A 2025 Mountaineers at Ohio State trip. Credit: Courtesy of Audrey Williams
Mountaineers pave new paths and overcome obstacles to achieve a goal, often braving rock and ice to reach the summit.?
It’s in that spirit that the university’s largest outdoor student organization, Mountaineers of Ohio State, will host Cat Runner, a professional rock climber, transgender athlete and advocate and winner of HBO’s 2023 rock climbing reality show “The Climb” on Thursday, according to Audrey Williams, publicist of Mountaineers at Ohio State.?
“I’ve learned a lot of things in my climbing that I can apply to my everyday life and just wonderful gifts that I’ve been given through it,” Runner said. “I firmly believe that anyone who wants to try it or engage in the sport should have the ability to do so.”
Runner will discuss his climbing experiences and belonging in the outdoors from 7:30–8:30 p.m. in the Ohio Union Great Hall Meeting Rooms 1 and 2.?
“[Runner’s] work is centered around lowering the barriers to entry and making climbing more accessible to underrepresented groups,” Williams, a third-year in communications and English, said. “He will share how climbing and identity can align and shape each other.”
Runner said he got back into climbing around a year after beginning his medical transition.
“It was really wonderful to get to navigate this new space also in this new presentation, in this new body, and really get to use the movement practice as a way to mend my relationship there,” Runner said. “There’s a whole bunch of reasons why people will come into the climbing space and why they stay.”
Williams said the event is free and does not require registration. Runner will also discuss his experience on “The Climb” and answer questions from the audience.
Preston Myers, a fourth-year in chemistry and president of Mountaineers at Ohio State, said the organization strives to make the outdoors as accessible as possible while having fun.
“We have about 300 members, and we do all sorts of outdoor trips, pretty much anything you can think of,” Myers said. “We do climbing, backpacking, bikepacking, canoeing, white water rafting and caving.”
Williams said Mountaineers at Ohio State advocates for environmental accessibility in addition to adventuring.?
“We’re working to introduce our members to others in the outdoors community and show that everyone can belong outside,” Williams said.?
Myers said he appreciates how Runner challenges physical stereotypes of athletes.?
“He’s big on how you don’t have to be some super jacked and fit dude to go climb a wall,” Myers said. “Anybody can get into it. Everyone starts at a different level. The outdoors and climbing specifically are something that everyone can do and enjoy, and we should be welcoming to all types of people who want to do those things.”
Myers said Mountaineers at Ohio State improves accessibility in two ways: lowering costs and inviting people from underrepresented communities to explore the outdoors.
“We have a gear closet, and for a $20 deposit people can rent out the gear they would need to do almost any outdoor activity,” Myers said. “We have ice axes for mountaineering, backpacks, sleeping pads and sleeping bags that can be rented out for a trip.”
If all of the gear is returned and in good condition, Myers said the deposit is returned to the member who rented it.
“It’s essentially free for all of our members to use our gear to accomplish whatever outdoor activity they want,” Myers said.
Myers said lowering the barrier to entry through affordable trips allows more students to try an outdoor sport for the first time.
“We have free trips a couple times a year, and most of our trips are much cheaper than a normal trip to the outdoors,” Myers said. “One of our spring break trips — normally nine days long with travel and housing — is usually around $300 for a week, which is very cheap compared to what most people would do on their own.”
The organization also has a student officer focused on improving the organization’s diversity and inclusivity to be more representative of the community.
“We are aware that we are a mostly white club, and we try to help people who might not fit that description feel more welcome by making an effort to reach out and making sure they feel safe,” Myers said.
As for Runner, he said while climbing and the representation of it in the media is very homogeneous, there is still diversity within the sport.?
“In general, climbing is still very white,” Runner said. “It’s very male-dominated, but there is wonderful diversity in the community. I have a foundation of climbing that was built in my youth, but I say that I didn’t become a climber until 10 years ago, because there is, to me, a lifestyle and approach shift in how I engage with the movement.”
Runner said he is the founder of Queer Climbers Network, which connects queer climbers and builds an inclusive climbing community, as well as the co-founder of Trans Climbers Belong, a grassroots movement of transgender climbers that advocates for the inclusion of transgender people in competitive climbing. Additionally, he works on the board for the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition, which promotes access and environmental protection for climbing sites.?
More information about this event can be found on Mountaineers at Ohio State’s Instagram.
