Outdoor Reads: Government shuts down trail races, too; plus: Chewie runs a marathon

What did the SNEWS team read this week that other industry insiders might find interesting? Read on to find out!

• People are calling off vacations, postponing weddings and canceling trips to look at the fall colors on national lands because of the government shutdown. But those aren’t the only events being axed. Turns out runners in Asheville, N.C., will have to forgo their trail races, which have been canceled according to this story, because the races go through the Tsali Recreation Area in the Nantahala National Forest.

• Since those runners won’t be racing, they could take a look at this Active Times story to see if they’re making any of these five common running mistakes and focus on fixing them. Some of the common mistakes include not warming up and training without progression.

• Maybe trail runners need to jump into a few road races to keep their legs limber for next year’s trail races — like Chewbacca of Stars Wars fame did. Check out this Runner’s World story about Chewie’s recent stellar marathon finish. OK, we hate to disappoint. It wasn’t really Chewie, but Greg Geiger, who ran the big 26.2 dressed in a Chewie costume. We say Geiger is totally winning after that move. Oh, and speaking of furry creatures running races, check out this story about a chocolate lab that ran a half-marathon bandit-style, and got herself a finisher’s medal.

• Speaking all the parks we can’t visit right now, check out this story by Michael Lanza on The Big Outside that features a slide show of all the beautiful parks and reasons why we should visit them once they do reopen. Though for some it might be like looking at pictures of a doughnut while on a diet, it’s worth it to remind ourselves of the beauty awaiting us out there. Oh, and just so you know, hikers attempting to get into all those beloved spots are being cited, according to this Associated Press story.

• Attention readers in the Asheville, N.C. area: There will be a free seminar on assessing recreation and outdoor business risks from 10 a.m. to noon at the RiverLink offices in Warehouse Studios, 10 Lyman St., on Nov. 8. Check out this story for more information if you’re looking to open up an outdoor-focused business. For more information or to make a reservation, email information@riverlink.org.

• There are things that once seen, cannot be unseen — especially when it comes to dirty undies that are NOT YOURS. This Adventure Journal post describes some scenarios regarding stewardship, poop and the times when there is not enough good will to pack out somebody else’s business.

• We heard from the folks at Outdoor Industry Association that they learned through OIA’s Ideo Project that some people who are not yet outdoor enthusiasts are being held back because they don’t have anyone to recreate with. We stumbled upon this group on Facebook called Gociety, which connects people so they can go on adventures together.

• We were surprised Crested Butte, Colo., was not on this USA Today list featuring the best mountain biking cities. But there was one on the list that we highly recommend: Santa Fe, N.M. It’s a quaint little city with plenty to do when you’re off the trails, from walking around the plaza to checking out the local art scene.

• Some of our Colorado neighbors are competing for a chance to win a competition called the Small Business Big Game. Vroomi, a made-in-the-USA apparel brand that sources local Colorado wool for its products is competing against companies from all types of industries. Support your industry friends by voting for them here.

• Just because you can’t get out to your favorite national park for some fall camping does not mean you can’t fire up the fire pit in the back yard and create some good food. We recently read about these delicious concoctions in the Phoenix New Times: Zeppole with honey and brownies baked in oranges. Just yum.

Did you read anything awesome this week? Email it to us because we want to read it too!