All Trails Challenger Spotlight!

Conservation // October 03, 2022

This year’s All Trails Challenge has gone off with a bang. We’ve had the largest start of All Trails Challenge (ATC) participants sign up to date– within the first 3 weeks we had 107 people! To date, over 145 Challengers have made the commitment to walk, bike, hike, or horseback ride all 50 miles of trails throughout the Wissahickon by the end of November. 

So far, ATC Challengers have logged over 2,600 miles and raised over $14k! AMAZING! All donations support Friends of the Wissahickon’s mission to stewardship the beloved and irreplaceable Wissahickon Valley Park.

Because we’re just so excited about this year’s All Trails Challenge, we’d like to take a moment and spotlight some of our challengers! We were able to connect with three ATC challengers about why they decided to take the challenge:

@Ketchupforlife on Instagram, aka Jaleel, has been crushing his mileage! So far, he’s got over 13 miles of trails under his belt. On his challenge page, Jaleel says the All Trail Challenge is, 

“…about taking time, on purpose, to enjoy the simpler things in life. For me it’s the outdoors and the connection I’ve had to the outdoors since childhood.”

Keep up the great work, Jaleel! You can find Jaleel’s challenger page here.

Sarah Claxton is another ATC hero who has raised over $100 and logged more than 25 miles–halfway to the 50 mile goal! When talking about the park and the All Trails Challenge, Sarah says, 

My family loves the Wissahickon! We’ve been exploring these trails since before my son could walk, he’s spent his childhood here. It’s where I come to clear my head, to look for inspiration, to connect with friends. It’s our favorite thing to show off about our city. We feel so lucky to live near these woods. We’re doing the challenge to help take care of these woods for other people who love them as much as we do, plus I love a good challenge!

We love to hear it. Keep crushing it, Sarah! See Sarah’s fundraising page here.

Susan Glassman-Gettes is a beloved FOW Trail Ambassador and a member of the Trail Ambassador ATC crew. This group of dedicated TA’s has raised over $4,000! Susie says about the Wissahickon, 

“I absolutely love the Wissahickon Valley Park- it’s my favorite place to spend my free time (mostly running the trails) and I never get tired of it.  I decided to become a Trail Ambassador and participate in the All Trails Challenge to give back to the park that has given me so much.  It feels only right to do what I can, especially as a TA to promote taking care of the park by also providing funding and educating others about what they can do to help. I am always in awe that this beautiful park is in the city.  The Trail Ambassadors group has already raised $4,316.00 and run, hiked, biked, 265.16 MILES!!”

Thank you Susie and the whole Trail Ambassador team!

Here at FOW, we love each and every one of our All Trails Challenge participants and we can’t thank them enough for their support and love of this beautiful park.

Think you can take the challenge? There’s still time to sign up! Head to atc.fow.org for more info.

 

A huge thank you to our wonderful ATC sponsors too!