On Sunday, over 100 people came out to run or walk at least one mile at YMCA's Camp Sloper in Southington.
"I thought this was a good chance to pull all the trail running community organizations together, and this is the result today," said Michael Lo Presti.
Lo Presti is the president and founder of the running club Connecticut Trailmixers. He, along other running groups organized this event to raise money for the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, which builds and preserves hundreds of miles of hiking trails across the state.
"The biggest network are the Blue-Blazed Trails. There are over 800 miles of Blue-Blazed Trails in our state, and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association is the organization that maintains them," said Lo Presti.
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But after that massive wildfire broke out on Lamentation Mountain in Berlin in October, and the flood that devastated parts of southwestern Connecticut in August, many of those trails were destroyed.
"A lot of our trails were hit. The Saugatuck Trail, the Aspetuck Trail, our Blue-Blazed Trail in Kettletown," said Linda Pierce, development director for the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. "Several of our bridges that we built were completely wiped out."
The CFPA is a small non-profit that relies on donations for disaster relief. Pierce says while a lot of work has been done, the organization still needs some help.
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"We're finding that we're putting in a lot more time in preserving and rebuilding and maintaining those trails, so this is going to be very helpful as a fundraiser for us," said Pierce.
Right now, they're working on a $55,000 project that involves rebuilding a 50-foot bridge over Little River on the Saugatuck Trail. They're also continuing to make repairs to hiking paths that were scorched on Lamentation Mountain.
Organizers also took the time on Sunday to honor fallen Wethersfield fire fighter Robert Sharkevich, Sr. who lost his life while battling the fire on Lamentation Mountain, also known as the Hawthorne Fire.
"It's not every day that all the trail clubs come together and do something special like this, so a lot of pride in my friends and family and a lot of runners and hikers. Just being here for three hours together. That's probably the biggest thing," said Lo Presti.
