Like the Wind Digital Storytelling

With every stride we take along trails, roads or tracks, we inhale the air. For runners, being able to explore the outdoors, fill our lungs and oxygenate our blood is essential if we want to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But air pollution is causing huge social, environmental, health and economic impacts throughout the world. The World Health Organisation says that air pollution is the largest environmental threat to human health. But now, runners around the globe are supporting an initiative to raise awareness of clean air projects. Hannah Bailey finds out more.

What makes a race – or any sporting challenge, for that matter – iconic? What elevates a race to being a bucket-list event that excites runners around the world? What makes a specific 100-mile trail race stand out from all the other 100-mile races on the calendar?
The answer is never going to be just one thing. Which is probably why there is a whole heap of reasons Katie Schide – a member of The North Face trail running team and widely considered to be one of the most talented runners currently competing on the circuit – is so excited about returning to this year’s Western States Endurance Run.

Gentle rain showers fall intermittently on the athletes gathered on the infield of the high school track in Cottonwood, Arizona. Huddling in waterproof jackets, stretching and pulling on the gear they need for the upcoming track session, there is plenty of laughter – a measure of the strong team spirit at work. But one athlete stands out – the one tending to her baby while preparing to run.