Biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing with shooting, is a perfect metaphor for taking on climate change.

“Why is that” you ask?

According to US Olympic biathlete and EcoAthletes’ newest Champion Susan Dunklee, “Cross-country skiing is all about hanging in there through the pain that comes with absolute exhaustion.” The climate change fight is a marathon that has exhausted many.

 The shooting aspect, per Dunklee, who has already qualified for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Team, “requires the ability to change your mentality on a dime, from GO-GO-GO of skiing to being calm, cool and collected. You have to be in the moment. The second you think of your goal — hitting the target — you’ve lost. It’s about the process.” While the climate crisis is indeed global, existential, and urgent, athletes who want to engage their fans and other stakeholders to act on climate would do well to mimic the biathlete during the shooting portion of the competition: Don’t try to solve the problem at once: Instead, focus on how you can make a difference in ways that are authentic to you.

Dunklee has been doing just that for much of her adult life since joining the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in her native Northern Vermont.

“A group of post-collegiate athletes — skiers at first, with biathletes and rowers joining later on — moved into what would become the Craftsbury Outdoor Center to train at the highest level possible while working to protect the local environment,” shared the Dartmouth alum. “We wouldn’t be here without the generous support and far-reaching vision of the Dreissigacker family — they run Concept2, the manufacturer of indoor rowing machines and own the Center. We grow and harvest lots of the food that’s served in the dining hall, from squash to kale to beets to zucchini; we maintain the trails in and around the facility and developed a process to trap waste heat from snow making to use in the dorms. I’m involved with a lot of the environmental work, helping out in the gardens, monitoring the water quality in the local lake, and teaching local kids about living a sustainable lifestyle.”

Dunklee’s climate activism has grown well beyond the confines of Craftsbury: “We were in Austria for a competition in November 2015 while the Paris Climate Conference was going on. My teammates and I created a huge banner to raise awareness about Paris while we were skiing on man-made snow with green fields on either side of us. That motivated me to become more involved, more vocal on climate.”

One example of that involvement is Dunklee’s recent participation, along with nine other world class biathletes, in the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Climate Challenge. They served as team leaders for their fans who were asked to track their exercise (running, cycling, walking, etc.) via an app created by Active Giving, an EcoAthletes supporter. It converted the distance the fans covered or the calories they burned into the planting of trees in Madagascar. The Challenge reached its target of 100,000 trees in three weeks.

Now Dunklee is excited to take on the challenge of being an EcoAthletes Champion.

“Our community at the Craftsbury Green Racing project has made a positive impact on the environment, on climate in Northern Vermont,” noted Dunklee. “As an EcoAthletes Champion, I look forward to working with athletes from a variety of sports, to broaden impact on climate beyond the biathlon world.”

EcoAthletes founder and president Lew Blaustein sees Dunklee as an important addition to the Champions roster.

“I am thrilled to welcome Susan to the Champions team,” Blaustein enthused. “She has walked the walk on climate in so many ways; I can’t wait to see how she fashions her own #ClimateComeback.”

You can follow Susan on Instagram