“Staying true to helping people who can't afford the race registration fees and helping the BIPOC and the queer community get to a start line. That's where we're staying focused”

Renee Janssen is a trail runner and race director living in Oregon. Her racing company, Go Beyond holds a bunch of events and that’s where the idea of starting a charity has its roots. The Trail Mix Fund was born during the pandemic because people couldn’t afford to enter virtual races, Go Beyond wanted to remove the financial barrier, and other people wanted to donate funds for entries. It all came together and now the fund is helping get people to start lines at all kinds of events, including events that aren’t Go Beyond. It’s a great way to help make the sport more accessible and awesome that they took the ball and ran with it. Renee enjoys each story of people they’ve helped and how it’s helped pick people up.

“They want to represent. They're an Asian person who is tired of being at races and not seeing other faces like theirs. And they're just like, this is an opportunity for them to make a change and they want to become ambassadors of this whole thing and spread the word to other people in their communities. So I like that too.”

The Trail Mix Fund is growing and is a great way to help people get into racing. I hope you enjoy the chat and learning more about Renee and the Trail Mix Fund as much as I did!

Early Bird Trail Running Film Festival tickets on sale now

Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Rio Theatre. Doors at 6, show at 7.

Bring your noisemakers!

Yes, I’m so excited to host all of you amazing trail runners once again here in Vancouver, BC! The Rio Theatre is booked for Thursday, April 4, 2024, with the doors opening at 6 and the show starting at 7. We’re gonna do it bigger and better than last year and give this thing a festival vibe.

We have amazing sponsors lined up once again, we’ll have some great giveaways (like Naak!), another awesome guest, and a secret show opener that you’re going to want to make noise for. Bring your cowbells, your tambourines, or whatever you have to get loud, and let’s rock the Rio together!

Tickets are on sale now for $25 and go up to $30 on January 1, so pick’em up for your holiday shopping and save a few bucks.

Buy your tickets here.

We’re bringing the films to Alberta

And a big step for us as we’re bringing the film festival to Edmonton, Calgary, and Canmore! I’m incredibly excited to be able to hang out with more of you and share the film festival vibes. We’re still finalizing contracts with theatres, but it’s looking like our dates will be:

Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Edmonton

Wednesday, June 5, 2024, Calgary (Globe Cinema)

Thursday, June 6, 2024, Canmore (artsPlace)

Click on the links above for the FB event pages to keep up to date. Keep an eye peeled for official announcements as we will let you know the moment these become official and tickets are listed for sale. I’m so pumped to hang out with you all!

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Music by Paolo Argentino from Pixabay

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