How to find a greater purpose through race directing

1 hour ago
4 min read

Aimee Kohler, founder of The Running Kind — building purposeful trail races on the Beast Coast, one gnarly start line at a time.

By Henry Howard

Aimee Kohler, founder of The Running Kind, not only discovered her path through trail and ultra running. She learned how to find a greater purpose through race directing.

She left Spartan to create The Running Kind with a vision of hosting events that linked sustainability and trail running. “Through this journey with The Running Kind, I have taken a goal of being a change-maker and started believing that I am already making change.”

Kohler’s races take place in the Beast Coast in gnarly, rugged terrain in eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, the Catskill Mountains of New York and elsewhere.

For her contributions to the trail and ultra running community she is my featured race director for February, the 26^th in this series. In January 2024, I kicked off this monthly feature to pay tribute to the trail and ultra race directors who make the sport great. To see previous RDs featured, they are all available here. If you have any nominations, feel free to email me here or fill out this form.

Aimee Kohler, The Running Kind founder and race director

"I have taken a goal of being a change-maker and started believing that I am already making change." — Aimee Kohler, The Running Kind founder and race director.

Question: Why did you get into race directing?

Answer: I really fell into it, as I did trail running. It happened at the same time about six years ago. I just fell in love with the sport. When creating The Running Kind, I knew I wanted to create change in the sport while hosting events that made you feel something. The power of inclusivity and creating space for everyone at a start line is extremely important to all of us at The Running Kind. This combined with creating a safe space for runners to get after their goals is extremely rewarding and keeps me focused on hosting quality trail events.

Question: How did you get your start?

Answer: My journey into race directing started with some local trail running events at a ski resort near home. I quickly fell in love with putting on events and got a job with Spartan Trail putting on races all over the country. I was very lucky to have some fabulous mentors early on in my introduction to race directing that helped me learn how to host events. Soon after my time with Spartan, I decided to leave the larger corporation side of trail events and create The Running Kind with a vision of hosting events with a greater purpose: linking sustainability and trail running.

Question: What's the most interesting thing you've learned about yourself since you became an RD?

Answer: When the pressure is on, I perform my best. I started to learn this playing sports growing up. However, it wasn't until I stepped into hosting events on my own through The Running Kind that I realized I really found strength in problem solving on race day. Now being three years into The Running Kind, I have started to gain more confidence in my ability to create community in the trail running space. Through this journey with The Running Kind, I have taken a goal of being a change-maker and started believing that I am already making change.

Question: What's your best piece of advice for someone who wants to become an RD?

Answer: Don't rush into it and find a mentor. There are a lot of things you learn each time you host a race, so if you have someone to bounce ideas off of or talk logistics it is extremely helpful! It is also important to be as prepared as possible ahead of time. Things always come up, plans change, so if you can limit the amount of chaos, you'll be setting yourself up best for success.

Aimee Kohler went from working at Spartan Trail to founding and race directing gnarly events for The Running Kind.

Question: What's your favorite race to direct?

Answer: C'mon Armageddon is our biggest challenge. It is a single loop 50K on very challenging terrain. Everything about that race is difficult and hosting it is an endurance event in and of itself.

Question: What's your favorite race to run?

Answer: Loon Mountain Race!

Question: Tell me about a funny experience as an RD and what you learned from it.

Answer: In 2025, I set out to start course marking at C'mon Armageddon. I got out of my car, gathered all my course marking items and walked about 100 yards on the trail to find the creek that typically exists at a well-known spot, Otter Hole, was a river. I forged my way through waist deep, strong waters and started marking on the other side. At the time it felt pretty funny because I was starting what was going to be a 15-mile hike with soaking wet feet and shorts, and needing to come up with a plan for race day. We ended up rerouting for runner safety, but it stands out as a memory that could have easily been a panic and instead was an easy solution. It's super important to be adaptable so as problems come up (because they will) you are able to adjust and feel confident about your decisions.

This is why Aimee Kohler does it: the power of an inclusive start line, and the energy of runners chasing something hard.

Question: If a runner can only do one of your races ever, it would be ...

Answer: Climb It For Climate! It offers gnarly climbs and technical trail running in one of the most stunning places on the East Coast ... The Catskills!

Question: What exciting project do you have in the works?

Answer: We are adding a Backyard Ultra to our lineup in 2026 — Little Bitty Backyard! It is a little tougher than a standard backyard, offering 4.4 miles and 550-plus feet of gain/loss in one loop. Runners can join us June 13 for this epic race debut!

Question: Where can runners find out more about your races?

Answer: https://therunningkind.net/ or @therunningkind_ on Instagram