Articles by Clare Gallagher

Don't Forget to Pack the "Why"

Aside from the myriad of preparations I do for an ultra race, from the physical to the mental, I also bring my why to the start line. I’m never going to run a 50k, let alone a 100-miler, just for the hell of it. If anyon...

Running Free from Distraction

I used to drown my ears on my runs. News podcasts, history podcasts, running podcasts, electronic, indie rock, audiobooks—the input was constant. Once while training for Leadville, I listened to Michael Lewis’s Boomer...

Mountain Safety

Luke Nelson started running, in part, because of his desire to be in the mountains with less of a risk than climbing or kayaking. After years of climbing, kayaking, ski patrolling and river guiding, Nelson readily too...

Leave No Trace

For the most part, runners don’t litter. According to legendary ultrarunner and adventurer, Buzz Burrell, this has remained true for generations. When Burrell and his FastestKnownTime.com co-founder, Peter Bakwin, al...

Running Is Fun. Air Pollution Is Not.

“I can’t do much by myself, but I can do this and that’s a good start,” said Tara Warren a few days before sending runners up Malan’s Peak in Ogden, Utah, for this year’s Running Up For Air (RUFA). Warren is the race...

Trail Etiquette: Why It Matters

When running on trails, it’s easy to dismiss the work it takes to maintain miles of natural habitat. Consider the number of trees that must be removed after a storm, or the wearing away of dirt after excessive water f...

Adaptation Over Fear

This summer, instead of dreading forest fire season, I tried to roll with the punches. I made plans. I adapted my plans when the AQI was horrible. But I tried to not avoid making plans in fear of bad air quality. In a...

Coping with Climate Anxiety

From a young age, I’ve worried about the fate of humanity and planet Earth. Often, I feel hopeless and inconsequential as a mere individual, unable to help save our home planet without the collective action of governm...

The Future of Our Air

I grew up in the sprawling suburbs south of Denver. It was on a 70-mile, crushed gravel path that runs through Denver – the Highline Canal – that my love for running blossomed. Even though I’ve spent years living in p...

Indigenous Before Iconic

“We all learn the pioneer or conquistador history of trails, but for some reason we are taught Indigenous people are of the past, and so is their ecological management and ecological history.”My friend and mentor Lydia J...

Running On Earth

Gear is ubiquitous in our sport. This magazine regularly reviews gear, professional runners often promote gear, while others sell gear for outdoor companies.Regardless if we work with gear, we all wear it, and it’s impor...

Our Running Environment

Whether we realize it or not, runners are environmentalists.Most of us prefer to run outside. We would probably never exclusively run on a treadmill, so that means we care about running outside.Since I care about running...

Thailand Ultramarathon

How does one prepare for a race so unique, not even the race directors know what to expect? By running loops on tsunami evacuation towers, of course. The venue: Thailand’s first ever mountain ultramarathon, an 80k cou...