In an effort to improve the diversity in trail racing and remove a potential barrier for the under-served and under-represented, we have created the Trail Mix Fund™. We recognize that not everyone is in a financial position to afford to race. While we all like to think this sport is accessible – “you just need a pair of shoes” – that isn’t always the case.
We believe that there are more BIPOC & LGBTQ+ who would like to race and would enjoy being part of the community, if given the opportunity. Waiving the registration fee alone won’t solve this problem, but maybe it can help some. The Trail Mix Fund is available to anyone wanting to run a Go Beyond Racing race who could use some assistance in paying for it.
This fund was generously seeded by an anonymous donor and Go Beyond Racing, and along with ongoing donations from runners and organizations, will offset the registration fee for people who want to race. As long as there are funds available in the Trail Mix Fund, we’ll continue to use them to help people race.
There are two ways to donate to the Trail Mix Fund:
One hundred percent of the money donated is used to offset registration fees. There is no administrative cost that is deducted. Donations are not tax-deductible
If you would like to run one of our races and cannot pay the registration fee, you can apply to the Trail Mix Fund to have your registration fee waived. A small and diverse volunteer group of people (our board) review the applications and decide who to fund.
We expect to review all applications within one week of receipt, but may have to adjust this timeline once we get a little experience with the volume of applicants.
Applicants will register for the specified race after receiving notification that they are funded. This doesn’t allow you to bypass a lottery or skip ahead of a wait list.
There is no catch. We feel that trail racing is an activity that anyone should be able to do and that our sport is not currently accessible enough to everyone who wants to race. If there is something we can do to improve the diversity, equity, and inclusion in the sport, we want to do it. If this endeavor seems to work and catch on, we can envision the Trail Mix Fund expanding and offsetting other barriers and costs associated with trail racing, like transportation, running shoes, lodging, etc.
You can read more about how the Trail Mix Fund came to be here.