On March 4, the Sumas Mountain Film Festival took place for the third time. There were various short films about trail running being presented at the event — some locally produced and others international. Along with the $25 ticket comes two free beers from Field House Brewing Co.
In 2017 a proposal to perform mineral mining on Sumas Mountain raised concerns from multiple recreational groups in the area. There was opposition to the application because it proposed to mine right in the centre of where much of the recreational activity takes place on Sumas Mountain. If the proposal were to go through, many people would lose their valuable recreational location.
Paul Enns, one of the festival coordinators, partnered with the leader of the Abbotsford Trail Running Club and several others to conduct a large media campaign under the hashtag #savesumas to bring this proposal to the public’s attention. Eventually the applicant withdrew their proposal and some restrictions were put into place about which types of applications would even be considered for the mountain.
In response to this, several members of the community, including Enns, decided to launch the Sumas Mountain Film Festival in 2018 to bring positive attention toward Sumas Mountain and all the good it provides for our community and to promote two local non-profit organizations, Run for Water and the Abbotsford Trail Running Club. The profits from the event also help support the Fraser Valley Bike Association, which maintains all of the trails on Sumas Mountain.
Enns first got into road running, but the pavement became too hard on his knees, so Enns switched to trail running. From there, he got connected with local non-profit, Run for Water, who hosts an annual 5K, 10K, and half-marathon to raise funds for clean water and education in Ethiopia, and proposed an annual trail run too. With the trail runs, all proceeds go to humanitarian projects in Ethiopia.
As a trained clinical counsellor, Enns enjoys the social and mental health benefits trail running provides for people: “I like that running in nature, being away from the urban elements, and being immersed in the forest, in a social environment like the trail running club, and then connecting to different causes, opens up different ways of being healthy and being connected to others and taking care of the planet. I think it is unique that we can do that here in the Fraser Valley.”
If you are inspired to get involved in trail running, the Abbotsford Trail Running Club hosts various free group runs each month. Follow along for updated information on Instragram @abbytrailrunningclub. If you want to run with Run for Water, all of the information you need is on their website runforwater.ca.
