LOGAN, Utah (August 19, 2020) — The Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center announced its first ever virtual race, Wild Miles, to encourage people to get outside and get active during the uncertainty of 2020.
Wild Miles will begin on September 16, the birthday of founder Allen Stokes and run to October 25, the birthday of founder Alice Stokes. Participants will be challenged to go 105 miles (Alice’s age this year) in those 39 days. They can bike, hike, run, swim, walk, or any other way of moving to accomplish those miles, but just get outside and enjoy nature while supporting Stokes Nature Center and its mission to make nature education and outdoor exploration possible for all people.
“We at Stokes have been working to create opportunities to keep people outside and engaging with nature, especially over the past few months. We know that nature supports mental and physical health for all people and this was just one more way for us to encourage healthy activity for all people. We feel this distance is challenging, but achievable and with support from our staff, everyone that signs up can reach their goal. Especially these days, with so many organized events being cancelled, this is a great way to not let your training go to waste, but rather still achieve something significant and help make a difference for our community,” says the Executive Director, Kendra Penry.
This event will offer two ways for people to participate: you can register for $60, which includes a custom medal when you finish 105 miles and a virtual swag bag. Or you can earn a free entry by fundraising to support Stokes Nature Center. Fundraisers are asked to fundraise at least $105, but will also earn a unique Wild Miles t-shirt for their efforts, in addition to earning additional swag along the way to fundraising milestones.
“Stokes Nature Center has always been committed to making nature education and outdoor exploration possible for all people, and this means we keep our programs either free or low-cost. Like many non-profits and small businesses, the pandemic has severely limited our revenues, but this is a chance for people to not only do something fun, but also help us continue to serve our entire community. We believe that all people can learn to appreciate and be better stewards of the natural world with the right knowledge and tools, and this event will help us carry on with that work so that we as well as future generations can all enjoy our great outdoors in Utah,” continued Penry.
For those unsure of their ability to reach 105 miles, SNC is offering two supported, drop-in events. There will not be an official start or finish line, but there will be aid stations available. These include a bike ride around Bear Lake on October 3 with three fully stocked aid stations sponsored by Gnarly and Honey Stinger and a mobile bike repair service sponsored by Joy Ride Bicycles, the official sponsor of this event. In addition, there will be a supported hike/run/mountain bike ride on October 17 on the River Trail in Logan, UT, with an aid station right in front of the nature center that participants are supporting. Those wanting to participate in the supported events but not do the full race will be able to by paying a drop-in fee of $10 for each activity.
Registration is available at http://logannature.org/wildmiles where you will also find the mileage log for self-reporting your distance.
