Running, Environmentalism and Ecotourism
This article was written by competitive runner and environmental activist, Aimee Kohler, founder of carbon neutral running company, The Running Kind. It was originally published by ATRA and its original form can be found here.
By Aimee Kohler
There is a way to protect the ground we run on while connecting with nature on the deepest of levels.
I have not always been a climate activist or a runner, both of which became heavily integrated in my life in my mid twenties when I found myself on an event management team with little to no care about ecological destruction. Taking my displeasure with my employment situation, I channeled my energy into developing a climate positive business plan for hosting trail running events and thus The Running Kind was born. Since our start in 2022, we have been Climate Neutral certified and focus on developing sustainable strategies for event management and runner education. With each event we host, it is our goal to empower runners to learn more about their environmental impact. We hope runners will make a connection between themselves and nature that is one worth protecting.
Photo: Aimee Kohler and Holly Benner on Illiniza volcano with Cotopaxi volcano behind.
As my network expanded, I was connected with another environmental steward in my local running community, Mere Beaton. Before knowing Mere, the realm of which I understood sustainability in cohesion with running was quite two dimensional and lived within the world of carbon neutral racing both as an athlete and a race director. We hopped on a call and Mere told me of her vision for ecotourism and what she had created in EcoEndurance.
One aspect I found unique about EcoEndurance is the connection of running and ecotourism. In Mere’s words, “EcoEndurance leverages tourism as a powerful tool not only for the environment but for all three pillars of sustainable international development: environmental, economic, and social.”
EcoEndurance is a curated run tour with a focus on sustainability. As runners, when we think of sustainability some of the first thoughts are going cupless, recycling, and terracycling. EcoEndurance is not only embracing these tangible practices we know of as sustainable, but taking runners on an immersive experience, up close and personal in ecotourism, farming and land management.
After one call with Mere, I was in. I knew our visions aligned. I wanted to experience a small scale expedition with environmentalism at its core.
My community, one based in passion for nature and climate action, was one I knew would join me in support of an experience like EcoEndurance. We gathered our crew and joined Mere on her fourth run tour in Ecuador in January 2025 and experienced firsthand what sustainable travel looks like.
Photo: Emily Walker and Justin DeMurias share cacao fruit at Mashpi Chocolate, a seed to bar operation practicing the highest standards in regenerative, polyculture agroforestry.
I have always found that we as trail runners have an innate connection with nature and in my time spent in Ecuador this was only strengthened. Not only did the physical runs of this tour feel straight out of movie with views of the largest volcanoes in the world and lagoons around every corner, but the details of the tour were so well curated. Each place that we stayed along the journey was locally rooted and in support of a variety of sustainable projects. From a reforestation effort on a local cacao farm to a permaculture farm focused on water filtration systems to a guided experience in the high Andes Paramo, we were able to experience firsthand what people in the Amazon rainforest and Andes mountains are focused on and support their efforts in bettering their community and economy.
Photo: Guide, Roberto Rueda, looking at Volcán Cotopaxi on Day 4 of EcoEndurance. Photo by Aimee Kohler
In addition to the variety of local sustainable projects this tour supported, we were also given the opportunity to strengthen our spiritual connection with nature through ritual with the Sápara community. As one of 14 Indigenous nationalities in Ecuador, the Sápara community supports local actions and take part in many larger networks leading the nation, region, and globe in returning to balance with nature.
Sumak Kawsay or ‘the good life’ for example remains a transforming value of Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon and calls for humans to treat all life, including living animals and plants, as vital to authentic community and good living. The confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador, united by Sumak Kawsay, led the country to be the first in the world to adopt legal, constitutional rights for nature. Our time spent with the Sápara community and exploring the depths of Ecuadorian culture was transformative.
Photo: Kyle Morales during our ceremonial cleanse with the Sápara community.
Following the tour, I developed an expansive understanding of what it means to be an environmentalist in the running space.
What Mere has created with EcoEndurance is unlike any travel or running excursion I have done before. It’s more than a run tour. EcoEndurance provides a spiritual awakening for those looking to reignite their connection to nature.
As Mere reminds us…
“The powerful connection between local communities and conservation means that visiting appropriate tourism projects within such communities can make a difference to communities and ecosystems. This support has become even more important in the face of growing economic, environmental, and social challenges. Supporting these groups matters.”
Photo: EcoEndurance founder, Mere Beaton, during a ceremonial cleanse with the Sápara community.
As runners we are faced with choices with environmental consequences every day. We choose where we train, what brands we support, where we race and how we travel. I challenge you to support those that align with your values and if you have the opportunity, explore that with EcoEndurance.
Photo: The Running Kind group at the end of the EcoEndurance tour.
The running community is making strides to move sport to zero carbon and I am overjoyed to share that EcoEndurance in collaboration with The Running Kind was able to make our tour Climate Neutral through the Change Climate Project. There is a way to protect the ground we run on while connecting with nature on the deepest of levels.
As Mere says, “the possibilities for growth, support, and advocacy are endless. In this way, our travel experiences no doubt have the power to transform our own perspectives and hearts but also the communities, lands, and waters of this mother earth.”
Learn more about The Running Kind.
Read ATRA’s original coverage.