Nicholas Turco is a professional mountain runner and international human rights advocate whose career bridges athletics, law, and social impact.

Ranked among the top 30 mountain runners in the world, Nicholas has competed on the Golden Trail World Series and represented brands like Salomon and INOV8. But his influence extends beyond the trails.

As a Savit Scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder, Nicholas envisioned and spearheaded the university’s first NCAA scholarship program to harness the voices of Division I athletes for LGBTQ+ advocacy. Known as the Colorado Athletics Visibility Award, the initiative empowers athletes to design and lead social impact projects, with recipients awarded $20,000 scholarships. Nicholas partnered with CU’s advancement team to secure $80,000 in seed funding, laying the foundation for a program that continues to drive visibility, inclusion, and well-being in athletics.

His professional journey also includes legal research for the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, work with the United Nations and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, and contributions to groundbreaking research at the intersection of sport, neuroscience, and peacebuilding. Nicholas’s academic achievements span from a summa cum laude degree at CU Boulder to a Master of Laws in Geneva, where his thesis explored how sports can transform discrimination into peacebuilding capital.

Episode Highlights:

1. Nicholas Turco shares his journey from a school sports enthusiast to a professional trail runner and consultant at the United Nations, blending his passion for athleticism with advocacy work.
2. Nicholas discusses the challenges and rewards of mountain running, highlighting the dynamic and exciting nature of the sport that connects people with nature.
3. He opens up about his personal struggles with race day anxiety and how working with a sports psychologist helped him overcome these challenges through biofeedback techniques.
4. Nicholas talks about his advocacy work as an openly LGBT athlete, emphasizing the importance of belonging and representation in sports.
5. He introduces his current project with the International Olympic Committee, aiming to create Olympic Athlete Ambassadors to support UN mandates for peace, human rights, and humanitarian affairs.