Clare Gallagher: On a Mission to Protect the Trails She Conquers

Discover the inspiring journey of Clare Gallagher, an ultrarunning champion and passionate environmental activist, as she combines her love for trail running with a fierce dedication to protecting our natural world.

Clare Gallagher isn’t just a name synonymous with ultrarunning victories like the Western States, Leadville 100, and UTMB’s CCC race. She’s also a passionate environmental activist, fiercely dedicated to protecting the trails we cherish and inspiring the community to connect with nature.

When you hear about Clare’s trail running triumphs, you might assume she’s been running trails all her life. Surprisingly, though active and athletic from a young age, and even running Division One at Princeton, her love for trail running only ignited by chance after finishing university in Thailand. “I signed up for a trail race in the Golden Triangle and fell in love with the sport,” she recalls.

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Once back in her home state of Colorado in 2016, a friend encouraged her to enter Leadville 100. Unbeknownst to her, she would win it in an astonishing 19 hours. “It was the second fastest time ever recorded at the event, and I had no idea what I was doing,” Clare chuckles.

Her momentum continued the following year with a win at UTMB’s CCC event in Chamonix. These victories caught the attention of Patagonia and La Sportiva, who now sponsor her.

“Value-wise, being with Patagonia makes a lot of sense for me,” Clare explains. The brand’s environmental focus resonates deeply with her. During a two-week advocacy trip to Alaska in 2019 with Patagonia and other organizations to prevent drilling in the northern part of the state, she didn’t train but still won the Western States immediately afterward. “It’s the race I’m most proud of,” she beams. “It was a really close race. I passed Courtney Dauwalter and then Brittany Peterson caught me at mile 90 / kilometer 144 and we full on sprinted for the final 10 miles / 16 km. It still gives me chills to this day.”

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“I was able to perform at my best level, and it was right after doing something I really cared about in Alaska, which is being outdoors in a remote wilderness, advocating on behalf of it and the people who live there,” she reflects.

Clare’s love for the outdoors and the environment began early, nurtured by her family’s garden in Colorado and hikes with her dad. Majoring in biology and ecology at university, she traveled to Bermuda and Palau to study coral. “I couldn’t help but be frustrated that the reason why we’re seeing coral bleaching, marine heat waves, and climate change in general is due to poor leadership,” she explains.

“That’s what pivoted me to care more about advocacy,” she says. “While I was running professionally, I also felt deeply that I had a duty to give back to our environment. Nature is the stage where we run, so I want to give back to it.”

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Clare’s dedication to conservation is unwavering. “I think I’ll always do something related to conservation,” she shares. “It’s my religion, it’s why I wake up in the morning. I want to help keep the hope alive that this earth will keep as many species alive as possible; that humans will live happily and healthily.” This passion has led her to pursue a PhD in marine biology at the University of Colorado Boulder.

“I typically ask myself ‘How do I want to be in the world?’,” she says. Keeping things local, reducing travel, and volunteering for trail maintenance are high on her list. Clare also volunteers alongside her fellow trail runners to prevent trail braiding and fortify switchbacks, crucial for maintaining the integrity of the trails.

“Cutting switchbacks is probably the most damaging structurally to a trail,” she shares. “If one person does it, it may not have a huge effect, but if hundreds or thousands of people cut a switchback it erodes the land, making it more unstable.”

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As for trail braiding, “ecologically, running through mud is the best thing you can do on a trail, because running around it widens the path. Ultimately, trails are manmade scars on a landscape, so minimizing our impact on it is the greatest thing we can do,” she explains.

Then there are the obvious things not to do while out on the trails: “Don’t leave dog poop bags behind, don’t pick wildflowers, don’t leave trash,” she states.

Clare’s local advocacy also targets the popular CU South trail in Boulder, Colorado, which is currently under threat from development. “I’m trying to keep it from being taken over because every piece of underdeveloped land is currently being developed, and I want to keep our environment alive,” she highlights. She’s determined to protect this land, understanding the balance between development and conservation.

She understands the importance of having enough affordable housing and spaces being used for further education, but as she gets a little bit older, Clare is starting to “be more vocal about [her] opinions, because if [she] doesn’t speak up for the land and all the birds, the turtles, the coyotes, and the mice, then who else will?”

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This summer, Clare is staying in Colorado to participate in local events, minimize her environmental footprint, and keep getting stronger after a back injury last year.

In Clare’s own words from her poem ‘Trail Etiquette’ for La Sportiva: “Run through mud! Don’t be shy. If you avoid the mud, you braid the trails and our souls will die. Thank you, they say, for following these two simple asks. Now off to the trails, rejoice and go fast!”