✴️ Running Media has an Environmental Problem

Guest post by Zoe Rom, environmental journalist and former editor-in-chief of TrailRunner

Hey pals,

The response to last week’s post on PFA’s and running media’s absence of coverage was reaffirming. I’m so grateful that you intelligent lot are so receptive to an open dialogue about something that’s not confronted in typical running media articles.

One person who has been a long-time supporter of Trailmix and was the most forthcoming about running media’s hesitancy to talk about the environment was Zoe Rom, former Editor-in-Chief of TrailRunner, but also an environmental journalist whose work has recently been published in the New York Times.

Today’s post is a little different - this is an article written by Zoe in response to last week’s post that gives her editorial perspective on the broader issue of running media’s typically reductive take on environmental ‘content’, and instead argues for a deeper, more systemic engagement with the stories that surround our sport.

It’s an honour to have Zoe write in Trailmix. I’m certain you’ll enjoy it.

Matt

P.S. If you have a perspective or story you think would work in Trailmix, let me know, always open to ideas!

Zoë Rom is a journalist and writer based in Western Colorado. You can find her environmental writing in the New York Times, High Country News, and Inside Climate News. She is co-author of Becoming a Sustainable Runner, and host/producer of the podcast, Your Diet Sucks.

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Following Matt’s insightful breakdown of why there hasn’t been coverage of PFAs in trail running media (despite the fact that many of us have probably encountered some form of the forever chemical today), I wanted to share some thoughts based on my work as an environmental journalist and member of running media.

For all the things running media does well, it has not always been an effective environmental messenger. I don’t believe this is for lack of caring—there has always been a sense that people who spend lots of time outside, moving through landscapes, particularly those who are already beginning to see the impacts of climate change, would be the most open to environmental coverage.

So why is it so hard?

Environmental coverage in running media has a relevancy issue. Often, to get an article published, you need to have a news-hook or a “why now”. This is why you see a tidal wave of “Five Hacks To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint as a Runner” coverage around Earth Day - and very little throughout the rest of the year.

While there isn’t a lot of climate-centered news that’s explicitly relevant to trail running the way an assigning editor might like to see, there is plenty outside of our tiny universe. As a writer, I’ve bent over backward to try to make climate stories feel relevant (apparently, yelling BECAUSE THE RUNNING ON MARS LOOKS TERRIBLE isn’t a good lede). Instead of asking “why now”, we need to pivot to “why not” or “Holy sh*t it’s the second consecutive hottest year on record so we should really think about doing something you guys.”

Most environmental coverage in trail-running media has been so desperate to feel relevant that it has narrowed the lens to focus on almost comically small issues. Recycle gel wrappers! Go cupless! Buy shoes with 2% recycled content!

Yes, you should absolutely do all of those things. Small, individual actions are a part of the climate equation. And we can celebrate people who take small but meaningful steps like going cupless, carpooling to races, and plogging. But, stopping there is like stopping at mile one of a 100 mile race, and patting yourself on the back for executing such a strong and smart effort.

But, as long as the media conversations revolve around, and don’t evolve past these small-scale solutions, we can’t claim to be taking this issue seriously. Much of the media in this arena is content, not journalism.  The very nature of media has changed dramatically in just a few years. 2,000-word reported features have been replaced by listicles. Thoughtful, long-lense analysis has been replaced by eye-catching, clickable content.

Journalism wants answers. Content wants clicks.

“Three Quick Tips to Run More Sustainably” or “Check Out These Sustainable Run Brands!”

This content will offer solutions that allow us to feel okay about continuing to consume without examining how our consumer habits are driving climate change (even the greenest gear is still worse for the environment than anything you already own). We like these solutions because they feel comfortable and unchallenging. You won’t have to ruffle any feathers, piss off any advertisers, or upset the status quo in any way. And you should be very skeptical of any climate solution that doesn’t run counter to the status quo. Coverage that zeroes in on individual action and fails to engage the trail running community in broader, systemic advocacy efforts that could push for impactful legislation, industry regulations, or conservation initiatives.

We need to stop credulously allowing gear companies to launder their greenwashing rhetoric through us, and start asking hard questions about how much integrating a partially recycled upper into a shoe will actually reduce a product’s carbon or water footprint. Over-emphasizing consumer choices can play into greenwashing by brands. Companies might market their products as "eco-friendly" or "sustainable" without making meaningful changes to their overall environmental impact. Trail running media often celebrates these "sustainable" products, inadvertently endorsing a superficial form of environmentalism that prioritizes optics over real change.

If speaking to people’s identities as trail runners helps you bring them into challenging climate conversations, that’s great! The fact that we share a love of wild places can be a powerful lever to pull on. But, if it forces you to stop short of any solution that goes beyond the scope of trail running, we need to discard that framework. Trails might be a great starting place for climate conversations, but we need to take them past the trailhead and into our boardrooms, voting booths, andn into the streets.

It will involve getting political - something that, especially for us Americans across the pond, is an increasingly queasy proposition (TLDR; we are not okay??). But to fail to engage people on the level of policy to inentionally stop short of some of the most meaningful solutions.

The most important and vital climate stories may not feel immediately applicable to running. Many will, as the Western States and UTMB courses are already seeing the impacts of a changing climate. We shouldn’t have to wait for fires and glaciers to wipe out our trails to write about things like biodiversity, water scarcity, or ocean acidification.

You shouldn’t be upset about resource extraction on public lands because an oil derrick is going to block your view on your favorite trail. You should be upset because when those fossil fuels are burned, the air, the water, and the climate get a little bit worse for everyone.

The problems our community will encounter will feel very relevant. The solutions might not.

And honestly, writing about the environment can be kind of a bummer. Writing about climate change in running media sort of feels like walking into a cocktail party just to remind everyone that last year was the hottest year on record, 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average (true!). I am not usually the most fun person on any given group run.

It takes a lot of imagination to transform stories of ecosystem degradation, mass extinction, climate refugees, and ocean dead zones into something that the average person wants to read - when a flashy YouTube video or comforting listicle is also at their fingertips.

But it can be done. And it must be done.

We need stories that challenge, excite and energize our community to take big and scary action. We need to get comfortable getting uncomfortable (something we seem to be very good at IRL, and very bad at online) and pushing ourselves to engage in new ways. We need to get political, stop endorsing runaway consumerism, and step outside our identity as trail runners and engage as citizens of a shared world.

I'm complicit in it too. I'm not above the market demands that force us into boxes as members of the trail media. I've written plenty of articles, and even a book that contain ideas I might approach differently now. It is hard. We will get pushback. It will be worth it. 

The focus on individual action in trail running media’s environmental coverage offers a limited, often oversimplified solution to a complex issue. It risks shifting accountability away from industries and systemic forces, enabling greenwashing, and failing to mobilize the trail running community towards more impactful, collective action. For a sport so closely tied to nature, this narrow perspective undermines the potential for trail runners to be effective advocates for meaningful environmental change.

Because trail running media can have a profound impact, if we have the imagination to step off the trail for even a moment and see the bigger picture.