This week, we’re giving the editorial keys to Ananda Lettner, who is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) in Pocatello, ID.
I have been a member of Runners for Public Lands for several years now, but more as an admiring spectator than a participant. Living in Idaho, we have a thriving trail running community, but little in the way of organized climate advocacy efforts–or so I thought.
The Scout Mountain Ultras (SMU) pre-race talks given by Luke and Tanae Nelson in 2023 and 2024 changed my mind. Featuring grueling courses from a 24 miler to a 100 miler with “bonus miles,” SMU is no joke. However, Luke and Tanae have managed to make it one of the most inclusive, eco-friendly trail races I’ve encountered. They provide a nonbinary race category, lactation tents and menstrual products at aid stations, discounts to increase gender inclusivity in the 100 miler, and a variety of recycling and compost bins at every aid station, among other amazing initiatives. They even made contact with a local pig farmer to ensure compostable items from the race go to a good home (or stomach). Despite hosting over 1000 volunteers, racers, and spectators, they can count the number of trashbags they send to the dump on both hands. If that’s not climate advocacy (and advocacy in general), I don’t know what is.
As a mental health counselor and counselor educator, I consider systemic factors and their impact on my clients and students daily. I encountered Vic’s article “Layer Cake: Place-based Environmental Advocacy” at a key point in my academic journey last year. As I write this, I am starting to work on my counselor education PhD dissertation. Vic’s article inspired me to consider pursuing place-based education and mental health advocacy efforts as a topic. Advocacy is ingrained into the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics (2014). However, many counselors do not know what advocacy looks like in practice. We have competencies that encourage advocacy with and advocacy on behalf of at the individual, community, and public arena levels (Toporek & Daniels, 2018). Yet, I still see counselors becoming trapped in the cycle of overflowing client caseloads and documentation, missing crucial connections to their community and natural environment.
Beyond simple endorphins and social support, there is some brain science to back up the act of running with others as a healing mechanism. Our brain has pathways called “mirror neurons” that literally reflect and mimic the emotional state of people around us. (Think of how yawning can be contagious.) When we run in sync with another person, our brains become soothed by the rhythmic pattern and we begin to “co-regulate” each other, creating a positive feedback loop of wellbeing. The more rhythmic, routine, and patterned, the more soothing our brains find an activity to be (Perry & Winfrey, 2021). Do this with another person long enough and suddenly you find yourself in an emotionally safe space with a complete stranger. That’s where, as my high school cross country coach used to say, “You can solve all of the world’s problems on a long run.”
Despite juggling clients and a doctoral program, I make time to engage with the running community. They make me better as a human and a counselor. And no, I’m not allowed to practice psychotherapy on people I know personally. Having lived and run in numerous places, I continue to believe that runners as a group can be some of the most genuine, gritty, and deeply attuned people. They also suffer a significant amount of mental and physical pain on the regular–whether they choose it or are trying to cope with it. Organizations like Bigger Than the Trail have arisen in recent years to increase awareness of mental health concerns in runners. There is a slight correlation between ultrarunning, for example, and depression, anxiety, and trauma history (Thuany et al., 2023). I like to believe that running has partly to do with looking for control and something bigger than ourselves, whether it’s a goal, a community, or a spiritual encounter.
This is all to say that we, as humans, crave connection and control. We want to matter. We want to feel like we have influence over our bodies and our environments. Advocacy is a great way to do that. People like Luke and Tanae Nelson, Vic, mental health counselors in general, and all the other advocates out there are fighting tooth and nail to make this world a better place. Place-based advocacy reminds us that sometimes, starting with what’s in front of us is best. Talking to a politician feel too overwhelming? Try talking to your training partner. Feel like you can’t possibly go zero-waste, compost, or even recycle in your area? (Trust me, I know.) Change one small routine or item that makes you feel better about your sustainability. Focus on what you can control. And remember, brain science and animal training literature tells us that praise always works best. That includes you. Shame, punishment, or guilt just cause behavior suppression–which will uncork eventually when the fear is no longer present. Build connections and habits that you feel good about, and the rest will follow. Happy trails, my friends.
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Ananda Lettner is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) in Pocatello, ID. She is attending Idaho State University’s PhD in Counselor Education and Counseling with the hope of becoming a faculty member. She has been an avid distance runner for years and currently enjoys trail running with the Pocatello Running Club. Her research and counseling interests include environmental justice, mind-body connections, rural mental health, underserved communities, and trauma-informed practices.
References:
American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics.
Bigger Than the Trail. (n.d.) Creating a positive impact on mental health through awareness,
Nelson, L. & Nelson, T. (n.d.) Scout Mountain Ultras.
Perry, B. & Winfrey, O. (2021). What happened to you? Conversations on trauma, resilience,
and healing. Flatiron Books.
Thuany, M., Viljoen, C., Gomes, T. N., Knechtle, B., & Scheer, V. (2023). Mental health in
ultra-endurance runners: A systematic review. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.),
53(10), 1891–1904.
Toporek, R. L. & Daniels, J. (2018). American counseling association advocacy competencies:
Updated. American Counseling Association.