Pioneering an Indigenous Community Trail Run: The First Official Edition for Environmental Justice

A Movement Rooted in Justice

On March 8, 2025, International Women’s Day, the rhythmic sound of running footsteps echoed across the indigenous lands of Ban Nong Khi Su Nai, Bo Kaeo Subdistrict, Samoeng District, Chiang Mai Province. More than 120 participants joined the first-ever Village Trail First Edition: Run for Environmental Justice—a race that goes beyond sport, serving as a bold act of advocacy for environmental justice, indigenous rights, LGBTIQAN+ rights and gender equality.

This historic run was organized by the Sangsan Anakot Yawachon Foundation and V Day Thailand, in collaboration with  Chiang Mai Frontrunner – an ethnic minority and/or indigenous LGBTQIA+ trail runner team – part of International Frontrunners, a global network of over 500 LGBTQ+ running clubs. With the support of Partners Asia, V Day, and the Foundation For A Just Society, the event marked a powerful step toward amplifying marginalized voices in the fight for justice.

Why This Trail Run Matters

This was not just a race. It was a reclamation of space, agency, and rights by/and for women, children, and LGBTQIA+ in indigenous communities.

Along the 7.5 km trail, I witnessed the raw power of community and resilience: a mother crossing the finish line while carrying her five-month-old baby, a single father running alongside his son, two elderly women descending the hills with incredible strength, and most moving of all families, friends, and entire communities holding hands, running together, hiking, and smiling with pure joy on their own land, their own territory.

Trail running is often held on indigenous lands, yet indigenous peoples rarely have the power to define these events. Moreover, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and children face social and economic barriers that exclude them from participating in outdoor sports. This race challenged that exclusion, creating a safe and inclusive space where everyone could move freely, claim their presence, and run toward justice.

The Village Trail First Edition aimed to:

• Continuing celebrate and advocate for SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity,Expression and Sexual Characteristics) and gender justice on International Women’s Day
• Challenge patriarchy and dismantle gender-based violence
• Amplify indigenous sovereignty and their rights to land and natural resources
• Demand environmental justice in the face of climate change, which disproportionately impacts indigenous communities 
• Address economic inequality by making trail running accessible to all, not just those with financial privilege

This was more than just a run - it was a movement toward justice and self-determination.

The 10 Core Principles of The Village Trail Initiative

1. A race by and for women, children, and LGBTQIA+ individuals (LGBTIQAN+)
2. Indigenous communities leading and owning their trail running events on their ancestral land
3. Upholding FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent)—ensuring indigenous communities have control over decisions affecting their land
4. Advocating for indigenous rights and self-determination
5. Defending indigenous land, water, and natural resources
6. Fighting for environmental justice and climate action
7. Challenging the patriarchal structures that enable gender-based violence
8. Addressing economic injustice and creating equitable opportunities
9. Cultivating a culture of collective care and safety for all participants
10. Opposing sexual harassment and ensuring intersectional inclusion

From Run for Gender Justice to Run for Environmental Justice

In 2024, the Sangsan Anakot Yawachon Foundation and Chiang Mai Frontrunners launched The Village Trail Zero Edition: Run for Gender Justice in Tiyaper Village, Sop Moei District, Mae Hong Son Province. That first edition proved that:

• We can create a safe and inclusive space where over 100 women, children, and LGBTQIA+ individuals can participate in trail running
•  Indigenous communities can lead and co-own the event, engaging youth, women’s groups, local leaders, government representatives, and schools
• A trail running format based on collective care and safety fosters equal and just participation
• We can celebrate and advocate for gender justice on International Women’s Day

That success led to The Village Trail First Edition: Run for Environmental Justice in 2025!

Intersectional between Indigenous Rights, LGBTIQAN+ rights, Gender Justice and Environmental Justice

While most trail running events are held in natural landscapes—forests, mountains, and rural paths, these areas are often the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples. Despite safeguarding 80% of the world’s biodiversity, indigenous communities face some of the highest rates of land dispossession. Systematically denied their rights to land and natural resources, they are left highly vulnerable to environmental crises, forced displacement, and the devastating impacts of climate change.

At the same time, women, children, and LGBTQIA+ continue to face systemic discrimination, stigmatized, excluded, and actively targeted by anti-gender justice movements seeking to erase their existence. LGBTQ+ people still encounter significant barriers to entry and participation in sports, facing discrimination, harassment, and exclusion at every level.

Additionally, the trail running industry in Thailand lacks concrete policies to protect and support marginalized athletes, making indigenous, female, and LGBTQIA+ runners particularly vulnerable to exploitation both commercially and sexually.

We urge sports federations to adopt policies ensuring equal access, funding, and protection against discrimination for indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and women athletes

Running Toward Systemic Change

• We are using trail running as a tool to dismantle discrimination and advocate for justice.

•  We are transforming trail running into a space for indigenous communities, rather than an industry that exploits them.

•  We are creating safe spaces for women, children, and LGBTQIA+ runners, ensuring their full participation.

•  We are challenging the exclusionary nature of the sports industry and making trail running accessible to all.

This is why we organized The Village Trail First Edition: Run for Environmental Justice—and this is only the beginning.

We Will Keep Running - Until Justice Prevails Everywhere

This is not just a one-time event, we are committed to expanding this movement to more villages, ensuring that The Village Trail remains a trail run created by and for indigenous communities—with a strong focus on women, children, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Looking ahead, youth representatives from two indigenous communities: Ban Mae Ohmki and Ban Pangtong in Tha Song Yang, Tak Province, have already committed to co-hosting the next Village Trail, carrying this movement forward into the coming year.

Because every step we run on the mountain is a step toward gender, SOGIES, social and environmental justice 

Additional informations:

- The short documentary about “The Village Trail Zero Edition: Run for Gender Justice” can be found here: https://youtu.be/NY0OUR1TI1M 

- The VDOs Presentation of the “Village Trail First Edition: Run for Environmental Justice”:  https://youtu.be/tMtTF9LU0Zg