If you’re reading this story, you know that the climate change fight is a long, hard slog, with periods of abject hopelessness followed by bursts of positivity and action.

Rinse. Repeat.

Gemma Shepherd, a British long-distance and cross country runner, is perfectly suited for the fits and starts, for dealing with the disappointments and for putting in the hard, consistent work that sometimes yields important results.

That is because the University of San Francisco cross-country runner and grad student in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program has, like many athletes, suffered multiple debilitating injuries during her career. She has gone through painful rehab — in fact, Shepherd is rehabbing an insidious hip injury now — and then works to compete again.

Rinse. Repeat. 

She brings that same persistence and commitment to the climate fight and that has led her to become EcoAthletes’ newest Champion.

“Injuries force you to learn how to overcome challenges,” offered Shepherd. “You figure out what’s important, how to get better, and then work at it, day by day. It can be very frustrating, but you move forward. Just like in the climate fight.” 

Shepherd, who comes from an athletic family — her mom was a jockey and dad was a ski racer — liked running from the get-go.

“I tried a bunch of sports when I was a kid but when I tried the 800 meters (roughly a half mile) when I was about 14, I felt I had found my match and got hooked on the buzz of racing,” she recalled. “I love the peace of mind running gives me. Eventually, I switched to the 1,500 meters and reached the top three in the under-20s in Great Britain. I tried to make it to the Olympic trials, but injuries derailed that dream.”

Olympic dream denied, Shepherd looked to the United States, both for university and her running career.

“The Yale coach offered me a sport right away and I thought it would be a great adventure, so I ended up in New Haven,” said Shepherd. “I did fairly well in Ivy League competitions, but I came down with pneumonia and then got injured again. I found out that I had REDS, which stands for Relative Energy Deficiency Sport, which meant I was on my way to osteoporosis if I didn’t alter my approach.”

Diet and training changes helped Shepherd make her way back to the Yale track team. But it was a junior semester abroad in New Zealand that led her to change her academic and career focus towards the environment and the climate crisis.

“I was always interested in nature but seeing the beauty and the fragility of it in New Zealand flipped a switch for me,” she shared. “So many species there are in danger of extinction due to the actions of humans. It struck a chord. I went vegan and switched my major from biology to environmental science. And I clearly saw that, due the urgency of the climate crisis, humanity needs to make changes to the way we live — this is the most pressing matter of our time.”

After graduation, she moved to Hawaii where she worked on two environmental internships simultaneously.

“One internship was with a zero-waste organization,” said Shepherd. “We worked to bring curbside recycling and composting to Kaua’i. At the other, we started a campaign to give legal rights to the Hanalei River as a way to protect it from developers.”

From there, Shepherd started her master’s program at the University of San Francisco where her focus is on the circular economy. 

“I’m learning the business skills to bring an environmental, circular economy company to life,” she reported. “I am also currently working on a project to shift people’s consumption to matcha away from coffee due to its health and environmental benefits.”

Shepherd also resumed her cross-country career at USF, where she rooms with and is a teammate of EcoAthletes Champion Zoe Wassel.

Currently rehabbing yet another injury, she is bringing her passion, knowledge, and campaigning skills to the EcoAthletes Champions roster.

“I love being part of a team, I love being part of a movement,” Shepherd asserted. “Becoming an EcoAthletes Champion will allow me to accelerate the #ClimateComeback. I can’t wait to get started!”

For EcoAthletes CEO and founder Lew Blaustein, the feeling is mutual.

“I believe Gemma will play an important role with the EcoAthletes Champions since she is a ‘doer’,” Blaustein said. “Her experiences in New Zealand and Hawaii will prove valuable as we move from talking about Green-Sports to actually leading climate action.”

You can follow Gemma Shepherd on Instagram.