Time to Stop Hibernating: Opening Day for Trails is March 28!

It may not seem like it in some of the colder parts of the country (I'm looking at you, Boston), but spring is officially here! Slowly but surely, eggs are cracking, bees are buzzing and cherry blossoms are fluttering through the air.

Here in Oregon, we customarily have eight or so months of rainy season in the fall and winter that encourages most of us to stay inside by a warm fire and/or iPad and forget that outside is a real place. Then, when the rain stops and the clouds start to clear, we stretch our legs, dare to peek out the door and slowly reintroduce ourselves to our old friend, the sun. Then we run free and don't come inside again until the rain starts the following October.

Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic (after all, we Oregonians are an outdoorsy folk year-round), but it's fair to say that many of us, like the rest of the world, tend to be less active in the winter. Sometimes spring sneaks up on us and we don't realize it's here until we've already missed a few precious sunny days. If only somebody was there to let us know it's time to start moving again...

Rails-to-Trails to the rescue!

Inspired by they hype of opening day sporting events, the Rails-to-Trails Conservatory has designated an official Opening Day for Trails on March 28, 2015. On this day, they encourage people to get outside and get active on your local trails, whether its biking, hiking, walking, running, rollerblading, skateboarding, bird watching or jazzercising. Whatever your passion, know that you've been warned: spring is here and it's time to enjoy it!

To make things a bit more enticing, there are over 30 events celebrating Opening Day for Trails across the country, and Rails-to-Trails is offering biking-related prizes for people who simply make a pledge to get outside! Their website also offers tips on finding and using trails in your area, as well as highlighted trails all over the United States.

See our RunAmoc athletic shoes!

We at Soft Star are of course big fans of trail running, and we hope our fans out there will take advantage of this opportunity to hit the trails in their favorite RunAmocs. If you need a little push, here's some motivation for you:

• Joy Johnson started running at the age of 59, and by her mid-80s she had completed the NYC Marathon 25 consecutive times
• Mikko, in Finland, uses his RunAmocs to run year-round near the arctic circle.
• Noted podiatrist Dr. Ray McClanahan gives tips on the best shoes for trail hiking and running [spoiler alert: they're thin and flexible]
• Donald Buraglio, at the age of 46, ran and finished the Leadville 100-mile ultramarathon wearing a single pair of Dash RunAmocs.
• A 95-year-old man just obliterated the world running record for the 200m dash for his age group.

Feeling inspired? Great, now get out there and run!