A short film produced by the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters is in the running for a prestigious “Webby” award. The film “Boundary Waters Traverse” features Alex Falconer’s 110-mile run last May, following the Border Route and Kekekabic Hiking Trails. He ran the “Boundary Waters Traverse” to raise awareness of the risks of pollution from the Twin Metals copper-nickel mine proposal near the wilderness.
Falconer completed the fastest known time on the route at 38 hours and and 15 minutes. He also works for the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters as campaign manager.
“The Running for the Boundary Waters project highlights the issue of potential sulfide-ore copper mining proposals in the watershed of — and directly adjacent to — the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to the running community. Trail runners who are also environmental advocates are using their running as a public awareness tool for issues they care about.”
– Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters
The film is nominated in a Webby in the People’s Voice, Sustainability & Environment category with four other videos. “The Webby Awards has been honoring the very best in digital innovation and creativity for 26 years,” said Claire Graves, President of The Webby Awards. “This year’s Nominees represent more than innovation. They are the coolest, most creative, most shared, watched, listened to, most breathtaking, moving and talked about work on the Internet. We’re so proud to recognize them today.”
Falconer was joined on the run by Clare Gallagher, Western States Endurance Run and Leadville winner; Kyle Pietari, one of America’s top ultra distance trail runners and part of the Campaign’s pro-bono legal team; Peyton Thomas, another Patagonia sponsored trail runner; Grand Marais Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux; Matt Wardhaugh, who manages the Minneapolis and St. Paul Running Store locations; and Patagonia photographer Brendan Davis.
Voting is open until April 21. As of this writing, “Boundary Waters Traverse” is currently in second place at 31 percent of the votes, just two points below a film about energy generation from trash in Las Vegas.
The Webbys were established in 1996 and are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
More information:
- Webby Awards – People’s Voice – Environment & Sustainability
- Boundary Waters Traverse – Fastest Known Time