We started a race company because no one from our community had.
Snoqualmie Pass, Washington
Where we come from
We built Tierra Libre Run, a nonprofit that funds race entries, provides mentorship, and creates community for runners of color in trail running. That work taught us something important. Access programs get people to start lines. But almost no one from our communities is on the other side of the equation. Designing the courses, directing the races, running the companies. We started Cielo Running to change that.
Why Cielo
Cielo means “sky” in Spanish. The name comes from who we are. We are Latino and Latinx-owned, and that is not a footnote. It is central to our identity. Naming this company in our language is one way we stay connected to a piece of our culture that matters deeply to us. Sky running, in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, with clear and direct communication about who is behind it.
What we do
We put on trail races across the Pacific Northwest. Challenging, well-organized, professional events that draw on the inspiration of these places. The mountains, the forests, the light. Every race we build is shaped by the landscape it moves through and the community that shows up to run it.
Our first race is Hyak Passage, a 25K through the Central Cascades at Snoqualmie Pass. In 2025, we co-directed it with Rainshadow Running. Now it is ours. We are putting it on in 2026, and we have plans for more races to come.
What drives us
Cielo Running is a company, not a nonprofit. But the spirit of our work comes from the same place. Access, belonging, and representation are not separate from the business. They are the foundation of it. We believe that who gets to create trail running experiences matters just as much as the experiences themselves.
We are from the Pacific Northwest. We have community here. And we have aspirations to build something that reflects both where we are and where we come from.