, Patagonia ambassador and founder of RUFA. "This involves education, communication and community spirit. I encourage everyone to dig deeper into the issues around air quality and think about the decisions they make on a daily basis in relation to their energy consumption and the pollution generated by it."
800,000 deaths linked to air pollution
Every year, "almost 800,000 people die from the consequences of air pollution, most often children, the elderly or frail" explains the brand in a press release. "This pollution also endangers the ecosystems that surround us. Most crops are exposed to ozone levels that exceed those considered by the EU to be safe for the protection of vegetation."
Trail runners are also particularly exposed to pollution: during a run, they inhale more deeply and absorb large quantities of toxic particles (up to 10 times more than in normal circumstances). So, to raise awareness of this problem even further, join us on June 25, with your shoes on.