Climate Connections: Runners turn steps into climate action
Jeff Mogavero and Shanti Devins
Every February, a line of headlamps is seen twinkling on the pre-dawn, wintry slopes of Mount Sentinel. The people carrying these lights don’t stop when the sun comes up, they continue climbing and descending the mountain until the sun sets again. This spectacle can mean only one thing: it’s Running Up for Air!
This year, RUFA is back and bigger than ever. By popular demand, we’ve added a 24-hour option to the event. That means those lights will be inch-worming up and down the mountain from sunset Friday, February 6th until sunset Saturday the 7th - a full day of running up for air! Whether you’re doing one lap or 20, all are welcome at this annual celebration of clean air and climate resiliency.
The event is part of a larger series, Running Up for Air, RUFA, which started as a passion project of long-distance runner Jared Campbell. Campbell decided to raise money for air quality advocacy by lapping Salt Lake’s Grandeur Peak for 24 hours – in winter – in 2012. He returned again and again, bringing more runners with him, and ultimately inspiring a global movement. Now, there are dozens of RUFA events around the world, including the summit of Missoula’s Mt. Sentinel each February. (Watch the short Patagonia film about Campbell’s efforts to get inspired).
Locally, RUFA debuted on Mt. Sentinel in 2019, to bring attention to poor air quality conditions caused by winter inversions and wildfire smoke. While winter air conditions have improved over the last few decades thanks to crucial federal standards like the Clean Air Act, Missoula is still prone to poor air quality at all times of the year.
Vehicle pollution contributes to winter inversions that trap bad air in our valley. Climate change is increasing the duration of wildfire smoke season, often limiting our coveted outdoor time. And the combustion of fossil fuels – at power plants, but also right in our own homes and buildings – creates toxic pollution that harms our health and drives climate warming.
Thankfully, there are solutions to these challenges, and a few years ago, folks in our own community decided to take action. Launched by renowned Missoula-based athlete Jeff Mogavero and supported by professional ultra runners Mike Foote (race director of The Rut) and Adam Peterman (Western States 100 winner, 2022), all proceeds from RUFA – Mt Sentinel benefit Climate Smart Missoula. The local nonprofit was chosen as the beneficiary in recognition of its work to help people get wildfire smoke ready, to decrease air pollution through electrification, and to plant and maintain our urban forests.
RUFA is an opportunity to tap into your love of clean air and the outdoors, and to come together in community and solidarity for a healthier, more livable future. The event offers three, six, 12, and now a 24-hour endurance options for anyone interested in using their feet to support local climate action. Whether you slow-hike one lap, or run 20, there’s room for everyone to join. Register now! (And if the summit isn’t calling your name, you can still donate!)
We are so excited to again have wonderful sponsors donating money for every RUFA lap completed. Runner's Edge, the Rut Mountain Runs, Sapphire Physical Therapy, Hillary Ogg Real Estate, the Good Food Store, and DJ&A are each donating $1 for every lap completed. That means 1 lap = $6 to Climate Smart Missoula! We have a goal of completing 700 laps this year - so please sign up, encourage your friends to sign up, and complete as many laps as you can! (If you or your business is interested in joining in on the fun and pledging a donation, email Jeff here. You can also give a one-time, individual donation on the race website here)
The first wave of RUFA runners and hikers will don headlamps and start up the M trail at 6 PM next Friday, with more athletes joining throughout the day on Saturday. It doesn’t matter if you’re fast or slow, climbing or cheering from the base: what matters is that our community comes together to take on the task of keeping our air clean.
Join us for a hard, fun, and rewarding day on the trails February 6th and 7th. Just like climate action, we can do it one step at a time. Together.
Shanti Devins is the program director at Climate Smart Missoula, which brings this Climate Connections column to you several times per month. Learn more about our work and sign up for our e-newsletter at missoulaclimate.org.
Jeff Mogavero is a professional endurance athlete and race director of RUFA – Mt Sentinel.