Did you ever go for a run in Bangkok, Mumbai or Milan? And did you blow your nose afterwards? I did and what I saw wasn’t pretty. Okay, it never is, but it isn’t black. In these cities, it was. And these cities aren’t even the dirtiest ones. The most polluted cities in the world are Lahore and Faisalabad (both Pakistan), Hotan (China), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and – well to be honest – every city you can think of in India. So if you want to breathe clean air, you have to go up the mountains. You have to go Running Up For Air.

At least, that’s what Jared Campbell – 4 time finisher of the Barkley Marathons – thought in 2012, when Salt Lake City had become the most polluted city in the United States. “In those days I was running up Grandeur Peak; doing lots of laps. I was repeatedly running up and out of the pollution that I could see hanging over the city and I thought; I am living down there, my family is living down there. So I decided to do something about it. That’s why I started Running Up For Air.

Join in

In the beginning it was just a couple of people running up Salt Lake City’s Grandeur Peak for 24 hours, to raise money for organisations that improve air quality. A few became a big group and a big group became a worldwide event. One you can join from the end of May until the beginning of June; live in different cities around Europe, or on Strava.  Campbell: “Breath is everything, it’s the thing that sustains us, so we have to protect it.”

You can find an overview of all Running Up For Air events and how you can donate on the website of Patagonia.