Clare Gallagher | One Year Anniversary and a Big Win

Clare Gallagher made her debut podcast on URP at this time last year–she’d just crushed Leadville and we got to hear about her training, eating, collegiate running, and studies in Thailand. Lots of energy, lots of fun, and the potential for a big career was obvious.

In this most recent interview, we talk about

Her win at UTMB-CCC this year, and how it all came about.
What happened during her DNF at mile 90 of Western States.
How she approached CCC mentally and emotionally.
Running with a core group of girlfriends in Boulder.
Clare guides us through the landscape, cuisine, and culture of Latvia.
Being an outspoken political/social activist while balancing responsibilities to sponsors.
Best bands to listen to while running. (And apparently how good interviews stick in your head if the workout is tough.)

Episode Notes

Here’s our original interview with Clare from last year.

Here’s the article about her training.

Here’s her top five bands/songs:

Episode Sponsor: The North Face Endurance Challenge

Be sure to check out the North Face Endurance Challenge – Utah-held on September 23-24 at Park City Mountain Resort. Mutliple distances over two days on beautiful trails! I love these races!

Use URP15 during checkout for a hot deal!

Clare Gallagher Social Media Channels

Here’s Clare’s blog.

Clare Gallagher’s Sponsors

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26 Responses to "Clare Gallagher | One Year Anniversary and a Big Win"

Ultramarathon Daily News | Friday, Sep 8 | Ultrarunnerpodcast says:

September 8, 2017 at 7:23 am

[…] the meantime, check out our latest episode with Clare Gallagher. What exactly happened during the time between her WS DNF and win at UTMB-CCC? What was her plan […]

Reply
Nick says:

September 8, 2017 at 9:11 am

Clare is lots of fun.

Regarding political activism, does anyone really think speaking out about climate change is going to conflict with TNF’s values? Thank goodness athletes can at the very least speak their mind on this issue! Regarding DouchebagUltra’s tweet from yesterday, I believe he/she was targetting Clare. While I agree that flying when one otherwise advocates fighting climate change LOOKS hypocritical, this is not that easy. Let’s assume Claire manages to be influential by travelling for races, hopefully persuading some people to take action, and that she wouldn’t have been as influential but for her international races. If she manages to make enough of a difference then it’s arguable flying is on balance not hypocritical but rather a means to achieving her political goal. Some of the most influential environmental activists spend their time travelling by plane. Unless they’re just self-absorbed jerks, it’s again arguable they’re doing it based on the expectation that it’s worth it on balance. Now, maybe none of this applies to Clare, but it’s far from clear that “preaching about climate change” automatically rules out flying internationally. Surely she’s not doing more harm than those who travel without giving a damn about climate change…

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  September 8, 2017 at 4:21 pm
  
  My point wasn’t whether it conflicts with TNF’s values, but whether overt activism for controversial issues (let’s face it, everything is controversial right now) will turn off consumers that (s)he’s being paid to court. I believe it does.
  
  Reply
  1. Nick says:
    
    September 8, 2017 at 8:08 pm
    
    Well then it does, and so be it, but how many does it turn on? there’s no way to tell.
    
    Reply
Stacey says:

September 8, 2017 at 5:38 pm

I’m honestly not sure I want to listen to this interview (though most likely I will), but the overt activism is a definitely a turn-off for me. I understand that many athletes want to use their position as a means to bring attention to what they believe in, but it gets annoying when they often post things that are more political than factual, or, more emotional than subjective. Though I enjoy the outdoors and environment as much as the next environmental activist, I find that many of these people also have their blinders on and refuse to look at things with an open mind. Things are not always black and white (and science is not determined by a general consensus). Many trail runners say they are fighting for public lands, but I’ve seen too many instances of these “defenders of public lands” not wanting those lands accessible to dirt bikes, snowmobiles, or other styles of mechanized overland travel. If you preach for keeping it open to the public, it has to be open to ALL the public, not just your sport or hobby.

I think I’m mostly p!ssed at the large number of Forest Service and BLM roads in our general area that are locked and gated and no longer accessible to the public. These public lands are not as open to the public as you’d like to believe…

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  September 9, 2017 at 4:24 am
  
  The political discussion takes up three or four minutes. The rest is a great story about her training her butt off with hard workouts, then executing a smart race. Give it a listen. 🙂
  
  Reply
  1. Stacey says:
    
    September 9, 2017 at 5:34 am
    
    No doubt she is a talented runner and hard worker. I apologize for derailing so much. Her accomplishments should definitely not be overlooked, and you do a stellar job at the interviews! Keep it up, and best of luck to Clare in her future races!
    
    Reply
2. Jennifer Mann says:
  
  January 19, 2018 at 9:03 pm
  
  Stacey, I absolutely agree with you! And I am so relieved to hear your words because I’ve been thinking the exact same thing. I used to be a trail runner that would turn up her nose at dirt bikes passing me on the trail (and very politely, too) but now, 18 years later, I am married to a dirt biker who finds his religion on the trails just like we (trail runners) do. I have learned so much through HIS activism to protect his rights to public lands as well. Well said…..thank you.
  
  Reply
Nick says:

September 8, 2017 at 8:09 pm

“things that are more political than factual, or, more emotional than subjective”… not sure I get the contrasts here

Reply
R Smith says:

September 12, 2017 at 6:43 am

Late to the party here, but oh well. Great to hear Clare talk about her past few months of training and racing. She’s super cool — I’m a fan.

I love that you (Eric) decided to broach the subject of her activism, but I honestly have no idea what you were trying to articulate. You asked her if her activism was “fair to the brands” that sponsor her, and she replied that she would not partner with brands who weren’t on-board with her activism. Then you said that wasn’t what you were trying to say. I’m legitimately confused about what you WERE trying to say. I’m not criticizing, I’m just trying to understand. Would love to hear you talk/write more about this.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  September 12, 2017 at 10:46 am
  
  Fair question. I probably did a lousy job of articulating my point. It’s been a wild two weeks.
  
  It’s really these two issues, and neither is meant directly at Clare, but more broadly at public figures who dive into the political arena. First, my background: I’ve been on all sides of this discussion–as a publicist in the music industry who helped craft artists’ images, on the athlete/influencer side in the MUT world, and coincidentally as a lobbyist and campaign strategist in California who tried to influence public opinion. For what it’s worth, I worked professionally for all Democratic candidates but have identified as a Libertarian for the past twenty years.
  
  When a company is paying someone to represent them, it’s best to stay clear of controversial–especially subjective–issues and statements. Everything is controversial right now, and dismissing (or worse, offending) a large part of the potential customer base is completely antithetical to what they are hired to do. They’re hired to drive sales, not to turn them away.
  
  The second part is more personal, and that’s the fact I just don’t like to hear athletes opine about political or social issues. My preference. Leave sports as a way for us to escape reality and not have to think about the major issues we deal with in our real lives. Probably much like the Colin Kaepernick (sp?) debate, while I respect his right to protest, his influence capital with me is notched down significantly when he starts to mix sports and a political/social agenda. His protests, much like Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s (NBA) protest in the 90s didn’t help their careers. Again, his right to do it, I understand his desire to use his influence for what he finds important, but it’s a turn off for me and apparently other sports fans—regardless of whether or not I agree with his positions. Let’s be honest, I’ve got an influential platform with these pages, but would rather not turn off chunks of my audience by jumping into the political debate and mixing policy with running and beer. I love to discuss and argue politics with friends–especially those I disagree with–but mixing it with my professional life would be a big mistake and would cost me listeners, readers, and revenue. Some would agree with me, others would not.
  
  Overall, it’ll be an interesting transition to watch as our funky little sport gains more exposure and the high profile athletes take bigger roles in representing “the community.” Further, as social media intrudes more and more into our lives, what (if any) leverage will sponsors/companies have to reign in outspoken athletes should they feel the need to?
  
  I hope that articulate and explained my position a bit better. It’s a big topic with lots of passion and emotion, and time will tell whether our sport wants to head in that direction.
  
  Reply
  1. R Smith says:
    
    September 12, 2017 at 4:04 pm
    
    Thanks for taking the time to articulate your thoughts on this. I really appreciate it, although I disagree with you.
    
    First, I don’t believe climate change is “subjective.” But I’ll leave that one alone 🙂
    
    Second, when people say they don’t like it when athletes speak about political issues, I think they really mean that they don’t like it when athletes voice political viewpoints they disagree with. If you found out tomorrow that Killian Jornet was an active libertarian, would you root a little harder for him the next time he was racing? Maybe not, but it’s an interesting thought experiment. I also shudder to think about a sports landscape in which athletes never spoke about anything controversial. You yourself stated that EVERYTHING is controversial right now. Think about how vanilla that would be. We would never really get to know the personalities of our athletes if they only talked about their training or said things that everyone agreed with. On a related note, I think you know this to be true from personal experience. You say you “would rather not turn off chunks of my audience by jumping into the political debate.” But you frequently mention your affinity for edibles. How is that less controversial than climate change? And you know what — it doesn’t bother me (or most of your readers) one bit, because it let’s us get a peek into your personality that we wouldn’t see if you were constantly guarded and only talked about running.
    
    Third, not all companies are driven 100% by profits. Sure, that is most of it. But among companies that are not publicly traded, it is actually really common for their ambassadors (or even the company themselves) to take strong political stances. Take Patagonia’s stance on Bears Ears, for example. If your hypothesis is true (and it might be), then Patagonia would be making a “big mistake” and this would “cost them revenue.” But maybe they’ve made a conscious decision to sacrifice some potential revenue in order to use their public position to sway the outcome of something they really care about. And maybe The North Face is doing the same thing when they bring on athletes like Clare. They might alienate a tiny share of the market (let’s be honest about how any people are actually aware of Clare at this point), but they’re staying true to their beliefs, and maybe that’s worth the small sacrifice.
    
    Finally, (I’m wrapping it up, I promise) this whole thing reminded me of something Anton Krupicka said on a recent podcast. The host of the podcast asked what Anton thought about guys like Jim Walmsley talking about course records and then going out and blowing up at mile 70. You could get a sense from the host’s tone that he wasn’t a big fan of Jim. Anton responded with something to the effect of: “Nothing pisses me off more than when people make assumptions about why other people run. There’s no correct reason for being on the start line, and there’s no correct racing strategy. Old timers who think young guys have no “respect for the sport” need to get over themselves and just let people run for their own reasons.” In the case of Clare, it’s pretty clear that she’s running for her own reason: running is a vehicle to make her voice heard on the issues that she really cares about. And to me, that’s pretty rad.
    
    Reply
    1. eric schranz says:
      
      September 12, 2017 at 4:32 pm
      
      Gotta make this super quick…Apologies for the bullet points.
      –I wasn’t referring to climate change as the subjective issue (though some of it certainly is, right?), but rather the public lands debate and less specifically to Clare, advocacy for candidates or politicians.
      –My biggest fear would be living in a world where everyone agreed with me. I love to hear opposing sides and smile when people make reasoned and lettered arguments against something I believe in. So no, it’s not that. Thinking openly here, but maybe it’s the issues that are brought up from either side that cause people to dislike each other in this climate. I’d hate to think that a Brady Bill fan wouldn’t be welcome to join NRA members on the trail, or that #MAGA voters would be ostracized from a group run in San Francisco, but from what I see on social media, I unfortunately think that’d be true. Fair?
      –Companies are driven by profits. If they’re a publicly traded corporation, it’s their fiduciary duty to their shareholders to be so.
      –Cannabis. Yeah, I thought about this because it’s true, it’s certainly a controversial issue. If people agree with what I’ve found and write about (mainly about the PED angle), great. If not, bummer, but I still hope they listen to the show. Dissenting opinions are fine and I would never turn someone away because of their opinion on an issue like that.
      –I wish I listened to podcasts, because that’s a totally rad statement from Anton. I’d love to hear more of that conversation.
      
      Gotta run,
      Eric.
      
      Reply
      1. R Smith says:
        
        September 12, 2017 at 5:00 pm
        
        Again, thanks for the reply. I appreciate it, and I think we agree more than we disagree.
        -Yes, certain opinions related to climate change are subjective. But I don’t think it’s subjective to say that it’s real, caused at least in part by humans, and public trail users and nature lovers should be concerned about it.
        -Totally agree — would hate to see someone turned away from a group run based on their political beliefs.
        -With the bit about companies being driven by profits, maybe I didn’t articulate my point very well. I specifically mentioned companies that were NOT publicly traded. I also gave examples of when companies made decisions based on more than just profits. I agree that profit is the main thing, but I don’t think it’s the only thing.
        -I respect your views on cannabis. And I think your approach is a perfect example of what people (and companies like TNF) should be able to do; You share your thoughts because it’s part of who you are, and in the end you have to hope that people still listen to the show. Maybe a handful of people will stop listening, but hey, that’s the price you pay for putting yourself out there, and you just hope that being authentic ultimately results in a net increase in listeners. Mad props, totally agree.
Wade N says:

September 12, 2017 at 1:31 pm

Great interview with Clare. In response to some of the conversation going on above, I don’t think profits and environmental advocacy are mutually exclusive. Brands can gain plenty of “capital” in terms of credibility when, instead of pandering to consumers by any means necessary to get them to buy stuff they don’t need, they treat them as complete human beings who can handle complex issues like climate change or land/resource management and how they relate to recreation and sport without taking things personally and having a tantrum. It makes total sense that all trail runners and everyone else who enjoys nature, especially sponsored athletes, should be talking and taking a position about anthropogenic climate change/disruption and protecting natural areas/resources because they are the big issues that influence access to nature in the long term, and not just our access, but to all the people who should be able to enjoy natural areas in the future long after we’re all dust. We really don’t have much time to take some steps to stabilize the burgeoning climatic/environmental train wreck that is happening (the wildfires, droughts, deluges, super storms we’ve seen in the last decade are but an amuse bouche), so let’s at least talk about it and get started doing something. It has always frustrated me that people are so reluctant to even talk about these issues, as if it’s in poor taste. It’s like an environmental issues abstinence society! So for some people the mention of these issues may be a turn off, but talking with someone with their head in the sand is a bigger turn off. I want to buy from companies and get inspiration from people who are willing to take on all the existential difficulty, complexity, contradictions, hypocrisy and folly of trying to live fulfilling inspiring exceptional lives while being consumers of stuff and fossil fuels and then more stuff and also trying to preserve and sustain all the things we love so future generations can do the same! The old rules cannot apply in the future. We have to follow new models. And there is no “escape,” at least from from the planet.

Reply
Chris Kumm says:

September 13, 2017 at 8:23 am

Harp playing at the top of the Escarpment 2018 WSER?

Reply
From Forest Pain Cave to Surreal Ultra Rave: The End of My CCC – Let's Gooooooooooo says:

September 13, 2017 at 12:49 pm

[…] I’ve been writing a lot about my CCC race experience, but it’s been answering questions from Trail Runner, Trail Sisters, and Trail Runner again. And talking in this post-race I Run Far interview. And UltraRunnerPodcast. […]

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Eric Mcmurtry says:

September 16, 2017 at 10:40 am

I understood your questions on the activism stuff but after a few “rounds” of your questioning, but after awhile it just got uncomfortable listening to you trying to corner her into something. she answered you several times and in several ways but the standard (and acceptable), ‘..if you don’t like it, you don’t have to support/ listen to it…’ just wasn’t good enough for you. maybe you should keep YOUR politics out of it

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  September 16, 2017 at 1:17 pm
  
  I certainly wasn’t trying to corner her into anything. I’ll admit to being a bit flaky and indirect in my questioning (it’s been a crazy few weeks) and if that came across as aggressive or rude, that certainly wasn’t my intent. Hopefully i cleared up what I was trying to get at in the above comments.
  
  Reply
Danny says:

September 21, 2017 at 12:35 pm

Great interview. I love that she is using her success to educate and hopefully facilitate change, although I do understand your questions and point.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  September 21, 2017 at 12:38 pm
  
  Thanks! I did a lousy job of making my point, but I’m glad you saw through my jumbled message. I can’t wait to see what she does in the next few years.
  
  Reply
mmoromisato says:

October 11, 2017 at 1:41 pm

Actually, Eric, I think you handled the advocacy question just fine. It’s a tough one and many folks today are very sensitive about their politics and their expressions thereof. Clare definitely she sees herself as an unabashed advocate – and I think you did a good job being non-confrontational while also not giving up on the topic – and not just because I agree with you (which I definitely do! ;)). Not wilting when walking the line on controversial topics with passionate guests can’t be an easy thing. It takes backbone and I, for one, appreciate it.

Reply
1. eric schranz says:
  
  October 12, 2017 at 10:59 am
  
  Thanks. I’m not happy with how it came across though. This is the problem when you don’t edit interviews. 😉
  
  Reply
Ultramarathon Daily News | Tue, Oct 17 | Ultrarunnerpodcast says:

October 17, 2017 at 7:06 am

[…] URP don’t equate her arguments with what I was (admittedly poorly) attempting to discuss with Clare Gallagher in this interview. My point was about the growing dependency on sponsors and how activism affects that […]

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Kris Brown Interview | A Fookin' Animal on the Hills! says:

November 29, 2017 at 12:24 pm

[…] he respects Clare Gallagher so […]

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Ultramarathon Daily News | Fri, Mar 1 | Ultrarunnerpodcast.com says:

March 1, 2019 at 7:00 am

[…] the front of the pack, my eyes will be on:Ladies: Adie Bracy, Camelia Mayfield, Abby Levene, Clare Gallagher, Brittany Peterson, Anne-Marie Madden, and though she won’t be leading, I’ll be […]

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