Running Up For Air with Patagonia

Patagonia is Calling on runners to rack up ascent in the name of clean air

This year on 25th June Patagonia’s Running Up For Air event will return, a Europe-wide event and endurance challenge that asks runners to hit the hills, trails, streets or peaks to collectively rack up vertical metres to raise awareness around air pollution.

Get sponsored, take part and track your run on Strava wherever you are, whether it’s a one-hour jog or 24-hour team run, to contribute and support European NGOs fighting for better air quality.

ClientEarth, Cittadini per l’Aria and German Zero are among the 18 NGOs involved with the Running For Air campaign, all advocating for cleaner air. Exposure to air pollution is a critical issue, damaging both our health and the environment around us. And it’s not just city dwellers feeling the effects. According to ClientEarth, 90 per cent of people around the world breathe polluted air. It’s one of the leading risk factors worldwide and kills 7 million each year. In Europe, health damage caused by air pollution is higher than the global average.

Running Up For Air was founded in 2012 in the Wasatch Mountains between Idaho and Utah. The event has run twice in Europe, last in 2021 where it raised more than €20,000 for the organisations campaigning and educating on air pollution.

“Since the event’s inception I have wanted people to not only ‘enter’, but to participate in the mission of Running Up For Air.” says founder of Running for Air Jared Campbell. “This involves education, communication and community. I encourage people to learn about air quality issues and think about the decisions they make daily, related to energy consumption and the associated pollution.”

Wherever you choose to run, the aim is to accumulatively gain as much elevation as possible, while raising funds for the fight against air pollution. Any run with 100 meters and above of elevation will qualify.

To connect with runners and sign up to the 2022 event, visit the Running Up For Air website.

Running Up For Air – Europe, Anywhere – 25 June 2022

MORE FROM THE BRAND: Take a look at the Patagonia documentary, Vanishing Lines – a film about wild places on the brink of destruction as ski resort expansion destroys our glaciers.

Check out Fall Line’s First AdventurE Issue Packed With more trail running and summer mountain news