A 2016 calendar hitting the shelves this week was launched not only as a means of supporting a North Shore institution, but out of an interest in bringing the trail running community together.
Jeff Pelletier, a sponsored trail and mountain ultra runner, has long wanted to find a way to help North Shore Rescue, a volunteer mountain search and rescue team that's celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
"As runners we recognize how important they are to keeping not only tourists and the community at large safe, but also people like us who spend a lot of time in the backcountry," says the Vancouver resident.
Interested in doing something to raise funds and awareness for the organization, Pelletier decided to draw upon his personal contacts within the trail running community, in addition to his skill sets. The professional video marketer and filmmaker runs a video production agency, Basetwo Media, and produces running films and documentaries through Pacer Films.
After some brainstorming, Pelletier decided to take the lead on producing a fundraising 2016 Vancouver Trail Running Calendar and endeavoured to involve as many of his trail running peers as possible.
"I wanted the whole community to feel ownership over the project," he says.
The calendar is the inaugural initiative of Run Wild Vancouver, a group of volunteers from the trail running community who joined Pelletier for the project. He expects Run Wild Vancouver to continue to evolve, making the calendar an annual event as well as growing to offer more events and undertake more initiatives.
"The trail running community doesn't have a local trail running association or group in the same way that say the mountain bike community does. I saw this project as hopefully the first in many that can bring the community together around a great cause and sort of rally us together," he says.
Pelletier is pleased to see that's been happening thanks to the project. He's grateful for the enthusiasm of his dedicated team of fellow volunteers, and excited to see that competing brands and race organizations have similarly banded together in support of the cause.
To get the project off the ground - and cover initial production costs, generate buzz and gauge interest - Pelletier ran a crowd-funding campaign earlier this fall. Within five hours it had exceeded its $2,200 goal.
The calendar's art was donated by local photographers.
"We're really thankful to them for supporting the project. All the photos feature runners on some of our favourite trails as well. We're showcasing a lot of our favourite trails from around the North Shore and the Sea to Sky corridor," says Pelletier.
The 2016 Vancouver Trail Running Calendar's release was celebrated at a launch party Dec. 3 at the Village Taphouse in West Vancouver.
Copies will be sold for $20 and participating local retailers include Salomon West Vancouver, North Shore Athletics, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Distance Runwear and Vancouver Running Company. For more information, visit runwildvan.com.
