As Sasha Woods turned onto the Mall outside Buckingham Palace, her jog slowed to a walk. Four hours, 27 minutes and 26 seconds after the starting gun, Woods accomplished something she never imagined: finishing a marathon.
Over seven hundred charities sponsored nearly 57,000 runners in the 2025 London Marathon. But Woods’s sponsor, Earthwatch Europe, was one of just four participating initiatives centered on climate action.
Marathon fundraising remains largely untapped by climate activist groups. Advocates like Woods are hoping this will change. Research suggests climate initiatives benefit from local, human representation – could marathons become a new means for climate activism and demonstration?
“I realised I wanted to help save the planet,” says Woods, explaining her decision to leave a successful career in genetic research to join Earthwatch Europe as the director of science and policy.
The microbiologist turned environmentalist does not consider herself a runner, but a climate activist: “I’ve always been a fairly active person, but I was never big on running.”
“At Earthwatch, we have places available for running the marathon. They advertised the ballot for the 2025 London Marathon just after the last one,” she says. “It looked like the most fabulous day – I was like ‘yeah, I could do it, of course I could do it’.”
Gosh, now I’ve got to actually run a marathon
Sasha Woods
After her colleague reminded her to start training, she thought: “Gosh, now I’ve got to actually run a marathon.”
Alongside five other runners, Woods raised £9,177 for Earthwatch Europe.
While the London Marathon Group is already promoting 246 charities for next year’s race. Of those, only one – the Worldwide Fund for Nature – advocates for climate action and conservation.
Whether the absence of climate initiatives is the result of disinterest from charities, or a lack of promotion from event organisers, the scarcity is palpable for climate activists like Woods.
She chalks this up to the personal impact of other causes. “It’s not like environmental causes aren’t human causes, but it’s as if they lack a human element.”
Nathaniel Geiger, a professor of climate communication at the University of Michigan, agrees with this sentiment.
“The iconic image for climate change for a long time was a polar bear. Sure, people have sympathy for polar bears, but they’re also something very distant,” he explains. “For the average person, you can only relate so much to something that you haven’t seen, and that’s so far removed from everyday life.”
“As a result, it feels like this distant, abstract thing. That’s something storytellers and communicators are trying to change.”
Geiger recommends positive displays of activism on a local level to help encourage environmental action.
“Ultimately, people are most motivated to take action when they feel like they’re a part of something bigger. They need to feel inspired but also reached on a personal level.”
For Woods, there is also an abundance of similarities between running a marathon and fighting climate change.
It’s a physically and emotionally grueling fight. When you think you’ve made progress, miles still remain – but you’re never alone in the journey.
