Photo: RJ Pieper
The Wyoming Outdoor Council, the National Outdoor Leadership School, and the Wyoming Wilderness Association invite runners to the 5th annual Run the Red Desert on June 2, 2018. This year’s event is a special celebration of the 50th anniversary of America’s National Trails Day.
Run the Red offers spectacular views of the last great, undeveloped region of high desert in the United States; its variety of landforms and abundant wildlife are found nowhere else on Earth. Racers will see red playa lakes dotted with bright green greasewood, painted badlands, and shifting sand dunes. Runners will circle the iconic Boars Tusk and catch glimpses of the Wind River Range. The landscape contains Wilderness Study Areas, the longest ungulate migration corridor, and the largest desert elk herd in North America. The Red Desert retains the paths and archeological remains left from the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, and Cherokee trails.
“This race is truly special because it takes place in an area that is not normally utilized by runners,” Wyoming Outdoor Council Public Lands Advocate RJ Pieper said. “Most of the public use in the desert is hunting and motorized recreation, but Run the Red brings an entirely different group to the desert, showcasing how versatile these public lands are and how important it is to protect them.”
Run the Red helps increase local, regional, and national support for the landscape by building awareness around the area’s impressive outdoor recreation and tourism opportunities, and by helping reinforce the need to protect the area’s diverse and unique values.
When:
June 2, 2018
50K race begins at 6 a.m.
23K race begins at 7:30 a.m.
5K begins at 8:30 a.m.