Canyon Woodward has found success on a few different types of trails over the last few years. In addition to an impressive top-50 finish at the Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc in August, he served as the campaign manager for Maine State Senator Chloe Maxmin’s victorious House & Senate runs in 2018 and 2020, which put him on a demanding campaign trail through rural America rivaling that of any ultra. So we sat down with this seasoned political strategist, passionate climate activist, trail runner, and published author to hear about how his new film, Rural Runners, captures where all of these different interests intersect; the importance of grassroots organizing; why the key to both trail running and politics is mostly about just showing up; and a whole lot more.
TOPICS & TIMES:
- Canyon’s background (2:01)
- Convincing Harvard to divest from fossil fuels (5:14)
- Life on the campaign trail with Senator Maxmin (7:09)
- Practical steps for political involvement (11:16)
- Dirt Road Revival (14:44)
- His multi talented brother, Forest (19:21)
- Rural Runners (20:23)
- Finding success at the 100-mile distance (23:18)
- UTMB (26:55)
- His writing process (33:03)
- Canyon’s list of must-read authors (34:37)
- Upcoming races (35:23)
- “Would you ever consider running for office?” (37:01)