This is the Padua Podcast Network. Welcome to Running a Fever. This is a show about fitness, diet, and medicine. My name is Michael Davis, and my goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life right up to the very end.
This week, we’re talking about NWA Trailblazers. This is part of our series on Northwest Arkansas cycling, and it is another organization we’re featuring. NWA Trailblazers’ mission is to lead the development of an innovative regional movement that places cycling trails and active transportation infrastructure at the heart of a vibrant, healthy, and sustainable culture. The vision is that Arkansas sets the national standard for world-class trails, cycling, active transportation, and outdoor recreation, fostering a thriving, connected, and engaged community.
Their values are: Excellence. Excellence is the standard. They pursue it relentlessly, setting the benchmark for performance, innovation, and enduring success. Humility: They value diverse perspectives, challenging their own assumptions, and learn from others, using every experience to improve the work they do.
Innovation: They innovate with purpose, developing forward-thinking, environmentally responsible solutions for long-term sustainability and financial strength. Collaboration: They partner with cities, businesses, and thought leaders to build infrastructure that brings people together and enhances the region’s future. Now, a little bit about the history. Trailblazers is a non-profit formed in 2021 through the merger of NWA Trailblazers, an organization that has developed 300-plus miles of multi-use trails, including the OzTrails network, and BikeNWA, a bicycle advocacy and education-focused organization that has led the region in advocating for active transportation. Now, when you say active transportation, we’re talking about more than just cycling. We’re talking about cycling, walking, running, hiking, etc. Northwest Arkansas Trailblazers was founded in 1996 as the Bentonville-Bella Vista Trailblazers, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit that developed cycling and pedestrian infrastructure to connect communities and move people, with a focus on helping the Northwest Arkansas community by building multi-use hard and soft-surface trails for cycling, running, and walking.
Later, the organization rebranded as NWA Trailblazers and, for over two decades, has designed and developed a first-class trail system known as OzTrails, including more than 300 miles of multi-use trails. BikeNWA was founded in 1999 as the Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks, a 501c3 nonprofit. The organization was the first nonprofit in Northwest Arkansas to advocate for active transportation infrastructure. The founder, Laura Kelly, successfully brought the region’s first paved trails and bike lanes to Fayetteville.
The organization rebranded in 2016 with a mission to educate, inspire, and activate the Northwest Arkansas community to support the creation of a world-class network of active transportation infrastructure for all ages and abilities, with a primary focus on communities along the Razorback Greenway corridor. The organization worked to encourage residents of Northwest Arkansas to ride bikes for both recreation and transportation purposes. Today, NWA Trailblazers has over 30 employees and is involved in 161 active projects across trail construction, maintenance, infrastructure improvements, and the integration of education and outreach. Today, NWA Trailblazers is focused on reconnecting and future-proofing the Razorback Greenway, supporting the largest trail expansion in Arkansas history via OzTrails, maintaining 200-plus miles of existing trails, advancing active transportation equity, and teaching people how to ride, commute, and care for trails.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this brief episode about an important organization and one that helps Northwest Arkansas’ reputation as a worldwide hub for cycling activity. Remember, if you’ve got the fever, keep it burning; if you don’t, catch the fever. I will see you next time on Running a Fever.