TRAIL WORK WITH HPRS

HPRS TRAIL WORK COMPLETED

Since 2015

0

Trail Work Days Held

0

Total Volunteer Hours

0

Comp Race Entries Awarded

THIS YEAR’S TRAIL WORK SCHEDULE:

Saturday, May 25, 2024 Sedalia/Castle Rock, CO
Saturday, June 29, 2024 Fairplay, CO
Sunday, July 14, 2024 – Fairplay, CO 
Friday, August 30, 2024 – Fairplay, CO
Saturday, August 31, 2024 – Fairplay, CO
Sunday, September 1, 2024 – Fairplay, CO

Click on a date above to register today!
More Dates To Be Added!

Volunteering for trail work doesn’t require you to have any previous skills or tools to complete the various tasks associated with the day.

HPRS and/or our partner's staff will train you and assist you with the necessary tasks. We’ve been fortunate to purchase our own cache of the tools that we’ll need. Some days are harder than others, some days are dirtier than others, but all days end up being incredibly rewarding. 

We would love it if you brought members of your family to the trail work day with you. We do not have a formal trail work minimum age requirement; but we do ask you to keep the following in mind: Historically trail work is an incredibly boring and labor intensive activity for those under the age of 13. Those under the age of 13 tend be more in the way than helpful as it were. Please consider your child's ability to maintain interest in an activity, and their ability to truly be of help, before bringing them along.

We suggest you bring the following to any HPRS trail work day:

Hat
Work Gloves
Sunscreen
Sun Glasses and/or Safety Glasses
Bug Spray
Lunch & Snacks
Water/Drinks
Rain Gear

Trail work days are scheduled as an 8-hour volunteer day. In all honesty, they typically last anywhere from 5-6 hours in total. It depends entirely on the type of work we need to accomplish, the number of folks in our group, the weather, and how long it takes our group to reach a general level of exhaustion.ᅠ

Our group typically meets between 8 and 9am. We start the day with the signing of waivers, a 30-45 minute orientation which includes introductions, a talk about why trail work is important, a synopsis of our work for the day, and a safety talk.

While we can drive closer in to most work sites, we sometimes are required to hike in a few miles to get to the actual site we'll be working. Therefore, it can be anywhere from 45 minutes to 1hr 30min from time of arrival before we actually start working.ᅠ

You are not slave labor. Trail work days are an awesome communal experience at HPRS. We spend a lot of time talking and getting to know one another, with ample breaks for snacks and lunch (bring your own food and drink please). We all work at a pace that is comfortable to us.

HPRS is pleased to offer a few rewards as a thank you for volunteering with us on our trail work days.

Typically HPRS volunteers accrue credits based on hours worked. Those who complete volunteer Trail Work with HPRS will receive an automatic comp -or- discounted entry for their time.ᅠ

By completing a day of trail work (TW) you have the option to use your TW Credit on any race up to 50-miles in distance -or- you can use your credit to pay for up to 50-miles of the distance you want to run if that distance is longer than 50-Miles. (Ex: If you want to run a 100k with an entry fee of $200, and the 50-Miler at the same event is $160, you would use your Trail Work (TW) credits for the first 50-miles then pay the $40 difference to run the 100k.)

If you plan to use your trail work comp for an event 100-Miles in length or longer, please note: You may NOT use the same TW comp for both a discounted entry and to satisfy the volunteer requirement. You may use your trail work rewards for EITHER a discounted race entry -or- to satisfy the volunteer requirement for that event.ᅠ

We strongly discourage the bringing of your dog to trail work days. We will allow one (1) dog to join us per trail work day, and it is first come first served. Anyone who would like to bring their dog must first email us at info@HumanPotentialRunning.com to request permission. Your dog must be "chill," very well behaved, on a leash AT ALL TIMES, and you must bring all food and water needs for your dog for the day. If your dog is an incessant whiner when leashed up while you are in proximity, do not bring your dog. If your dog is known to chase wildlife, do not bring your dog.ᅠ

We would love it if you had a group that wanted to do trail work with us on a day not listed above. Please reach out to us via email to inquire about setting up a day. Trail work days are an awesome way to conduct team building with your group. HPRS owner and race director John Lacroix has a degree in Outdoor Education and experience as a Corporate Adventure Trainer. His expertise and knowledge as a team building facilitator will help your group succeed with their goals.ᅠ

In general we can set-up trail work days on US Forest Service lands in Fairplay, La Veta, Westcliffe, and Sedalia (outside of Castle Rock). We are also able to set-up days at Staunton State Park in Pine/Bailey, Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs, Mueller State Park in Divide, and Roxborough State Park in Littleton.ᅠ

Is the idea of volunteering with HPRS not working out for you? Not finding dates that work for you?

There are other Colorado based groups we highly recommend who will provide you with an exceptional trail work experience. Just click on any of the following links:

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI)
Colorado Mountain Biking Association (COMBA)
Colorado Mountain Club (CMC)
Colorado Trail Foundation (CTF)
Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA)
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC)
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV)

There are of course many other organizations who work with land managers on trail work initiatives. The above is a list of those whom we possess enough knowledge about that we feel comfortable recommending their programs. If you find another group who appeals to you, give them a try!

ABOUT TRAIL WORK WITH HPRS

In 2014, HPRS became the first ultra (and/or trail series) in the state of Colorado to officially adopt United States Forest Service trails for yearly maintenance. We did this to continue our mission of not only building a better ultra community for our runners, but to improve the relationships between ultra running and the land managers we work with.

In cooperation with the United States Forest Service, Pike National Forest South Park Ranger District, we have adopted ~11 miles of trail in South Park. The 11 miles we’ve adopted is made up of 4 different segments of trail. Three of those segments are routes we use for our Silverheels Trail Runs held annually in July. The fourth segment is part of the Sheep Mountain Trail Runs held annually in August. From time to time, projects will trickle onto other portions of trail within the district as land manager need dictates.

There is no doubt that our events, and other events like it, put various types and levels of strain on the resources we utilize. Human Potential believes it is imperative we give back to better conserve these resources for future generations of trail users. Use of trails for events like ours is a privilege and not a right.

Many trail and ultra races require their participants complete at least 8-hours of volunteer trail work as a condition of entry into their event. The Human Potential Running Series requires registrants in our Silverheels 100-Mile, Sangre de Cristo 100-Mile, Sangre de Cristo 150-Mile and Sangre de Cristo 200-Mile Endurance Runs to complete at least 8-hours of volunteer service in order to participate (Though, runners can opt out of this requirement by submitting a donation to a local non-profit). Furthermore, certain districts of the USFS have begun to mandate that volunteer trail work be conducted by those looking to secure permits on USFS land. Due to recent budget cuts the forest service is looking to organizations such as ours to help them in maintaining the trails we wish to use. 

Due to the growing number of races requiring volunteer trail work, as well as our own requirements, HPRS is also proud to adopt these trails to better serve the Colorado ultrarunning community in fulfilling these requirements. Every year, HPRS will be releasing a trail work schedule to allow folks to plan which work days they’d like to attend with us.