The GECKO Blog

From Heart attack to GECKO supporter...

After suffering a heart attack Steve vowed to change his life and now he

is using that focus to support GECKO. In his own way Steve learned what it means to "Get off the couch and get outside". After years of taking it easy his heart attack was a wake-up call to get back to fitness and the outdoors. Losing more than 65 lbs Steve has transitioned from a rider to a fiend! He is transformed and ready to test himself (and support GECKO) with a 170 mile ride across Florida! Please help support Steve and support GECKO on this monumental undertaking.

To read more and to make a donation please go here

http://www.joingecko.org/info.asp?uid=245

Posted February 2, 2012 by Morgan Murri

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NOLS Scholarships 2012

During the recent OR (Outdoor Retailer) Trade Show we met with Aparna at NOLS

to discuss our joint goals and strategies for getting young people outside.

Certainly GECKO and NOLS are on the same page on this topic and we continue

to see incredible opportunities and benefits in our partnership.

NOLS has identified that a couple of critical "gaps" exist in the demopgrapics that

are participating in their courses and the outdoors in general.

"We need more youngwomen in the outdoors." Aparna told me.

Certainly this catagory rings true with GECKO and Denali's story.

To that end we've decided to give addtional focus and preference to young women

applying for GECKO scholarships this year.

While at NOLS we had the opportunity to pick up the new 2012 catalog and were very

please (and grateful) to see a full page dedicated to Denali's story and GECKO! Titled

"Reawakening the "WILD" in your child." NOLS did a fantastic job of summing up the

incredible journey Morgan Denali had through her three NOLS trips and the positive,

life changing effects they had on her.

Morgan

Salt Lake City, UT

Posted January 23, 2012 by Morgan Murri

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GoLite Footwear Continues To Step Up!

During the recent OR (outdoor retailer) trade show GoLite Footwear continued their fatastic support

of the GECKO cause with a second donation of $2,500!

In addition to the cash GoLite will continue their involvement and support of GECKO and the

GECKO Pagosa Peak Trail Running series in 2012. Additionally GoLite will provide hiking

footwear to all GECKO scholarship recipients this year and offer up great shoes for prizes

at our running events! It's going to be another great year :)

Morgan

Salt Lake City, UT

Posted January 23, 2012 by Morgan Murri

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Happy New Year from GECKO

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
from Morgan and Morgan and our GECKO Team

Thanks to your support GECKO grew a bunch in 2011. We teamed up with NOLS to provided more than $20,000 in Scholarships! Checkout student "Thank You's" and Pictures

We are always looking for the best candidates for scholarships and the deadline for applications is February 15 so if you know someone you would like to recommend please go here here.

Zach and crew love'n His GECKO scholarship at NOLS

Come back and play in Pagosa Springs This summer!.

2012 EVENTS
Discounted Early Entry and LIMITED fields so sign up NOW!

Our event rock and we want to keep them that way so this year we are limiting the entries in all three running events to ensure that the quality and the experience remain fantastic. This means SIGN UP NOW! here.

To thank you for signing up early we are offering a 25% discount, yes discount, until January 15th. Use discount code EARLYVIP when you register at active.com (the cost you see on the active.com sight is pre-discount and you will pay 25% less if you sign up before January 15th.) here.

Dates for running events are: Turkey Track Trail Marathon and 1/2 June 9th, Mountain Chile Cha Cha 5k, 10k and 1/2 Marathon August 25th, Devil Mountain Ultra 50k, 50mile and 1/2 marathon September 29th. Additional information and updates, as well as archived results and photos can be found here.

Of Course we offer more events then just running and many of you joined us in 2011 for River Festival and Four Corner Bike Festival. Both these events will be back and better then ever in 2012! RiverFest is May 18th and BikeFest is September 22nd and 23rd!

Thanks again for your support... We look forward to seeing you again in 2012 and wish you an amazing New Year! Morgan Murri, Founder, GECKO

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Posted January 2, 2012 by Morgan Murri

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Thank you GECKO!

A thank you from Zach, a 2011 scholarship recipient.

Dear GECKO Donors and Sponsors... Thank you for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and sending me on a Wind River NOLS course. This experience of being in the wilderness for 30 days was absolutely amazing, it taught me things not only about backpacking and living in the wilderness but it also taught me a lot about myself and what I'm capable of. Throughout the month I spent time in many different climates and terrains. This diversity taught me how to make decisions in a wide variety of situations. From this, I learned to become a stronger leader and decision maker. Going on a NOLS course has changed my life, it has made me a more mature young adult, a stronger leader, and a better all round citizen. I look forward to being able to apply these newly learned skills to my everyday life. Thank you for giving me this once in a life time experience!

Sincerely,
Zach
Pagosa Springs, CO

Posted December 10, 2011 by Morgan Murri

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Turkey Track Trail Race

GECKO's First trail race of the season is only a few days away and we still have a little room for you!

Tired of the smoke? Tired of the heat? Need a cool run on a sweet trail?

Come on up, down, or over to Pagosa Springs for miles of single-track, a bag full of cool swag, hand made awards for all... and most importantly

supporting a great cause... Giving Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors and getting kids "Unplugged, off the couch and outside!"

We've made our great course even better, moving our start/finish to the forest, adding even more single-track and adding great new sponsors like

GoLite Footwear, CLIF, Fox River, Ink & Burn and Joshua Tree! So what are you waiting for? Sign up now www.joingecko.org/events!

Posted June 7, 2011 by Morgan Murri

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Another example, why GECKO believes in NOLS

NOLS Grads in Space:

The space shuttle Endeavour is due to launch at 1:47 MDT. We invite
you all of you across the country to join us in watching the launch.

As a reminder, this is the penultimate space shuttle mission and the
final flight of the space shuttle Endeavour. Construction of the
International Space Station, the most complex machine ever built, is
nearly complete. (The final mission for the space shuttle fleet,
STS-135 , has a crew of four. They have a target launch date of June
28th.)

Today's shuttle launch is commanded by CAPT Mark Kelly (USN). Mark is
a three-time NOLS graduate. In November 2009, in preparation for
their expedition; which is really a two year period of training,
flight and wrap-up; the entire crew took the inaugural NOLS-NASA
sailing course in 2009. The course was led by Steve Summers, Shari
Kearney, Doug Knapp and John Kanengieter. Among them, they have taken
12 NOLS courses.

Three of the six astronauts/cosmonauts on Expedition 27 currently on
the International Space Station are also NOLS graduates. Notably, the
space station crew managed an unmanned Progress resupply ship docking
this in the last couple of hours.

Posted April 29, 2011 by Morgan Murri

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GoLite Footwear Announces Partnership with GECKO

GoLite Footwear Announces Partnership with GECKO Organization
Non-profit aims to help kids experience nature in a meaningful way

Official Announcement to be made at OR Show, Jan 20, 2pm, Booth #30135W

January 4, 2011, Newmarket, NH – GoLite Footwear will be partnering with GECKO 501(c)(3) to “Give Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors” in 2011. Through donations and fund raising events, GoLite Footwear and GECKO will help children from all walks of life experience the outdoors by providing scholarships to the nation’s leading outdoor education providers.

Many recent studies have shown that our children are suffering from nature deficit disorder. Participation in outdoor activities among the nation’s youth has been on the decline, and the picture isn’t improving. The OIA’s Special Report on Youth indicates that less than 60% of American youths between the ages of 6-24 participate in outdoor recreation. This negative trend poses a threat to our environment as well as our industry. GoLite Footwear and GECKO will be partnering together to make the outdoors accessible to young people through a number of programs in 2011.

• GoLite Footwear will donate $2 for every pair of shoes with their Sticky Gecko sole shipped to participating retailers in 2011. Specific products include the new Tara Lite trail runner and a collection of performance sandals for men and women as well as several new styles from the Fall ’11 collection.

• The “GoLite Gecko Trail Series” presented by Trail Runner Magazine will be held in 6 markets across the US. Participants may purchase a pair of sandals with the Sticky Gecko sole at a special introductory price, and GoLite Footwear will donate an additional $5 per pair.

• GECKO will organize a total of seven trail running and mountain biking events throughout the year, which serve as their main source of fundraising. GoLite Footwear will be a primary sponsor of these events and co-promote through social media and their website.
By providing scholarships to organizations like NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School), HMI (High-Mountain Institute) and Wild Pagosa, GoLite Footwear and GECKO will enable youth to reconnect with the outdoors through sensory exploration and hands-on experiences. One of our main objectives is to foster a deep respect and appreciation for the natural world. During 2009, its first year, GECKO provided $4K in scholarships to the High Mountain Institute. Last year that number grew to $15K. The goal in 2011 is to raise more than $25K to send children to leadership programs, where they will learn and feed their passion for the outdoors. These experiences will create the outdoor leaders of the future who will encourage and inspire their peers to become stewards of the earth.

Links
GoLite Footwear website: http://www.golite-footwear.com
GECKO website: http://www.joingecko.org

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/GoLite-Footwear/191592820873
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GoLiteShoes

About GoLite Footwear
GoLite Footwear is committed to meeting the unique needs of those who live to be in the outdoors by delivering the ultimate in off road performance and durability. Our Soft Against the Ground platform used in our revolutionary trail running shoes has been extended to our complete line of fast packing, light hiking, and technical travel shoes that are impossibly stable, improbably light and incredibly comfortable.

Our brand is rooted in a passion for the outdoors and expertise in shoemaking, bringing you the very best design and technical innovation in outdoor performance footwear. GoLite Footwear is distributed throughout the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

GoLite Footwear is a division of New England Footwear, with our corporate headquarters housed in a former shoe mill in Newmarket, New Hampshire. For information on the full line of GoLite Footwear, please contact Vivian Lefebvre at 877-610-8870 or vlefebvre@newenglandfootwear.com

About GECKO 501(c)(3)
GECKO evolved from outdoor adventures experienced by endurance runner, Morgan Murri. Inspired by the growth and transformation he witnessed in his daughter after her participation in NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School), Morgan sought an opportunity to give back to the youth of today but wasn’t sure where to start. After reading Last Child in the Woods; Saving our children from Nature Deficit disorder by Richard Louv his mission became clear. “Give Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors.”

Through sponsorships, donations and outdoor event promotions and races GECKO is providing the future stewards of our planet scholarships and motivation to get “unplugged, off the couch and outside!”

GECKO headquarters deep in the San Juan Mountains in Pagosa Springs Colorado. For information on getting involved, racing in one of our events or recommending a student for scholarship, please contact Morgan Murri at 303-475-6053 or Morgan@joingecko.org

Posted January 13, 2011 by Morgan Murri

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NOLS Scholarships

GECKO is looking for students interested in receiving NOLS scholarships for this summer! Are you, or do you know, a student that would benefit from a once in a lifetime outdoor experience? For over 45 years NOLS has been leading trips into the wilderness, and students have continually returned home with the tools needed to succeed in their lives to come... No matter your skill level or experience NOLS has a course for you. Contact scholarships@joingecko.org for more information.

Posted January 4, 2011 by Morgan Murri

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GECKO events 2011 Schedule

Our mission to get kids "unplugged, off the couch and outside" continues to grow! While we might be buried in snow we are busy planning new events and improving those we are already famous for.
Checkout the dates and information on the events page. Registration for most races opens on active.com January 10th. Join us for bigger, badder, longer, higher and more fun then ever before!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Posted January 4, 2011 by Morgan Murri

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