INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

From the moment of our inception, The Human Potential Running Series has been the industry leader regarding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Equality within the sport of trail and ultramarathon running. Over the years we have implemented a number of policies and procedures that focuses on these efforts regardless of if they were considered “popular” at the time of implementation. In fact, our efforts have always been ahead of their time. We’re not interested in only focusing on what is popular. We are interested in doing what is right to help our sport grow and evolve towards becoming a place where all feel welcome.

“RUNNING IS FOR EVERYONE”

If at any time during the reading of our Anti-Discrimination policies below, or any of our other policies, you are unable to abide by our policies or don’t agree with them, we invite you to run with an organization who more closely aligns with your own personal values and ethos.

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICIES

  • We will not tolerate discrimination at our races or in our community. We will not condone verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual harassment, abuse, or discrimination of any person for any reason. We expect everyone to treat each other with respect, which includes respecting their privacy, using their pronouns, being kind, patient and compassionate, and not making assumptions. If anyone has a problem with anyone else (another runner, a volunteer, crew member, staff member, etc.) for any reason please do not take that up with that person; instead please inform the race director, either in person at the race or by email.
  • We acknowledge that our races take place on the ancestral lands of many Indigenous tribes. We will do our best to help shed light on issues affecting Indigenous people by amplifying their voices through our communication channels and we gladly offer a 50% discount on our race entry fees to all indigenous runners. For more information check out our Land Acknowledgement page that illustrates each of our race locations and the associated tribes, with information about their histories, cultures, and suggestions on ways to connect with and support them.
  • Offer various gender categories. By only offering two gender categories when runners register for races, by only offering results and awards for those two genders, and by creating a 50/50 split (male/female) of participants in their field, races unintentionally have discriminated against runners who are not represented by that binary system. We have worked to address this important issue in all that we do from the registration process, to the posting of results, and more. For more information about gender identities, here’s an example of one site The Trevor Project. Please see our policies page for more information on our gender identity policies.
  • We affirm transgender women as women and transgender men as men.  All runners are welcome to participate in the category that best fits their gender identity. Trans runners will not be discriminated against at our races. Trans athletes are facing mounting discrimination from many fronts including state legislatures, here’s a recent article, and more info from the ACLU. And here’s a site with lots of good information, Transathlete.com
  • Athletes With Disabilities/Adaptive Athletes. AWD have a home at HPRS and we welcome all comers who know they have what it takes to complete one of our courses. We will make every effort to work with athletes who may require reasonable accommodations. 
  • Financial assistance to anyone who needs it. We don’t want anyone to be turned away due to a lack of funds. Please check out our Community Fund and Discounts pages for info on how you can receive financial assistance from HPRS. 

We are eager to hear from you if you’ve got suggestions on other ways we can be more anti-discriminatory or other ideas to increase diversity, equity and inclusion. Please email us at info@HumanPotentialRunning.com

Every event permitted to use lands associated with the USDA United States Forest Service must comply with the USDA Nondiscrimination Statement. These same events must comply with the the following Civil Rights codes and statutes:
• Code: 42 U.S.C. 2000d-2000c  |  Statute: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Code: 20 U.S.C. 1681-1686  |  Statute: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• Code: 42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq  |  Statute: Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended
• Code: 29 U.S.C. 794  |  Statute: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended

HPRS has successfully completed both the Civil Rights Compliance Review, and Record of Self Evaluation for Accessibility through the USFS. If you feel the need to file a discrimination complaint, information is available HERE.  You can see the USDA Special Use Authorizations “Complying With Civil Rights Requirements” HERE

The above policies were originally published by Rainshadow Running in Washington. We have requested to adopt their policies, mostly verbatim, as they reflect what we feel should be the industry standard for Anti-discrimination policies across our sport. We thank Rainshadow for their leadership on this issue. These policies have been adopted and published at HPRS with their permission, and they are in addition to our already present policies as found on our policies page