The Casper Star Tribune reports that this year's Run the Red race, sponsored by NOLS, Patagonia, and others, will be held on September 28, Wyoming’s first Public Lands Day. Runners can choose between a half marathon, 45 km, or 120 km course in the Red Desert, starting and finishing in South Pass City.

“The goal of the race is to make it as scenic as possible, featuring parts of Oregon Buttes, historic trails and the other-worldly Honeycomb Buttes.

Aaron Bannon, stewardship and sustainability director for NOLS in Lander, hopes this race, and races like this, continue to raise awareness for spectacular landscapes like the desert.

‘The public lands debate is well settled, and there’s a lot to be said for having an opportunity to express these values in a shared way,’ he said.

The desert, Bannon said, is critical not just for NOLS students, but for keeping Wyoming the place it has always been.

‘There’s something about the vastness and openness and unprotected nature of the landscape,’ he said. ‘To me, growing up in Wyoming, it feels like real, authentic Wyoming.’”

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