With the ambitious goal of breaking down barriers to trail running, the Running Industry Diversity Coalition (RIDC) recently selected a team of runners for its “2025 Freedom to Run: Back Outside” case study.

Selected from 275 submissions, 14 new trail runners have been added to the RIDC family as part of the initiative, taking their first steps onto the trail with RIDC and joining a growing movement to break barriers and open up new pathways for more runners to experience trail running. While RIDC has hosted trail running panels and supported individual runners in the past, this marks its first dedicated cohort — and a deeper commitment to building long-term access to trails.

RIDC is focusing on increasing access to and participation in trail running by addressing key challenges identified in its research — everything from gear and safety to accessibility and technology. The Freedom to Run program is a direct response to its findings that many people in its communities are eager to try trail running, but face systemic obstacles that make the sport feel out of reach

The 2015 team includes Gabe Marrero, Old Hickory, TN; Kayla Caughell, Sacramento, CA; Karla Estudillo Fuentes, Atlanta, GA; Jerri Kriz, Tracy, CA; Eduardo Villanueva, Brooklyn, NY; Sam Soundarajan, Minneapolis, MN; Romona Kelly, Belmont, NC; Kat Phan, Brooklyn, NY; Blake Tucker, Chicago, IL; Elisabeth-Monique Tossa, Burnsville, MN; Richard Bui, Dallas, TX; Barbara Reyes, Austin, TX; Maribel Garcia, Los Angeles, CA; and Antoine Haugabook, Nashville, TN.

A typical participant is Jerri Kriz, of Tracy, CA, a wife, mother and caregiver with a background in teaching and volunteering. “Running has led me to new experiences and curiosities — it awakened a desire in me to run trails, but I wasn’t sure where to start,” Kriz says. “I am excited to learn about what it takes to run trails and discover something new about myself.”

Another new trail runner, is Eduardo Villanueva, of Brooklyn, NY, who says he grew up a heavy-set kid and always felt that running was out of reach. He echoes those sentiments after going through his own challenges during COVID. “I needed a radical change and when a running challenge popped up at work  I gave it a shot,” he explains. “Now I’m chasing a new kind of challenge — trail running and pushing for diversity. Trails feel like the right next step.”

Adding to the experience are the program’s coaches: Athena Farias, Becky Croft, Jared Ervin, and Yasmin Boayke. Training has officially started, with all eyes on the finish line: a trail run or race this Fall that, according to RIDC, marks not just the end of a training cycle, but the beginning of new possibilities for these runners, and for the industry as a whole.

For more on the runners: https://www.runningdiversity.com/blog/meet-the-runners-freedom-to-run-back-outside-2025