Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Within Range Coaching podcast.
I'm Ranger, certified holistic success coach.
And in this podcast, I'm breaking down the journey that entrepreneurs face as they start
their organizations, find solutions to the roadblocks in their way, and create an impact
that lasts.
So, if you're an entrepreneur, nonprofit leader, or purpose-driven community member that wants
to learn how to grow your impact and develop yourself as the person behind the mission,
then this podcast is for you.
I know you're just as eager to get started as I am, so let's jump right in.
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, everyone, and welcome to today's episode.
I hope that everyone is having a fantastic day and are making progress towards the outcomes
that matter the most to you.
Today's episode is a little bit special.
It's part of our Walk Across America series that's helping to kind of kickstart this podcast.
And today, we get to hear from one of the nonprofits I'm actually walking to raise money
for, Bigger Than the Trail.
I mean, I can talk the entire episode about the impact that Bigger Than the Trail makes
as mental health advocates and what they do and the great work they have, but I'm pretty
sure our guests can talk all day about it and much more clear and way more entertaining
than I can be.
Today, I'm joined by Todd Beck, board member of Bigger Than the Trail.
Todd, thank you for joining us today.
Oh, no, thank you.
Appreciate having us on today.
Yeah, no problem at all.
I'm super excited to hear a little bit more about what you do and give you guys that opportunity
to share some stuff with our listeners.
So do you want to kind of introduce yourself real quick and let the listeners know who
you are?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So as you mentioned, my name is Todd Beck.
I'm based out of Wisconsin.
I'm one of the board members for Bigger Than the Trail.
Bigger Than the Trail is a nonprofit organization utilizing trail running to advocate for mental
health awareness.
So on a personal side, I am married.
I have four children and work in the in the business world as a director for a telecommunication
company.
So I appreciate you taking the time in lieu of your big event that you're starting with
tomorrow and excited to be here today.
Yeah, just so everybody knows, I'm about 12 hours away from starting the walk.
So I'm glad that I was able to squeeze you guys in and get a chance to talk to you before
I get started.
I'll hope to keep me motivated in the first few days for sure.
Why am I doing this?
All right, the trail, everybody else, let's go.
Well, that's interesting.
So it's not turning back now.
Let's turn it back.
Yeah, tell me about it.
I had an interview earlier with one of the new stations and they're like, oh, how are
you feeling?
And I'm like, honestly, it's it's hitting.
I've flown pretty close to the sun.
It's time.
Yeah, no, that's a that's a whole other episode.
I can record something else at some point about my thoughts right now and all that fun
stuff.
But today is about you guys.
And for now, a little bit more about you.
It sounds like you're the director of a telecommunications company or doing all these things, a father,
a husband and I guess a board member for the nonprofit.
What is that like for you to balance all of that?
Well, the awesome thing about bigger than the trail is the support that we have not
only from the other board members, but we're all family first oriented.
We all have things going on in our lives and we do everything and anything that we can
to help each other out to keep things going.
We have a lot of ambassadors that have been super supportive over the years that continue
to help us develop and run the organization to the best of our abilities.
But it's a team sport.
We all work together.
We all roll together as a as an analogy there.
I mean, if we're not rolling together, it's hard for the mission to set its place.
So we've we've done a really good job about helping each other out over the course of
the years.
So it's a team sport again.
We're all working together to make it happen.
Yeah.
So it sounds like you guys just have a ton of support in terms of the community you have
behind the scenes running the organization, you know, to pick up the slack for each other,
help each other out.
That's amazing.
How and it's and it sounds like that's something that a lot of people want in their organization,
being able to really lean on each other and have that strong community like what I guess
to kind of get into the specifics there, like what did it take to build that with bigger
than the trail internally?
Oh, that's a great question.
So bigger than the trail.
I mean, it's been it's been around now for about eight years.
So Tommy Byrne is the founder and the president of our organization.
And when he started it, I don't think he thought it would get as as large as it is today.
You know, we have over 280 ambassadors throughout North America.
And it started out with, you know, a few people supporting to less than 100.
And then it just continued to spiral and get bigger and bigger and bigger.
And we saw a big increase in just the whole need for mental health awareness when when
COVID hit.
There was a lot of mental health concerns that was going on during that time period
and still to this day, we're working with a lot of people that are still going through
a lot of that.
So it's definitely grown over the years.
And there are times there last few years where we thought we were growing too quickly.
And we kind of had to take a step back and kind of reevaluate where we are, where we
want to be, what's more important.
The important thing is always providing the resources that we have and the partnerships
that we have to be able to help people that are struggling with mental health.
So that's been our primary focus for years is that it's all about the people, the community,
being able to shed light in a community about that there are resources out there at your
disposal if you if you if you need it.
And we want people to know that it's OK to ask for help.
So I may be jumping around a little bit here, but we're super passionate about this organization.
We're super passionate about the people that are part of the community.
And a lot of us have had our own trials and tribulations over the years.
And I think that's what's really fueled our ability to run this organization to the best
of our abilities.
Yeah.
What's coming up for me listening to you talk about what bigger than the trail does and
the community guys have is that a lot of it sounds like it's really a community that is
built upon shared values and a very clear mission.
Yeah, we definitely have.
How do I want to work this?
But bigger than the trail, I mean, it is all about the community.
You know, I think our tagline on our website is we come alongside people providing educational
support, various treatment options.
So we don't want our community to think that bigger than the trail is just all about people
who run or in physical activities.
It's for anybody and everybody.
So it's much bigger than than the running community or the athletics.
It's more about what can we do to focus in on people that have real struggles and challenges
that are going on in their lives around mental health and how can we come alongside of them
with the resources that they need.
So even though we utilize ultra running walks, cycling, triathlons, whatever the case may
be, we just want to get the word out there that there is help out there.
So I think that's that's the biggest focus is getting that message out to the community
and utilizing the plugs that we have within our community to be able to share that message.
That's amazing.
Yeah.
I was kind of curious about that as well, because I do hear some parallels there between
what you guys are doing here and what Wander Project does, where the focus isn't for you
guys and the focus isn't runners.
But it sounds like a lot of you guys have that in common, that that's something that
brings you guys together at first.
And then there's also this added layer of mental health advocacy.
And it's just like a match made in heaven, essentially, of these are the people this
is the impact that we can make.
This is why we're already here as a community.
What can we do from that?
Right.
And then how do we springboard it?
And absolutely.
Yeah, I think it's the designing the mission, driving the values of it, but instilling the
culture that drives it as well.
So the whole mission has been built around the community.
It's amazing.
The stories that we've been a part of, the partnerships and relationships that we built
over the years, the people that we've met along the ways, just by wearing a it's funny
a few years back, I was running an ultra race and just wearing a bigger than the trail shirt
and people coming up and asking about it and having conversations about it.
We did a during covid a few years ago, races, real races weren't happening.
So we we did the block.
We kicked that off as in May because May is mental health awareness month.
And we kicked that off as a way to just bring awareness and build race funds.
Tommy, our founder, he actually ran around his block for 100 miles, did it under 20 hours
or a little over 20 hours.
But just going through that to raise awareness and raise funds and the amount of people that
came in and helped him donating cash on the spot because they were asking about the mission.
So it's just been it's been a fun ride and it's continuing to evolve again with the community.
It's all about the community.
And we love to be a part of it and seeing how it's just continue to develop.
Yeah, there's a few things in what you just said that I think are kind of valuable for
folks.
There's that aspect of and I feel like what I've seen with a lot of folks is that marketing
is something that's kind of like this big scary thing that they struggle with.
And it sounds like even just so much as wearing the apparel or being proud about what you
represent, that's going to draw people in.
That's going to give you the opportunity to have those conversations, to spread the message.
That's funny because we actually sell our we sell gear on off our website and we're
not a gear shop.
We're just not where it's not something that we're driving to, you know, to profit on any
shape or form.
We just know that people want the apparel to be able to tell the story.
And so we give our community that ability that can go on to our website and purchase
apparel at their disposal or at their discretion and hopefully be able to tell the story if
somebody comes up and approaches them as to what bigger than the trail is.
And that might lean somebody towards our community to seek the help that they need.
And that's that's what's more important than anything is.
And that's that brand awareness through the community is people talk and people see the
logo and it creates the story.
And that's that's more important than anything else.
Yeah.
And I want to ask you a little bit more about that ambassador program that you guys have
been able to establish.
And again, some of the listeners that I have are nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, et cetera.
And I know that when I worked in nonprofits, something that we faced was it felt like the
board was kind of doing everything.
We were the ones that were showing up.
We were the ones that were advocating, et cetera, et cetera.
But we did have a small group of people that were like the true fans, like they believed
in the mission.
They were that they were also at everything.
They were spreading the message around.
So when it comes to your guys ambassador program, what is it that the ambassadors do to promote
your organization?
That's a great question.
So a lot of our ambassadors are asked to help raise funds through fundraising on an annual
basis, whether that is we have we have some athletes that are fundraising currently for
a race that they're doing so that they will promote bigger than the trail as their fundraiser
of choice and ultimately just spreading the message through social media, going to races.
And if they're working in the aid station, we they can ask us to ship some materials,
some stickers, a bigger than the trail flag just to get that brand awareness.
So our ambassadors are they're they're the people representing this organization out
in races, out in events, whether they're doing fun runs through their local shoe stores or
through their local run groups, we're able to provide the resources to be able to again
that we will be more than happy to ship out to our our ambassadors to be able to spread
the message, to be able to hand out.
But a lot of our ambassadors are again, just utilizing that material through those races,
through fundraising, through social media and just word of mouth and just continuing
to spread the message.
Gotcha.
So it sounds like you're really empowering them to show up for the organization, be
prepared, be trained advocates for the mission and what you're doing.
That's amazing.
And with the mission of bigger than the trail, I know that you guys are advocating for mental
health beyond literally beyond the trail.
But what exactly does that look like with somebody that comes to you for mental health
assistance?
What does that look like?
That's a great question.
So we have the ability, not only resources, but we have partnered with a company called
BetterHelp.
I'm sure people are familiar with them.
If not, it's an ability to have counseling services either through virtual chat like
this, email, text messages, whatever is the best to the person that is seeking counseling.
But bigger than the trail, we will advocate and connect you with BetterHelp and we will
provide three months of service at no cost to you as a person seeking counseling services.
The reason for this is that years back, our president, he was seeking assistance for his
own mental health.
And the amount of time it took to get in front of a counselor, when you get referrals and
then being able to get connected and then trying to get in and meet with the counselor,
it took a lot of time.
And this is what started bigger than the trail, right, is being able to establish that connection
quickly.
It's a no questions asked.
People can go to our website, they can fill out.
If they go to our website and they go to the top of our page, they can actually, there's
a support button that they can select and then they can go from there and walk them
through what they need to do.
But we'll get you connected again, no questions asked.
We will provide three months of service at no charge to you just to get you connected
and get you the support that you need.
That's fantastic.
And something, I mean, as a coach, that's something that I do hear a lot from my clients
and the people that I work with or have conversations with is, it's just always so confused.
Like, where do I even go to get help?
How do I find those resources?
And a lot of times those resources can be pretty expensive.
They can be super expensive.
Absolutely, they sure can.
And that's why, you know, the three months that we provide and that's why we drive the,
you know, we pay for that through the fundraising that we do work with our ambassadors and people
throughout the world that are fundraising for us.
So yes, it is a costly expense, but that's the whole benefit, right?
Is that we're utilizing our fundraising, we're utilizing our partners, we work with various
different race organizations to be able to have charity bibs, to be able to pay for those
expenses and provide the level of service that they, that people need, right?
And they deserve, because I think that when they are able to get in front of somebody
and start being able to open up and communicate about what's going on in their lives, that's
the whole benefit.
That's the reason behind the mission, right?
Again, it's to shine light in the communities around mental health and get people the support
that they need.
Gotcha.
So it's really being able to lean on those supporters, that partnership that you have
with other organizations.
And I think earlier you said 280 ambassadors.
286.
You have 286 is the number right now that we have, correct.
286 people that are out there advocating for you guys, helping you out.
That's insane.
And that's just the ambassadors, the people that are in the program.
It's just ambassadors.
Yep, absolutely.
We have a lot more people that are doing it on their own, again, between the partners
as well as just people that are supporting the organization.
Our ambassador and program has always been, it's been a big interest for a lot of people.
We generally open it up towards the end of the year and we'll open it up for a bit of
time where people can put their name in and there's still no obligation.
We want people to know that they have support in the community, that we don't want them
to feel pressured, but we do ask for people to do the best they can to help support and
fundraise for us.
So I don't want people to think that when they're looking at the ambassador program
that you're allocated to do acts for the year, right?
We just want people to do what they can within the time that they have allotted because we
want people to have busy lives and we understand that.
But just being able to support the program and drive the brand awareness is that much
important, that more important than anything else.
Yeah, and that's really interesting that there's not like any kind of quota or minimum or maximum
or anything like that.
It's just, hey, you're in the fold.
You're here now.
You're part of the community.
You're part of the group.
Make the most of it.
You lean on each other, help each other, see what we can do here with the resources that
we have.
Absolutely.
Gotcha.
Are there any kind of like major success stories with fundraisers that you've seen?
Like any kind of?
That's a great question, Ray.
I actually think all of them are successful.
We actually have people that are like what you're doing.
I mean, you're what you're about to embark on is an awesome issue.
We've had people that have ran various different races that have successfully raised multiple
amounts of funds for us over the course of the year or whatnot.
So every person that is a part of our program that is successfully advocating for us and
fundraising for us is a success story.
Whether it's $20 or $2,000 that they've raised, it all helps.
And it all goes towards the program to seek the help that people need or to deliver on
the help that people need.
So we thank everybody, all of our partners, all of our ambassadors, all of our supporters
that are doing what they're doing day in and day out to get the message out there.
So we just appreciate everybody being humble enough to support our program and to do what
they're doing.
Whether that's a challenge of running 100 miles or running 50 miles or walking across
the country to be able to support our program.
We can't thank you all enough for what you're doing for us.
What you just said is so important because I feel like a lot of people, again, it's very
easy to fall into that comparison game.
The, oh, I'm only running a 5K, only running a 10K, only doing a half.
You're running that.
You're doing this thing.
I only raised $20.
You raised 20.
That's more than we had to begin with.
You did something.
You talked to someone about it.
You spread the message.
It's really just about, again, what you were saying earlier, doing what you can with the
resources you have, period.
I never want people to think that, you know, I mean, a distance is a distance.
The fact that you decided to go out the door and put one step in front of the others is
that success in itself, right?
We're able to do things that some people will never be able to do, right?
And I think that's awesome.
I think it's fantastic.
So again, to your point, running a 5K, a 10K, raising $20, a couple hundred dollars, it
all helps.
It all helps.
For sure.
That's amazing.
I think that's really the biggest takeaway for this, that anybody can make a difference
regardless of the size.
It's a difference.
It matters.
That's where we're at.
Absolutely.
Well, Mr. Todd, I think that pretty much wraps it up very well.
And if people want to learn more about Bigger Than the Trail or get involved, where should
they go?
Where should I direct them?
Yeah, we have a website.
So it's btt.run.
So btt.run.
So basically, Bigger Than the Trail.
We're on social media, Instagram, Facebook.
Just look up Bigger Than the Trail.
You'll see our black, green, black and green logo.
And there's plenty of resources on our website.
But those are probably the three main spots that you can check out.
Perfect.
So I'm going to put all that information in the show notes.
Be sure to follow them, everybody.
They are an amazing organization.
You guys are pretty active on social too.
So there's always something going on, something to see and interact with.
So Todd, thank you so much for today's episode.
Is there anything you want to leave the listeners with last second?
No, again, just appreciate you thinking of us.
We want to thank you very much for supporting our organization.
We're excited to follow your mission and just, again, we can't thank you enough for the community
that's come around us to support us.
So again, thank you and best of luck to you on your adventure that you're embarking on
yourself.
Yeah, no problem.
It's a pleasure to work with an organization that makes such an impact that you guys do.
So thank you.
It's an honor to be able to support.
Thank you for investing your time with us today.
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