This is no really related to the article in regards to trail-running but I have a story.
My Dad and his friends spent years creating and maintaining some pretty incredible mountain bike trails on state forest land (with permission).
Years later, they banned bikes from the trails. Present day, they are awesome hiking and running trails with markings and listed on websites with maps and everything, but the original trailblazers cannot use them.
I guess one if my takeaways from this fairly stupid article is I need to volunteer. Not in clearing trails specifically, but just giving back to the sport I’ve participated in for the past ten years. I always appreciate the volunteers at races, but it’s about time I became one. So, I’m planning to drop a race from my calendar this season and instead show up and volunteer at one instead. Whatever they need me to do, I’ll do it. Peace!
Is Outside magazine still in publication? Thats impressive.
That’s it. He buried the lede by hiding a essay with a number of good and even thoughtful points behind clickbait and snark. So instead of saying, “Hey, trail runners, c’mon out and help build and maintain these trails we all love,” he went with an “F-u, me and my tribe are good, you and your tribe are bad.” Perfect metaphor for American politics today, but hardly helpful - and I’m speaking as a member of both tribes.
Response from Stephanie Case that I enjoyed.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2397604/response-proud-lazy-parasite-trail-runner
I for one did take the hint and signed up with my local “friends of the mountain”, but yea the author could have used more of a carrot than a stick.
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Kidding aside, I think part of the deal is that trail runners are soloist by nature and generally not organized into groups. We don’t talk about the sport much, choosing to go out by ourselves.
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Maybe where you are but over here in the land up over we regularly ‘hunt’ in packs.
Most trail runners aren’t runners. They’re hikers.
Is Outside magazine still in publication? Thats impressive.
Best comment yet. It used to be such a great magazine. As mentioned above, Peruzzi is a hack. I don’t think I have ever read a decent article by him.
Coincidentally, there was just a post in our local trial running group’s FB page which linked our group to a bunch of others to coordinate trail maintenance activities throughout the state. Even with this effort, I’d agree that it’s a fraction of what the MTB gang does. It’s a little bit of an apples to oranges comparison though.
Side note - On the MTB end of things, I was looking to do a novice ride once. I was brought along on a trail maintenance outing with the thought being that the need to bring along chainsaws and such would help temper the ride. Nope. MTB people are nuts! They were happily bouncing down rocky washed out creeks with Chainsaws in backpacks (no problem)! I was lucky to get out of that ride alive. And then there was the time they convinced me to do a winter ascent of Mt. Greylock on fat tire bikes. Very humbling.
Most trail runners aren’t runners. They’re hikers.
Peruzzi, is that you? That’s OK, though. I’m a roadie as well as trail runner, so I’m a master at making bitchy little comments to belittle those who don’t meet my exacting standards of conduct. Particularly those make the grave, grave error of being slower than I am.
Unfortunately, this type of article is standard fare at Outside these days, they trot out several of those a week. Maybe they’re supposed to camouflage their other regular product of thinly veiled attempts at getting you to buy something.
Some of the Outdoor stuff, and I use that term loosely, makes it hard for me to believe the author has spent much time outside.
Is Outside magazine still in publication? That’s impressive.
Best comment yet. It used to be such a great magazine. As mentioned above, Peruzzi is a hack. I don’t think I have ever read a decent article by him.
It’s been co-opted in much the way Rolling Stone was ages and AGES ago, and now functions merely an advertisement and promotion delivery system, trading on a long-abandoned legacy of high-caliber contributors and editorial edginess