Mission statement
As coaches, mentors, and athletes, we are developing the next generation of trail runners. The All In Trail Collective’s aim is to provide coaching support and mentorship for promising, younger athletes, particularly those from marginalized or underserved communities.
We find that trail running is not always a welcoming sport to younger athletes. Races often require significant travel and resources, and racing at events with a ton of vertical gain and distance can feel like a shot in the dark. And let’s not forget about the hours of consistent training spent each week.
And while trail running is known for its fun, community atmosphere, that community often lacks diversity. Factors like socioeconomic status and race are linked to access to natural spaces and trails. Running races often lack gender-inclusive categories; policies that feel alienating or sometimes offensive. However, the future of trail running is bright. More runners are looking to race distances short and long, and we, as coaches, can help guide the sport to foster participation from younger athletes and for communities who haven’t had historically high levels of participation. That’s where All In comes in.
We recognize that trail running is empowering. It directs our passions and energies into positive, community-building experiences. Developing into a stronger runner requires patience, ambition, and curiosity. We want to cultivate passionate, younger, and promising athletes, and introduce them to a world that we love so much.
We, coaches Jarred Ervin, Jess Schnier, Rachel Lemcke, Yassine Diboun, Ryan Miller, Lindsey McDonald, Danielle Snyder, and Joe McConaughy, are excited for the 2025 year, our fourth year in operation. We have two programs, an All In Trail community and a year-long 1:1 coaching scholarship.
The application period opens on Tuesday, December 3rd and closes on Thursday, January 2nd, 2025 at midnight, PST. Follow updates on the program by following our @AllInTrail Instagram.
Read about the 2024, 2023, and 2022 scholarship recipients and the coaches behind the program.
All In Trail Collective
We are trail running coaches and mentors looking to give back to our sport. Our aim is to provide community and support, particularly for individuals who are excited to run trails but might not be in a position to work with a coach. The All In Trail Collective is a community of athletes who are All In on trail running. We’ve created the All In Trail Collective group to provide access to high-quality coaches, an online community and a few other resources to help athletes stay motivated and connected across the country.
The All In Trail Collective community exists of:
- A private online message board community (using Slack) with other trail athletes and All In coaches. We encourage dialogue on training, races, and all things trail.
- Virtual educational seminars hosted by a coach on topics relating to trail running.
- Private All In Trail Strava group.
- Discounts on team races organized through our partner race organizations (at end of page).
- A monthly newsletter.
- Reposting of #allintrail content on our @AllInTrail Instagram
Requirements:
- Between the ages of 20-29. (If you feel that you should be included within this group but are older than 29, please consider applying and telling us more about why this program would be a good fit for you)
- A resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico
- Willingness to stay engaged and actively participate in our community
If you are interested in joining, please fill out the application below and respond yes to the question ‘Regardless of your scholarship application, would you like to be included in the All In Trail Collective community?’
All In Trail Coaching Scholarship
We offer scholarships for one year of free coaching for 16-20 athletes. If you are matched with a coach, we will help guide you through the calendar year: writing and reviewing your training, creating a race calendar, and working to develop other running skills and techniques.
The goals of this program are:
- To broaden the diversity of the sport to include those that have historically been underserved and/or discouraged from participation.
- To develop the ability of the future generation of trail and ultra runners, and mentor those individuals to succeed in running and life.
- Empower small business coaches to positively engage a broader trail running community.
In the US, the trail and ultramarathon distances are dominated by white athletes and individuals who identify as cis males. While that isn’t a knock on the current and previous generations of runners, we strongly believe our sport will flourish and be much more impactful if we have more Joseph Grays, Courtney Dauwalters, and Ryan Montgomerys. We hope to attract and select individuals who bring different perspectives and/or backgrounds to the sport, and that, by working with one of us, these individuals will find their footing and voice in the trail running community.
Each of us has had our own journey to discover trails. We hope our mentorship will encourage the next generation to pursue trail and ultra distances and to accelerate their learning and enjoyment of the sport.
Should I apply?
This scholarship is meant to support younger adult runners who are looking to develop into competitive trail, ultramarathon or Fastest Known Time-focused athletes. See criteria below:
- Between the ages of 20-29*.
- A resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico. (coaching is remote/no geographic location required)
- We encourage individuals with various racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds and/or sexual orientations or identities to apply.
*With these scholarships, we’re hoping to encourage and mentor younger athletes who might not otherwise have an opportunity to obtain or confidence to seek out high-quality coaching. That generally means folks around, 20-29; however, if you feel that you should be included within this group but are older than 29, please consider applying and telling us more about why this scholarship would be a good fit for you.
What are we looking for? Each coach participates in this program for different reasons, although as a program we value:
- An excitement to seek mentorship and growth in trail running.
- Established athletic background, whether in trail, road, or other sports.
- Athletes with identities or from communities that aren’t well-represented in trail running.
Each coach has different motivations for participating in this program. Coaches might select athletes based on certain criteria, including, but not limited to:
- Previous performances (road/trail PRs, FKTs, podium or top finishes)
- Athlete’s goal race distances (from short mountain races to 100 milers)
- Training background (collegiate/club runner, backpacker, XC skier, etc)
- LGBTQ+ athletes
- Female athletes
- BIPOC athletes
- Inability to afford coaching
- Geographic location (proximity to where a coach lives)
Benefits
Each coach is offering a few scholarship spots to different athletes for the entire calendar year of 2025, totaling 16-20 spots.
- 12 months of one-on-one coaching services* (a $2,400 value). Including:
- Customized training plan via Google Docs, Training Peaks or Final Surge
- Private training Slack & Strava groups
- Tempo, track, hill and long run workouts
- Gear and equipment consultation
- Race nutrition consultation
- Lifting program consultation^
- Injury consultation^
- Sponsor discounts and select race entries*
- Free race entries. 2025 sponsors have not been finalized, but 2024 sponsors included free race entry to Rainshadow Running, Trail Animals Running Club, Mountain Running Races and select Tejas Trails (non-Bandera/Rocky Raccoon), Daybreak Racing (non-Hood 100/Gorge/Big Alta) Aravaipa Running (not including Black Canyon 100k/Cocodona) events.
- A welcome package. 2025 sponsors have not been finalized, but 2024 sponsors included:
- A welcome package of nut butter from TrailButter.
- A welcome package of outdoor products (sun screen, water filters) from Sawyer.
- A year’s subscription to the mapping app Gaia GPS.
- Running vest or belt from UltraSpire.
- Gear from Janji or Brooks.
We’d like to give a shoutout to program sponsors! As of 12/6/24, race entry sponsors include Rainshadow Running, Aravaipa Running, Mountain Running Races, Trail Animals Running Club and Tejas Trails and are providing offering free or discounted race entries to athletes. Additionally, we’d like to thank product program sponsors Brooks, Näak, Squirrel’s Nut Butter, and Injinji for hooking athletes up! Follow our Instagram @AllInTrail for sponsorship updates as we finalize our benefits.
*Individual coaches have different coaching styles and processes. Individual coaches may have unique sponsorship arrangements to benefit you.
^While we make every effort to provide athletes with correct information that is tailored to you, we are experienced running coaches but not licensed medical professionals. We study modern running practices to attempt to keep any athlete injury-free and healthy, but running may cause damage to your body. For medical issues, you should see a licensed professional. Under no circumstance shall any coach be held responsible for injury or damages.
Application info & process
Please apply using this link. If you have questions about your application, please leave a comment below or message us via Instagram @AllInTrail or email allintrail (at) gmail (dot) com
The application should take 20-30 minutes to complete and you may want to prepare written statements separately. The majority of the test is short form response with three long-form responses:
- Please describe your running and athletic background (3,000 character limit, ~500 words)
- Why do you wish to apply? Will this experience contribute to your personal or professional goals, or impact your community? (3,000 character limit, ~500 words)
- What running goals do you have for the next year? For the next 5 years? (1,500 character limit, ~250 words)
See timeline below. When the application period ends, we will review applications and narrow down a list of finalists. Finalists will be notified and scheduled for a follow-up call. The purpose of this call is to make sure that you and your coach are the right fit for your needs as an athlete. Non-selected applicants will be notified, by 1/13/25 at the latest. Scholarship recipients will be a part of the All In Trail Collective, and non-selected applicants will be encouraged to join.
Application period: 12/3/24 – 1/2/25
Week of 1/6/25: Coaches select finalist, conduct interviews, select scholarship recipients
Anticipated Coaching start date: 1/13/25
If selected, what will be required of me?
Your coach will work with you to set goals and a training calendar for 2025. We expect any athlete…
- To dedicate significant time and effort to training (8+ hours per week)
- To have a long-term interest in developing into a competitive trail runner, ultra runner or fastpacker
- To attend bi-weekly or monthly one-on-one check-ins with your coach
- To set a race calendar for 2025 with at least 3 efforts/events
- To be an engaged member of their local trail running community and steward of the sport, including at least 8 hours as a volunteer or pacer at a trail running event or race at two separate events
- To engage with your coach’s client roster for both their benefit and for that of the broader group
- Optional: To write a monthly blog article on a running-related topic. This could be on the running experience, a race report, a gear review, or whatever topic is interesting to them. Link to blog.
Maximizing your potential as a trail and ultra runner is a multi-step process. In this program, we’re interested in helping younger athletes establish a program and process to develop their craft rather than focusing purely on results. Most ultrarunners post their best performances in their 30’s; becoming a strong trail runner takes years to develop. Immediate results will not be the best measure of long-term success.
Coaches
Our coaches are, frankly, awesome. They devote their time and resources to making this program exist. We wouldn’t be here without them! We aim to have a diverse set of coaches that might align with your background, interests and experiences. Coaches include:
- Coach Jarred Ervin, Phoenix, AZ
- Coach Rachel Lemcke, Colorado Springs, CO
- Coach Yassine Diboun, Portland, OR
- Coach Danielle Snyder, Bend, OR
- Coach Jess Schnier, San Diego, CA
- Coach Ryan Miller, Austin, TX
- Coach Lindsey McDonald, Flagstaff, AZ
- Coach Joe McConaughy, Seattle, WA
Learn more about our coaches here.
During the application process, you are able to select “first choice,” “second choice,” or you may leave the answer space blank for each coach.
First choice: You are most interested in working with that specific coach. Showing interest in a particular coach is a plus. Limited to one selection.
Second choice: You are excited to be working with this coach if selected. Multiple selections allowed.
‘Blank’ response: You are not currently interested in working with the coach. We’d encourage you to be selective about the coaches you select and not select Second Choice for every coach.
Please support this scholarship
What is the biggest challenge of this scholarship? Reaching the individuals who stand the most to benefit from it! It takes an enormous administrative load to get the word out. For those of you reading this, we ask that you please support this scholarship by expanding the reach and network of this opportunity. Our success will likely depend on the recommendation of a friend of a friend to apply or by the goodwill of a stranger who shares this scholarship with their local trail running group.
More succinctly, we ask:
- Share this scholarship with any local trail running organization via social media or word of mouth
- Recommend the scholarship to an individual who you believe would be a good fit
- Make an introduction. We’d love to make connections with individuals or organizations who might be able to help the mission of the scholarship
- We will happily facilitate financial contributions to cover travel-related expenses or in-kind gifts for scholarship recipients, please get in touch with us in the contact info below.
- Give us feedback: How can we increase the potential or value of this scholarship?
Please reach out to our email allintrail (at) gmail (dot) com or reach us on Instagram
Thank you to our sponsors!
Race Companies – Free and discounted races for athletes
Rainshadow Running, Mountain Running Races, Aravaipa Running, Trail Animals Running Club and Tejas Trails
Product Companies – Free and discounted products for athletes
Brooks Running, Näak, Squirrel’s Nut Butter and Injinji
Product sponsors are still being finalized, and the above list reflects confirmed sponsors as of 12/6/24
