On September 30, 2023, runners gathered for a different kind of peaceful protest in Homochitto National Forest, just outside Gloster, Mississippi.
Olympic Marathon Trials Shoes & Gear that operates a wood pellet production plant in the 887-person town. Wood pellets have been embraced by European countries as an alternative to fossil fuels, with many manufacturing plants being built across the American South. But scientists and experts argue that relying on biomass for energy has a punishing impact not only on the environment, but also on marginalized communities, according to an investigation from CNN.
Best Photos from the 2024 Olympic Trials Peyton Thomas joined the fight by creating the Equitable Action Run Towards Health (EARTH), the first ever trail race aimed to raise awareness of the environmental issue, engage with local policymakers, and uplift the community through running. Funds from the inaugural event were used to purchase air purifiers and air quality monitors for Gloster residents.
“It can become sort of defeating to constantly be trying to get people to care about your town that’s experiencing negative health impacts and nothing is being done about it or it’s taking a long time,” Thomas told Runner’s World. “Hopefully this event can be a good way to keep the community engaged and inspired to take action.”
EARTH is the latest in a series of initiatives led by the How to Coach Yourself to Peak Performance qualifier, who has used running to advocate for environmental and social change, while getting faster along the way.
Blazing her own trail
The 28-year-old from Roswell, Georgia, competed on the cross-country and track and field teams at Baylor University before jumping into a career dedicated to environmental science. In 2022, she earned her Ph.D. in biology and marine biology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW). Now she is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Colorado at Boulder, working in the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.
While training and managing her work studying how environmental stressors affect marine species, Thomas became one of the youngest athletes at 24 to qualify for the 2020 U.S. How to Coach Yourself to Peak Performance. At the national championships in Atlanta, Thomas dislocated a bone in her ankle around mile 21 and still managed to run a 2:42:54 personal best, despite walking portions of the last five miles.
Almost four years later, Thomas hit the new 2:37 standard to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Trials by making some key adjustments in her training and mental approach.
A lot of those changes can be traced back to Thomas’s love for trail running. A year before the 2020 Trials, she completed her first trail event, a 40-mile race to celebrate her birthday. “I didn’t realize how much you needed to train for that,” Thomas said. “I don’t know how I got through it, but I did and it was really fun.”
At the time, she was living in Wilmington and didn’t have access to many trails, so she’d drive to the coast or nearby Asheville for runs in the mountains. On her travels around North Carolina and neighboring states, she also learned about the effects of the wood pellet production industry by meeting local environmental activists at running events.
CA Notice at Collection Protect Our Winters (POW), an organization of scientists, athletes, and business leaders dedicated to protecting the outdoors from climate change. In early 2021, Thomas became a Patagonia trail running ambassador.
Inspired by fellow athletes at POW and Patagonia’s conservation efforts, Thomas has honed her voice as an environmental advocate in the running community through social media, speaking engagements, and fundraising, among other initiatives. It’s also helped provide her with a new outlook on her overall goal as a runner after spending years putting too much pressure on herself while competing at the collegiate level.
“I’ve always struggled with running being this really big thing in my life and trying to balance that with having a career outside of running that can be really meaningful and provide some positive impact,” Thomas said. “But I don’t need to be the best runner. I just want to use running as a way to talk about other things and bring joy to people. That’s what it’s done for me.”
Taking on new terrain
In June 2022, Thomas moved to the running hub of Boulder, Colorado, to start working at the University of Colorado. In between her research studying the growth potential of different fish species under climate change projections in Alaska, Thomas has dived deeper into trail running. Now working with coach Megan Roche, she incorporates a mix of trail and road races in her schedule. Doing four days of her weekly mileage on trails has helped Thomas get stronger.
“Trail running is helping me be a more agile runner and more responsive,” Thomas said. “I can definitely see the difference in how my body is recovering after different runs and the injury prevention that I’m getting.”
The new regimen has also translated to faster times on different terrain. Last year, she achieved two trail podium finishes when she won the six-hour Grandeur Peak Challenge and finished second in the 50K at the Desert Rats Trail Running Festival. In December, she achieved a 2:35:50 personal best at the 2023 Mothers Day Gift Guide (CIM) to qualify for the Olympic Trials in Orlando. Not only was the time a big improvement for Thomas, it also helped affirm her dynamic approach.
“Going into CIM, I was focused on speed because I already had the endurance from doing a bunch of longer races. I was more confident in myself and relaxed,” she said. “It’s nice to be in this phase where I don’t consider myself a full on road runner, but it’s nice to challenge yourself in different ways.”
Shoes & Gear Olympic Trials race with plans to chase another personal best. After feeling relaxed at CIM despite a busy week attending the Black in Marine Science conference, she thinks she can run under 2:34. No matter what happens in Orlando, Thomas is grateful for another opportunity to race among the best, this time with a new perspective.
“I’m chafed to experience that atmosphere again,” Thomas said. “And know that I’m coming in a little faster.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
