When Rosalie Fish was running as in 2019, she drew attention for competing with red paint in the shape of a handprint over her mouth and 鈥淢MIW鈥� on her leg as she ran for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIW/MMIWP). She had seen Jordan Marie Whetstone run with the same red handprint and MMIW and asked if she could follow her lead.

The has affected Fish personally. She is a survivor of violence and has run for specific women in her community who were murdered or missing.

Indigenous people face disproportionately high rates of murder, rape, and violent crime. A reports that 27 percent of U.S. women have been raped in their lifetimes. Among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women, that number is 43 percent. In 2019, was the seventh leading cause of death for AI/AN girls and women (ages 1鈥�54) and the fifth leading cause of death for boys and men.

Running for Justice

Fish is a member of the Cowlitz tribe and attended the Muckleshoot Tribal High School on the Muckleshoot Reservation. Running with paint was 鈥渕y first big leap into athletic activism,鈥� says Fish, a 22-year-old senior on the University of Washington cross-country team. 鈥淥ver time, I鈥檝e been able to develop and adjust the way that I advocate for Indigenous people through my platform as an athlete.鈥�

After dealing with a few injuries, Fish was happy to be healthy enough to compete for the Huskies this fall. She concluded her cross-country season as part of the Pac-12 Conference championship team and placed 48th out of 106 runners in the conference meet, covering the 6K course at Chambers Creek Regional Park near Tacoma in 20:45.7. She will continue to compete for the Huskies during the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons.

国产吃瓜黑料 of running, Fish has been recognized for the impact she鈥檚 made as an advocate. This fall, she accepted the Women鈥檚 Sports Foundation鈥檚 Wilma Rudolph Courage Award.

From Athlete to Advocate

After transferring to the University of Washington from Iowa Central Community College, Fish says, 鈥淚 put a lot of pressure on myself, like if I wasn鈥檛 able to run competitively, it would mean that I was letting my community down as far as advocacy goes.鈥� But then, she adds, 鈥淓xperiencing injuries when I did pushed me in a way that I was actually able to explore: How can I continue to advocate for my community in the ways that I鈥檓 physically not allowed to right now?鈥�

Fish steered her advocacy into direct service. She is finishing up her bachelor鈥檚 degree in social work and, as her practicum, is working as a MMIWP family advocate intern with , a social services nonprofit for Native women. She plans to return after she graduates. Her goal is to 鈥渃reate connections with the people that I鈥檓 hoping to represent and to get them the mics and the platforms to share their stories.鈥�

RELATED: Meet the Man Who Created a 200-Mile Race to Reconnect with His Ancestors

She also worked as an intern at the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Fish supported the creation of Washington State Patrol鈥檚 , which launched last year. People can sign up for alerts, similar to AMBER alerts.

Fish has been speaking publicly, including leading and visiting high schools and middle schools, particularly in areas with significant Native populations. 鈥淣ormally, I go there just to connect with youth in general, especially those who might relate to any mental health issues that they鈥檝e faced, being young students of color,鈥� she says. She also talks about the complexities of gender-based violence for students of color. 鈥淚 understand just how debilitating these societal issues are on youth self-image, and I try to connect with that shared experience in a way that can be empowering for them,鈥� she says.

Like many survivors of violence, Fish has post-traumatic stress disorder. 鈥淭rying to navigate that as an athlete, as a student, and especially as an activist and advocate has a huge impact on my life,鈥� she says.

Fish continues to run with paint on her face and body, but not every time she competes, because she wants to make sure it鈥檚 meaningful when she does. When she ran 12 miles as part of at the Downtown Yakima Mile, she ran with paint, and raised about $36,000 for the YWCA Yakima and survivors of domestic violence.

Access and Inclusion

As a Brooks Run Happy Advocate, Fish visits high schools across the state of Washington, especially tribal schools, spending time with track teams and giving each runner a free pair of running shoes.

鈥淩unning shoes are very inaccessible, especially in low-income communities of color, who are not able to spend $200 on a pair of high-quality shoes,鈥� Fish says. 鈥淏eing able to engage with Native youth in that way and give them the opportunity or the tools they need to give running a shot鈥攊t鈥檚 really rewarding.鈥�

Fish wants to make running more accessible and inclusive, particularly for Indigenous and LGBTQ people. 鈥淯nfortunately, I always felt like I was alone as a Native runner, let alone a queer native runner,鈥� she says. She hopes that 鈥渂eing unapologetically Indigenous and queer in everything that I do can send the message that not only do queer women of color belong in these spaces, but we deserve to be there, and we鈥檙e needed there because we bring so much to the table.鈥�

Courage and Leadership

The news that she鈥檇 been chosen for the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award came as a surprise to Fish.

鈥淚 was very humbled and very flattered,鈥� she says, adding that she has admired the Women鈥檚 Sports Foundation鈥檚 community service.

The award recognizes 鈥渟omeone who exhibits extraordinary courage in their athletic performance, demonstrates the ability to overcome adversity, makes significant contributions to sports, and serves as a role model.鈥� Fish plans to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in social work.

RELATED: Callie Vinson Believes in Herself

鈥淲hat makes聽Rosalie聽deserving of one of WSF鈥檚 highest honors is her persistence, resilience and bold determination to get society to pay attention to a crisis often cast to the shadows鈥攖he Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic鈥攁s well as her desire to be a face of change for a safer, more just world,鈥� says Women鈥檚 Sports Foundation CEO Danette Leighton. 鈥淩osalie聽is an inspiration on the track, the classroom and beyond, and WSF is proud to support her and the remarkable work she is doing.鈥�

In 2022, Fish was one of 58 college students nationwide named a聽 for her leadership, public service, and academic achievement. She was the first UW student-athlete to receive that scholarship.

Fish also gets recognized on a smaller scale. When she originally signed with Iowa Central Community College, she became the first student from her high school to sign a letter of intent for college athletics. Recently, while attending her brother鈥檚 high school football game, she says, 鈥淥ne of the middle schoolers came up to me and asked me if I was Rosalie Fish. And I said, 鈥榊es I am.鈥� And she said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e my idol.鈥� It was just that moment where I realized I could be doing something as simple as cheering on my brother at a football game鈥攚hich is not a moment where I feel like I鈥檓 being a leader鈥攂ut girls like her remind me that every single step and every action that I take matters, because whether I can see it or not, I am leading.鈥�

The post Rosalie Fish Steps Up Advocacy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Ever since she founded in 2013, Alison Mariella D茅sir has been building community in the world of running鈥攁nd uplifting people who are underrepresented in it. She also co-founded the (RIDC) and the book .

In August, she led a running retreat exclusively for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in Alaska. This retreat took 12 people of various ethnic backgrounds, 10 of whom were women, to Alaska鈥檚 Kenai Peninsula. The participants鈥� previous running experience varied, from a D1 collegiate runner to someone who identifies more as a walker than a runner. Together, they ran trails through forests and wildflowers, along shorelines to a river where they watched salmon jumping upstream, and more than 2,200 feet up to the top of a mountain.

On the trails where they ran and hiked, nearly all the other people around were white. 鈥淭here was no doubt that we were hyper-visible,鈥� D茅sir said. Sometimes, when a person of color is 鈥渢he only鈥� in an otherwise white space, they feel pressure because they鈥檙e hyper-visible, but this all-BIPOC group was different, she explained. The retreat created 鈥渁 space where none of us was going to be the only one there,鈥� and no one was going to have to speak for their entire population, she said.

鈥淚n instances when I鈥檓 in a group and I鈥檓 feeling good about myself, I don鈥檛 mind being hyper-visible, because it鈥檚 like, 鈥榊eah, guess what? We are here,鈥欌�� she said.

A few times during the retreat, people in Alaska recognized D茅sir. While the group was waiting in line in a coffee shop in Anchorage, a white, red-haired woman walked up to D茅sir and said, 鈥淚鈥檓 a fan of yours, and I just want you to know that it鈥檚 great that you have brought all these people up to Alaska.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e Going to Continue to Build Spaces鈥�

D茅sir hosted the retreat through , which handled all the logistics. The fact that Alaska was unfamiliar to almost all the participants added to the excitement of the group experiencing its natural beauty together.

鈥淚n my mind, Alaska was never a place where Black people go. It was like this beautiful opportunity to give us all permission to go someplace that we didn鈥檛 think was for us,鈥� D茅sir said. 鈥淚t was just so much fun鈥攊t was like a summer camp for all of us, and the only things that mattered on those days were seeing beautiful things, moving our bodies, and sharing time and space with each other.鈥�

Creating space where BIPOC feel included and comfortable is important, particularly in trail running, which many BIPOC runners say . A recent running study conducted by the RIDC found that BIPOC runners are concerned about barriers to access, safety, and inclusion in the sport.

The brand Altra recently posted a on Instagram with a caption about progress on equity in trail running, but it included only white people. The video 鈥渟tarts with a white woman saying how you have to see it to be it, and then the entire video is all white people. The video is making the case for gender equity, but gender equity only from a position of whiteness and white supremacy, where the gender equity piece is for white women,鈥� D茅sir said.

After D茅sir and others commented on this discrepancy, Altra changed the caption to say: 鈥淲e posted this video attempting to celebrate the progress High Lonesome has made in increasing female participation in ultra-trail racing. When featuring the women who participated in the race, our video did not feature any women of color. Unfortunately, this contributed to the erasure of BIPOC women in the trail running space. This moment further highlights the need to accelerate the work for our brand and the industry as a whole.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 just so excited to be part of building this next generation of women of color in trail.鈥�

This points to some running industry decision-makers鈥� lack of awareness of racial inequity, D茅sir said. Sometimes industry leaders 鈥渨ill say, 鈥榃ell, Black people just don鈥檛 like trail running, or Black people are afraid to do this,鈥� and it鈥檚 like鈥攏o, actually, when given the space and the conditions that we deserve, we do all things. We like all things.鈥�

D茅sir explained, 鈥淚 do make critiques of the industry, but I also build space, like my retreat, like . We鈥攁nd it鈥檚 not just me鈥攚e鈥檙e going to continue to build spaces and build power, whether you鈥檝e understood it or not.鈥�

The Ripple Effect of Representation

One woman in the Alaska group, a cross-country and track coach, came to the retreat without ever having run trails. 鈥淐ome to find out, she鈥檚 such a talented trail runner,鈥� D茅sir said. 鈥淪he is somebody who I could see lining up and doing really well at these races. And now she might. But without this experience, it might not have ever become available to her. So this retreat really does have implications for how you create confidence, community, and space for people to step into this.鈥�

The experience may open doors and shift perspectives for the runners on the retreat. But it can also affect 鈥渁ll the other people who see this, know they can do it, and decide to take up space,鈥� D茅sir said. She added that she hopes it causes a ripple effect that reaches the industry, too.

RELATED: New Study Highlights Critical Steps Toward Equity in the Running Community

鈥淚 hope that it serves as an example of what can be done,鈥� D茅sir said. 鈥淚f you want to build future trail runners, if you want to build comfort in the outdoors, well, you have to create spaces for us to be in the outdoors.鈥�

While this retreat was open only to people who identify as BIPOC, D茅sir and Run Alaska Trails are planning two retreats in Alaska for next year, one for BIPOC and one for anyone. But even in spaces designated for BIPOC, 鈥渢here is room for allies to be supportive,鈥� D茅sir said.

In Alaska, these allies included white women who were key to the retreat鈥檚 success, like Kim Ryals, owner and operator of Run Alaska Trails, and some of her guides.

鈥淲ithout Kim facilitating this trip and making sure that we were going to spaces where we weren鈥檛 going to face vitriol, this trip wouldn鈥檛 have worked,鈥� D茅sir said. Ryals made sure 鈥渢hat we felt safe, that we got the trip that we wanted, and that we weren鈥檛 put in danger. Allyship really does matter, and this work can鈥檛 be done alone.鈥�

The guides (both white and BIPOC) are strong runners who came equipped with bear spray and deep knowledge of Alaska, and they helped the group feel comfortable in these unfamiliar spaces. Some of the women on the retreat said the experience gave them more confidence as trail runners.

鈥淭here鈥檚 such an opportunity for women of color in this trail space,鈥� D茅sir said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just so excited to be part of building this next generation of women of color in trail.鈥�

The post Alison Mariella D茅sir Leads BIPOC-Only Running Retreat in Alaska appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Earlier this summer, the (RIDC) launched its #FreedomToRun campaign for Juneteenth, June 19, by releasing a series of on racial representation in industry employment and running participation. These studies were produced in partnership with Bentley University, providing in-depth analyses and first-of-its-kind research to establish a baseline measure for progress toward racial justice.

The three studies were titled 鈥淭he Future of Running: Connecting with the Next Generation of Racially Diverse Runners,鈥� 鈥淩acial Diversity and the Business of Running: Mapping a Path to Equitable Employment, Leadership, and Ownership,鈥� and 鈥淩acial Diversity in Trail Running: Understanding the Underrepresented Experience.鈥� The studies were funded by Altra, Brooks, New Balance, On, Patagonia, Salomon, Saucony, Smartwool, and Strava.

While RIDC previewed these findings earlier this year with industry partners in race management, events, retail, and brands, according to RIDC executive director Kiera Smalls, it has also made a concerted effort to share with key brands and organizations not partnered with the coalition, in an effort to get them to assess their internal policies and practices.

What Is the RIDC?

RIDC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that was established in October 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of the tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, which sparked a social justice reckoning across nearly every industry, including the running space. The organization was founded by a small group of running industry leaders that came together to form the RIDC, including co-chairs Chris Lampen-Crowell and Alison Mariella D茅sir, with the goal of increasing employment opportunities and running participation among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the U.S. by establishing transparency and measuring accountability among organizations.

That鈥檚 where this research came in, says Erin Flynn, a professor of marketing at Bentley University and a lead researcher on the studies who has also been involved with RIDC since its inception. In 2020, Flynn asked Lampen-Crowell if his team had data on where the industry currently stood, knowing she鈥檇 be surprised if anyone had actually ever studied this. When he said they did not, she volunteered to help with the research, which would be critical for pursuing the organization’s mission.

鈥淲ithout that, you’re holding subjective conversations,鈥� Flynn says. 鈥淧eople are well-intentioned. They might think they’re making progress and talking about it more, but without the data, we can’t really know if we’re actually making true change.鈥�

According to data from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), approximately 34 percent of runners (16 million people) in the U.S. are people of color, which highlights why it鈥檚 imperative for key players in the industry to address issues related to systemic racism and a lack of inclusivity, especially as the U.S. population is growing increasingly more racially diverse, with people of color projected to be the majority by 2045.

Large running events in particular, including all three U.S.-based World Marathon Majors, are still lagging when it comes to tracking racial demographic information among its participants, which has undoubtedly contributed to setbacks in progress, Smalls says.

鈥淕ender data has become standard practice, and it is necessary to recognize that race and ethnicity are essential for diversity, equity, and inclusion progress, too,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need event organizers to better understand the makeup of their participant base and identify existing disparities and underrepresentation. By persistently advocating for collecting and utilizing this information, we can build greater awareness, accountability, and progress toward achieving more inclusive and equitable race events.鈥�

It鈥檚 especially noteworthy that this research was released now, as more businesses and individuals alike have grown hesitant to discuss issues related to DEI after the anti-racism conversations surrounding the 2020 movements inevitably died down.

鈥淚t is important to acknowledge that the conversation surrounding racism in the running industry has faced some setbacks as time has progressed since 2020,鈥� Smalls says. 鈥淢any companies have become more hesitant to publicly address these issues, contributing to a lack of progress in addressing the systemic challenges faced by runners of color.鈥�

Diversity in Industry Leadership Remains Low

In terms of diversity in running industry employment, the studies showed that 11 percent of employees are Black/African American, with only 1 percent holding senior management leadership positions. With regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, only 15 percent are led by Black/African American senior executives, while 80 percent of senior executives leading them are white.

鈥淭he short answer for why [top leadership remains heavily white] is systemic racism. When we talk about representation within organizations, this is one of the key areas that need to change,鈥� Flynn explains. 鈥淭he desire for expedience in hiring and the prioritization of cultural fit are very common mindsets in the hiring process within the industry. When we’re in a predominantly white industry where hiring managers are predominantly white, if we’re sourcing candidates through personal and professional networks, we’re almost guaranteeing that jobs are going to go to white candidates, which is a main reason why we’re seeing disparate percentages of racial representation.鈥�

Additionally, the studies showed that 70 percent of running organizations have DEI goals, though 59 percent currently don鈥檛 track progress.

鈥淎chieving racial justice is a societal imperative, and running鈥攁s an industry and sport鈥攎ust be part of that transformation,鈥� Smalls said. 鈥淔rom the lack of racial diversity within running organizations to the cost and safety concerns of Black runners in particular, there are clear barriers to participation and inclusion that continue to be unaddressed that serve as a starting point from where we are to where we need to be.鈥�

Runners of Color: Unmet and Unsafe

Another key study finding was that, qualitatively, runners of color don鈥檛 feel valued as consumers or athletes, due to things like unmet product needs.

鈥淚n our trail and road running study, numerous examples shed light on the challenges runners of color face, both as consumers and athletes, with one prominent issue being the lack of inclusive product offerings that meet the needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds,鈥� Smalls says. 鈥淔or instance, there were concerns regarding the limited availability of apparel that accommodates various body sizes and hairstyles, making it difficult for runners of color to find suitable and comfortable gear.鈥�

Flynn also cited an example from D茅sir, who, during her time as director of sports advocacy for Oiselle, helped the brand release an update of a trucker hat that was now satin-lined so that it would work well for Black women鈥檚 hair.

RELATED: This Retreat Is Helping Support Women of Color in the Running Industry

鈥淸D茅sir] was quoted in the release saying that any Black woman could have told a product team that this was a need; she just happened to be the Black woman who identified it,鈥� Flynn says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great example of a simple unmet need that could have been identified if there were a racially diverse product team in place.鈥�

The research also highlighted the barrier of unaddressed, yet pressing, safety concerns, with participants citing hateful language, running alone, and getting lost as common fears.

RIDC Report: Industry Recommendations

Finally, the reports also included recommendations and questions for running organizations to assess their commitment to racial justice and DEI, including outlining action plans to achieve their goals, tracking progress and measurements of success, and defining what personal accountability looks like, as well as what factors contribute to cycles of oppression.

鈥淏y focusing on racial diversity, we can catapult the industry to the next level,鈥� Flynn says. 鈥淭here are so many published reports that show that diversity is good for business, that diverse work teams perform better, and that they’re significantly more innovative. The companies that embrace racial diversity are the ones that are going to shape the future of our industry. They are going to be the ones that win in the long-term.鈥�

The post New Study Highlights Critical Steps Toward Equity in the Running Industry appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

To honor Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when enslaved people were emancipated, we celebrate some of the amazing people working to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors.

We have a long way to go before the outdoors鈥攁nd society at large鈥攊s truly equitable. But it鈥檚 the work of people like these (listed in alphabetical order by last name) that鈥檚 taking us in the right direction.

Rahsaan Bahati

Bahati grew up in Compton, California, amid gangs, drugs, and crime. Early exposure to cycling changed the course of his life. He created the Bahati Foundation in 2009 which runs youth cycling camps, mentorship programs, scholarships, and community outreach activities. Bahati鈥檚 goal is to engage and inspire young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and using cycling as a tool for personal growth, education, and positive life choices.

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Teresa Baker

Baker is a co-founder of the , and the founder of the African American National Park Event and the Outdoor Industry CEO Diversity Pledge, which asks C-level executives at outdoor companies to commit to creating, promoting, and enforcing policies that expand the diversity, equity, and inclusion of their employees, board members, and customers. She is a self proclaimed 鈥済ood troublemaker鈥� who works tirelessly to promote inclusion in all outdoor spaces.

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Kareemah Batts

Batts is a cancer survivor, paraclimber, and diversity, equity, and inclusion professional who founded the nonprofit which is the U.S.鈥檚 largest nonprofit climbing group for people with disabilities. For her tireless work with brands, events, and guiding companies on accessibility issues, she received the 2019 Climbing Advocate Award from Access Fund. Hear more of her story鈥搃n her own words鈥搊n The Daily Rally podcast.

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Faith Briggs

Briggs is an ultrarunner, intersectional environmentalist, former sprinter, documentary filmmaker, and co-host of . 聽Her goal: use media as a tool to raise awareness, and ultimately to change lives. One of her recent projects includes a series called , a three-part short documentary series highlighting how communities of color can reclaim water as a healing and enjoyable experience for all through the lens of each subject.

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Patricia Cameron

Cameron is the founder of , a nonprofit that lowers the financial barrier to entry in outdoor recreation and teaches people the basics of hiking, camping, skiing, swimming, and more. Before founding Blackpackers, Cameron struggled as a single mother with the means to take her young son outdoors to enjoy nature. She saved up money working overtime as an EMT to buy her first set of backpacking gear鈥攁n experience that motivated her to help others find the means to get outside. Cameron recently achieved her Wilderness EMT certification and launched Blackpacker鈥檚 Outdoor Skills School to teach free Wilderness First Aid (WFA) and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) courses, free to her community.

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Jamicah Dawes

Dawes is the founder Slim Pickins Outfitters (SPO), the first Black-owned outdoor gear shop in the U.S. Just three years after opening, the pandemic forced the Texas store to close. It might have been for good, but a digital media company decided to create a short documentary about Dawes, his family, and his store, which launched SPO into the big time. Dawes uses his platform (which has grown to almost 32K followers on Instagram) to share family stories, product highlights, inspiration, and to uplift marginalized voices.

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Alison Desir

Desir is a co-founder of the , a nonprofit that aims to unite the running industry to provide resources, measure progress, and hold the industry accountable to equitable employment, leadership, and ownership positions and improve inclusion, visibility, and access for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. She鈥檚 also the author of Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn鈥檛 Built For Us and the host of the Out & Back podcast. In 2022, Alison was recognized with an Award for Excellence by Running USA for demonstrably driving positive change in the running industry.

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Latasha Dunston

Dunston is a trained in scientific and preparatory medicine illustration who specializes in plein air landscape painting. Through her work, she aims to challenge the underrepresentation of people of color in the outdoors. 鈥淚 want to showcase myself and the people like me who spend time on trails,鈥� she said of her art. 鈥淲e are a reflection of nature, and nature is a reflection of us.鈥� Here at 国产吃瓜黑料, Dunston is one of our favorite artists to work with. She recently created a beautiful for our Earth Month celebration.

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Latria Graham

Graham is a writer, editor, and cultural critic with bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, Harvard Law Today, and 国产吃瓜黑料. Her writing examines the dynamics of race, gender, class, and popular culture. Graham says she uses her talents to write for publications that are 鈥渋nvested in celebrating the diversity of the human experience.鈥�

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Rahawa Haile

Haile is a queer Eritrean-American writer from Miami who currently lives and works in Oakland. 鈥淕oing It Alone,鈥� her riveting 2017 story in 国产吃瓜黑料 about hiking the Appalachian Trail during the summer before the 2016 presidential election, led to a forthcoming book called , which will present a wider examination of freedom of movement and race in modern America.

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Ron Griswell

When Ron Griswell attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&TSU), one of 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), he lamented the fact his school didn鈥檛 have the opportunities for outdoor recreation that he had grown to love. So much so that he actually thought about transferring to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, because of its robust outdoor program and giant gear library. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when it clicked,鈥� says Griswell. 鈥淭hese outdoor activities won鈥檛 come to my school unless I do something about it.鈥�

So In 2018, Griswell founded his nonprofit HBCUs 国产吃瓜黑料 as a way to create more outdoor opportunities for Black students聽and a more diverse pipeline of talent in the outdoor industry. Today HBCUs 国产吃瓜黑料 runs outdoor clubs on seven (and counting!) different college campuses, introducing hundreds of Black students to the joy of outdoor experiences and opening pathways to outdoor careers.

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Bobby and Angel Massie

Bobby Massie is a former American football player (offensive tackle) who played for the Denver Broncos, but had grown up fishing and hunting in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Angel Massie is a former journalist and TV producer with work appearing in BET (Black Entertainment Television), Complex, Vibe, and Essence, who grew up in urban Baltimore but always felt a connection to the outdoors. “We had a yard with this huge, huge tree,鈥� she told CBS recently. 鈥淎nd I used to wonder to myself, I know that there has to be a place where there are more big trees like that.” Her love of hiking arose through an annual camping trip at her school, and as a young professional in Washington, D.C., she started a hiking group with destinations such as Shenandoah National Park. Today she hikes, fishes, and camps in the Rockies with her husband and their two children. After unsatisfying experiences with other outfitters, the two launched their own business, Wanderland Outdoors, in May. A guiding outfit with a diverse team (currently 11 guides and four wranglers), it is intended to make the outdoors more accessible through outings including fly-fishing trips, trail rides, mindfulness hiking鈥擜ngel is a certified Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide鈥攁nd gourmet “excursion meals” cooked by Chef Bobby.

Follow Bobby and Angel Massie on Instagram: @wanderlandoutdoors

Eliot Jackson

Jackson is a former World Cup downhill mountain bike racer devoted to improving diversity in cycling. During his racing career, he was almost always the only Black competitor. Following the murder of George Floyd and time to reflect on his career during the Covid pandemic, he founded the nonprofit to promote education, access, and opportunities that advance diversity and inclusion in the sport he loves. One recent project, a 30,000 square foot pumptrack in Los Angeles, California, is set to open this summer. The pumptrack, which is a circular bike park with berms and rollers, will serve more than 150,000 kids and adults in the urban area who lack access to mountain biking opportunities.

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Mercy M鈥橣on

M鈥橣on is the founder and executive director of , a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit that leads outdoor adventures and education sessions for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Through their programs, they hope to foster personal connections between members of these communities and the natural world. M鈥橣on is an outdoor guide and community leader who founded the organization after feeling the effects of the outdoor industry鈥檚 lack of diversity firsthand. You can listen to their story on The Daily Rally podcast.

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James Edward Mills

Mills has worked in the outdoor industry for more than 30 years as a guide, outfitter, independent sales representative, writer, and photographer. He is the founder of the Joy Trip Project, a news-gathering and reporting organization that covers outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, acts of charitable giving, and practices of sustainable living. He is the author of and the co-writer/co-producer of the documentary film . A recent project is an online book club called , an exploration of the intersection of the natural world and the cultural identities of the human beings that live within it.

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Kriste Peoples

Peoples is a guide, runner, writer, and mindfulness meditation teacher who serves on the board of the and and is the newly appointed executive director of Women鈥檚 Wilderness, which is a nonprofit in Boulder, Colorado. For years, Peoples has been on the front lines of fighting for equality and inclusion for women, girls, and non-binary people in nature. Here more of her inspiring story鈥搃n her own words鈥搊n The Daily Rally.

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Mirna Valerio

Valerio, a.k.a. The Mirnavator, is an ultrarunner, author, and educator who was named a National Geographic 国产吃瓜黑料r of the Year in 2018. Her memoir, , was a bestseller, and in 2017 she appeared on the cover of Women鈥檚 Running. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Valerio now lives in Vermont, where she has become obsessed with skiing and is working on her second book, a novel about a Black woman with Type 1 diabetes who embarks on a solo backpacking trip in the Appalachians, against the advice of her doctor and friends.

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Nailah Blades Wylie

Wylie is the founder of , a nonprofit that helps women of color harness the power of the outdoors to create joy-filled lives. A communications strategist and community builder who has worked with businesses small and large鈥攆rom startups to Fortune 500 companies鈥擶ylie founded Color 国产吃瓜黑料 after moving from San Diego to Salt Lake City and feeling unmoored, without a community to support her. Color 国产吃瓜黑料 leads coaching, workshops and retreats to help fellow outdoor lovers feel welcome and joyful doing what they love.

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Rue Mapp

Mapp is the founder of , a nonprofit that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. In 2022, 60,000 people across the country participated in over 1,000 Outdoor Afro events to find joy and healing in nature. Last year, Mapp published her first book, .

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The post Celebrating Black Outdoor Leaders appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The fact that sport builds meaningful confidence for women is well-documented.

, 94 percent of women executives reported having a background in sport, while over half of them participated at university level. Also, 74 percent agreed that playing sports helps a woman progress faster in their career.

Today is International Women鈥檚 Day, part of .

Today, we celebrate the many women who鈥檝e led the charge in running, alongside current history-makers and those ensuring that the stories of women athletes will not be forgotten.

But, spoiler alert! This celebration will continue every month of the year, because, yes, women athletes and their accomplishments deserve to be championed every day. And for this, we say:

Enough already with the hashtags.聽

Let鈥檚 focus instead on the other 364 days of the year. Let鈥檚 keep featuring stories by, for, and about women who are changing the world of sport and beyond, while extending our stories beyond running, too.

to meet climbers, triathletes, cyclists, and yogis from the 国产吃瓜黑料 family, because the fight for even playing fields is common to all sports.

Here are six of our favorite articles on women in running:

by Zo毛 Rom
Enough with the motivational messaging and cut and paste platitudes on International Women鈥檚 Day. We dive into why equality matters in sport, in life and beyond #IWD. This one is feisty; buckle up.

by Amanda McCracken
Women were written out of much of history because they were never written about in the first place. The podcast, Starting Line 1928, set out to do their part in preserving history by documenting oral histories of female distance runners.

by Taylor Dutch
Gloria Ratti, chief archivist for the Boston Athletic Association, was present over the period when running saw the massive growth of female participants. She took her role far beyond her job description. She granted complimentary entries. She even had tampons at hand for any in need. Gloria Ratti is the archivist who quietly supported the female invasion at Boston.

by Malissa Rodenburg
Arguably the most impactful invention in women鈥檚 sports, the sports bra has come a long way since it was two jockstraps sewed together. We follow the history of the sports bra from concept to marketplace and discover what supporting the girls really means.

by Dimity McDowell
The value of mentorship is priceless. The value of mentorship early in your career is infinite. Stef Strack founded Voice In Sport to provide mentorship to young female athletes looking to make the most of their athletic career as well as their life post-sport. With Alyson Felix on the VIS board, plus a host of Olympians and track athletes, VIS provides real, actionable mentorship and support for future history makers in running and beyond.

by Kristin Jenny
If you can鈥檛 find it, build it yourself. This reality has been the journey of many entrepreneurs, and the women we feature in our business roundup are no different. You鈥檒l meet apparel and running related businesses, race directors, service providers and medical professionals who have chosen to dedicate their careers to female health.

Enjoy our collection this March, and subscribe to to read about inspiring women every day of the year.

The post For International Women鈥檚 Day, Let鈥檚 Ditch the Hashtags appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Anyone who has regularly consumed running media over the last couple of years is undoubtedly familiar with the work of activist, advocate, and self-avowed 鈥渄isruptor鈥� . In addition to founding New York City club and the movement supporting women鈥檚 reproductive rights, and serving as co-chair of the , D茅sir has published her highly anticipated memoir, , which will be released Oct. 18. D茅sir sat down with Women鈥檚 Running to discuss the inspiration behind the book, how her personal running story is intertwined in it, and her hopes for the future of the sport with regard to inclusivity among people of all marginalized groups and genders.

Women鈥檚 Running: Congratulations on the release of Running While Black. I feel like I鈥檝e known you and followed your story for such a long time, yet still learned so much about you as I read through it. Can you share how the book came to be?聽

Alison Mariella D茅sir: I鈥檝e always wanted to write a book and had made many previous attempts at writing manuscripts over the years. Many of them are very difficult for me to even look at now because they were focused on mental health and the period of depression I experienced, which I also discuss in this book. I was attempting to write all those manuscripts while I thought I was better, but I still was very much in a dark place. Once you start feeling better and start taking care of yourself, you can鈥檛 even believe that that was once who you were.聽

This particular book came about in 2020, after I had an op-ed published by 国产吃瓜黑料 titled 鈥�Ahmaud Arbery and Whiteness in the Running World.鈥� What was really unique and what made this book so important to me was having a Black son (Kouri, who was nearly 10 months old when I learned about Arbery鈥檚 murder) and then living through the COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn鈥檛 that police murders of Black men had necessarily increased, but we were in this moment where there was a lot less chatter happening and these murders and vigilante killings were more visible. Thinking about that and thinking about how my son will one day be a Black man compelled me to write this. I had to share that moving through space as a Black body is different from moving through space as a white body and that historically and presently, we have never had access to freedom of movement. I just had to tell that story because it also creates a possibility for change and a new world where my son could be free to run, and free to show up as his full self.

You share so much of your personal story in this book, which resonated with me as a peer to you both in age and as a fellow runner and a woman of color working in this industry. But obviously, this book isn鈥檛 just important for people like you and me to consume. Who would you say this book is for, and who do you hope to see choosing to read it?

There are two audiences for this book and they鈥檙e both big. I, for sure, hope that Black people and other people of color read this and say, 鈥淔inally, my experience is represented in a book.鈥� The complete experience is the joy, but also the pain, the fear, and the 鈥渙therness.鈥澛�

But then what鈥檚 also important is white folks reading this book and recognizing that a world exists beyond their own, which is difficult in a world that鈥檚 rooted in white supremacy and that intentionally centers white people in every situation. It is by design that white people are unaware that Black people and people of color move through the world differently, despite the fact that it has been white people and white supremacy who created the laws and environment and maintained that. So I hope that for white people, it humanizes our experiences without shaming them, and while still offering them ways to take action to do better.

When you first announced that you were writing this book, it had the working title The Unbearable Whiteness of Running. I never thought about it until I took note of the change, but to me, Running While Black is 100% the perfect name for this book because it immediately speaks to and centers your experience, which is one that will resonate with a lot of runners from marginalized groups. How did you settle on the final title?聽

With the original title, the book was more sort of a manifesto and in the category of anti-racist books, which are more instructional and intended solely for a white audience. It was my editor, who is a white woman, who said 鈥淲hat鈥檚 missing here is you.鈥� That made me realize that what鈥檚 always been powerful for me in books is when you can go on a journey with the author when you can understand their worldview and what made them who they are, and then you get on board with their struggles and their way of seeing the world. However, that required me to be a lot more vulnerable than I had ever intended to be, and that鈥檚 where you get these stories from my childhood that build an understanding of who I am.

It almost feels like an honor to be able to have the title Running While Black because that is an experience that Black people and people of color (and white people, too) understand in some way. The name is provocative, and so it鈥檒l get people interested in the book. The harder part was actually coming up with the subtitle, 鈥淔inding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn鈥檛 Built For Us,鈥� because we wanted to make it clear and make sure that people understand using the word 鈥渦s鈥� also lets you know that this is Black-centered, that the 鈥渦s鈥� is me and my people. The whole title allowed me to reconcile the fact that running has brought me so much freedom and joy, but it was never intended with somebody like me in mind.聽

I鈥檝e heard you comment about how one of the biggest challenges you expect in getting white people to read this book or even having these conversations in general, will be getting them to see that this isn鈥檛 about hating white people; it鈥檚 about hating white supremacy. Were you worried the original title might immediately make people defensive and opt not to pick up and read the book?

I think that because white people don鈥檛 learn this concept of white supremacy or whiteness, they鈥檙e not forced to think critically about their identity because they鈥檙e seen as a default. Therefore, something like that simple title is seen as an attack. While I wanted my title to be provocative and confrontational, I didn鈥檛 want people to bristle so much and feel so hateful for the title alone without getting into the meat of what I鈥檓 actually talking about. What I hope I do well through the book is take people on that journey of me asking the questions, 鈥淒o I hate white people? Or do I hate white supremacy? What does that mean, and what are the ways white supremacy and this concept of whiteness actually harm white people too?鈥� I hope this will be a lightbulb moment for folks recognizing that we are all harmed in this system, obviously to different degrees, but it is in our own best interest for all of us to want to rethink how this society, and then on a more narrow level, how our running industry and community function.

I loved reading about how you started Harlem Run. You talked about how in the beginning, you stood alone on a New York City street corner for weeks before people finally started showing up. Most people would easily give up too soon because they would feel like their big idea was a failure. It鈥檚 easy to picture you as the resilient Alison I know now and assume that you were just that determined to make it happen. But I did read the book and I also know that you鈥檙e human and that did leave you feeling somewhat defeated. So what was it that motivated you to keep showing up?

I think it was just that finding long-distance running had been such a pivotal piece of my life. As you said, I think people see me now and it鈥檚 consistent with my life that I am bold and disruptive. But I was also coming from a place where I would stay in my house for weeks, with no reason to even leave the couch. Yes, I had just run this marathon and started to feel good about myself and had gone to counseling, but I was not this person who was taking all of these risks and feeling like certainly it鈥檒l happen. But the fact that running had done so much for me, I just felt like it was my calling. I鈥檓 not a religious person, but perhaps someone who is would say that it was fate or some kind of divine message and I really just felt like I had to do this.聽

A part of my own mental health was also hinging on building this community because I had loved the running experience, but I hadn鈥檛 seen a lot of people like me. So I thought, if only I can create this space, then I can have the best of both worlds. I can have the thing that is keeping me alive, happy, and functional with people who look like me. So there was a lot at stake.聽

Seeing how Harlem Run started from you just wanting people like you to run with, to showing Black people the physical and emotional benefits of running, and eventually, being centered as a vehicle for inclusion and social change, how does it feel to see how much it鈥檚 grown and how much of an impact it鈥檚 had on the running community, now on a national level, over the years?

Yeah, talk about the unexpected, right? Harlem Run has very much followed my own personal growth in terms of recognizing, 鈥淥kay, first, I want to do this to bring other people into the sport like me.鈥� Then recognizing, 鈥淥h, the impact of seeing Black people running through a neighborhood of mostly Black people and how our community was not just our run community of people who show up, our community was this larger community of Harlem.鈥� And then recognizing that the media were interested in this story because I am a Black woman leading this group that centers Black and Brown people, recognizing, 鈥淥h, we are actually tapping into this narrative of who moves and who leads movements.鈥澛�

As my own development happened, Harlem Run sort of came with me. I think another critical piece of this is recognizing that there was this industry and that these messages weren鈥檛 just falling from the sky; that there is an industry that perpetuates and fuels these messages, whether it鈥檚 magazines, podcasts, retailers or brands saying, 鈥淥h, there are people who are creating this, and sometimes we fit into the narrative that they want and sometimes we don鈥檛.鈥� But what if we were able to actually take control and be part of creating a new narrative? There鈥檚 so much I didn鈥檛 know was possible and I鈥檓 really proud of it. I love seeing the ways that other groups borrow from what we鈥檙e doing and find us to be an inspiration or a source of hope for their own communities.

In the book, you also talk about some of the challenges you faced in the beginning of getting Harlem Run off the ground, such as when male leaders and other run groups expected you to run your event plans by them before finalizing anything and making any decisions. Would you say experiences like that prepared you for some of the challenges you鈥檝e faced as a woman of color leading the charge on inclusivity in the running industry?

Absolutely. I wish I could say that a lot has changed, but the New York City running community remains a very male-dominated space. You鈥檇 like to think that other Black and Brown men will be in support of Black women, but we know that patriarchy is also a strong force. That鈥檚 why in this book, I try to be sure that I鈥檓 talking through an intersectional lens. What I found was that, as a Black woman, I was coming up against patriarchy and these men were looking out for each other and their own interests, and they were fine having a Black woman or another woman of color being second in command, or the one who鈥檚 doing the logistical support. And this idea of the frontrunner, the front-show person being a Black or Brown man was really hard for me.

So that鈥檚 what I just started focusing on, on creating my own space. I realized collaboration is what I would鈥檝e loved and I would鈥檝e loved the support of these folks, but I鈥檓 just going to build something that authentically feels good to me. But this is, once again, where everything about our existence is political. The running community, of course, has the influence of white supremacy, of patriarchy. I was coming up against those same issues that I would when I go into rooms, and I鈥檓 also one of the only Black people and the only Black woman in a room in this male-dominated space, recognizing that I鈥檝e been here before. This has always been my existence; it鈥檚 just a matter of context.

As someone who spent more than a decade working to qualify for Boston and who has actually never experienced the event in person, much of the chapter about your experience running the 2017 race was eye-opening and admittedly a little hard for me to read.

But at the same time, even before reading your book, I grappled with similar feelings when I was struggling with , and had moments when I had to ask myself 鈥淲hy exactly is this goal so important to me?鈥� I鈥檝e realized in recent years that a lot of it did come from being a minority in these spaces and how the majority of runners who pursue a Boston qualifier and eventually make it to Boston don鈥檛 look like me.聽

Having people express overt skepticism when I鈥檇 share this goal fed into all kinds of feelings of imposter syndrome as I pursued it, which is what motivated me to share my training and goal 鈥� I don鈥檛 want to just send the message that we as runners of color deserve to be here on the starting line. I wanted to show everyone, white people and BIPOC runners alike, that we鈥檙e capable and deserving of pursuing and achieving these lofty goals, too. How have your feelings and relationship with events like the Boston Marathon shifted over the years?

I appreciate you sharing that. Whether it鈥檚 the Boston Marathon or the Abbott World Majors, I鈥檓 always sitting here just thinking critically, 鈥淲ell, what is this goal about and what is the reason you鈥檙e pursuing it? What does this actually mean to you?鈥� I鈥檝e run some of them myself, and, yes, they鈥檙e amazing marathons. But the Abbott World Marathon Majors challenge was created, at least from my understanding, in order to create incentives around bringing people to these races and creating this hype, that completing the six of them was this monumental achievement.

Now, in my opinion, there are so many amazing races and marathons across the country that you could complete six of them and also feel that sense of accomplishment, right? So what is it about the World Marathon Majors? What is it about the Boston Marathon that you鈥檙e actually invested in and excited about? And when you start to think about that, if it鈥檚 just this idea that those particular six events mean something more than any other events, well, why? What is it that you鈥檙e chasing? And if the pinnacle of this sport that鈥檚 supposed to be for all people, is to get into this race that is extremely exclusive, whether you qualify or whether you fundraise sometimes $10,000, then there鈥檚 a real mismatch here in terms of what we鈥檙e saying running is about and what the pinnacle running experience is supposed to be or mean. And as you shared, there are obviously important reasons why people would see Boston or the Majors as meaningful for them. But I hope through what I say here in the book, whether you agree with me or not, you start to question why something is of value to you. And if the value comes from other people just saying, 鈥淗ey, this is valuable,鈥� then maybe you should rethink it.

After that first, not-great experience running Boston, you returned last spring for the 2022 race, this time collaborating with , which is known to be Boston鈥檚 first Black- and Brown-led running club, in holding pre-race events and spectating the race. What was the experience this year like in comparison? Was it somewhat of a full-circle moment to be there in such a different capacity?

Yes; I think what I was able to experience this year was what the Boston Marathon could be like, if Black and Brown people were centered and given space to be ourselves. So I credit that to PIONEERS Run Crew and the , who have really taken back this idea that Boston is only for a certain type of people and brought in just joy and our culture and our spirit. Part of that is , which is an unsanctioned marathon that takes place the day before the Boston Marathon and takes you through towns in Boston, such as Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, that are mostly Black, mostly immigrant communities. This challenges the idea that the Boston Marathon is actually a Boston Marathon, since it starts in the small town of Hopkinton and goes through mostly white suburbs before finishing in Boston itself. And believe it or not, I later found out that the police were called because our cheer station at 26.True was too loud and disruptive. Isn鈥檛 it literally the point of a cheer station to be loud and disruptive? But this man in this small, white town felt the need to protect his 鈥渟pace.鈥� This just emphasized the juxtaposition of the 26.True, like, 鈥淥K, that鈥檚 your version of the Boston Marathon. Well, we will show you the real Boston Marathon the day before.鈥� This isn鈥檛 just something that is happening in Boston; it鈥檚 happening all over the country. My message in that really, is it鈥檚 important and we, as Black people, are creating our own stuff. And we will continue to do that whether you get on board or not.

Will you be back in Boston for part of your book tour this spring?

It鈥檚 not on the schedule right now; I have not been invited in any particular way. I would love to be there because Kara Goucher, Des Linden, and Lauren Fleshman also have books coming out before the race, and I think this is the most books being published by women in running ever. So, if I could put that into the universe, I would love to see all of us on a panel together, talking about our books, all of which are critical of the industry.

You recently about meeting a woman during one of your book tour stops who shared that she never knew our national parks were once segregated. Did you expect to hear comments like that and was that why you chose to include the timeline of key moments in both American Black history and running history even though this book is largely a memoir of your own experiences?

Yes, absolutely. This woman also had no knowledge that there was a point where Black people could not go to public pools, that they shut down rather than let Black people swim there. That wasn鈥檛 her history; that was her upbringing and her experience. But these were contemporary laws, and for many white folks, it is that intentional erasure and miseducation that leads people to just live in isolation of anybody else鈥檚 experience.

The people in power are the ones who create the narrative, the histories and the stories that we learn and it鈥檚 by design that white people don鈥檛 know their own history. Slavery is as much, if not more white history than it is Black history because white people designed and perpetuated the system. So contextualizing what this world actually looked like during this period of running and what our experience as Black people was, was essential to help white people and all people really understand. I鈥檓 not just saying I felt this way; I鈥檓 actually showing the conditions that create the environment such that I would feel a lack of belonging, when that鈥檚 not what I want to feel. This is the society and industry and community that I inherited.

And in the book you also talk about the initial meetings with the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, before it was officially launched with you as co-chair, and how those meetings were particularly tense, to put it mildly. But you鈥檝e also talked about how you do your best to avoid goading white people into guilt and shame when it comes to carrying out RIDC鈥檚 mission, while also emphasizing that it鈥檚 important for white people to acknowledge the role they鈥檝e played in marginalizing minority groups. What would you say are some other key components in keeping these conversations going and getting brands and industry leaders to take real action toward inclusivity and racial justice?

Something that I鈥檝e become accustomed to doing is to show how I, as a Black woman, also have privilege, and that this is not something that is exclusive to white people. Often what happens when you talk to white people is that they say, 鈥淏ut I grew up in poverty,鈥� or 鈥淚鈥檓 an immigrant,鈥� Or 鈥淚鈥檓 a first-generation American and I鈥檝e struggled, too.鈥� But being white has never been a point of struggle for them.聽

I say this because I think it鈥檚 important to mirror and be instructional. And I say, 鈥淚鈥檓 a Black woman who is able-bodied. I鈥檓 a Black woman who is cisgender. I鈥檓 a Black woman who isn鈥檛 neurodivergent.鈥� All of those things gave me privilege to be able to write this book, to be able to show up in spaces and move my body. And so I also have to be a disability activist, I have to be championing trans and non-binary folks. It鈥檚 not just white people; each of us has our role. I hope that helps people see 鈥淥h, she doesn鈥檛 hate me. She鈥檚 talking about these systems that are set up to prioritize certain people and even she exists within it.鈥� It鈥檚 really a call to action to get on board like, 鈥淥h, you have only had this blissful experience while running. Guess what? I want that, too. Let鈥檚 work together.鈥�

You鈥檝e shared that you expect to get 鈥渉ate mail鈥� about some of the book鈥檚 chapters, but say that鈥檚 a good thing because it means people are talking. But do you typically engage with those people? How do you navigate figuring out where it can actually be productive, especially when you hear the same tired comments like, 鈥淪tick to running鈥� and 鈥渒eep politics out of running?鈥�

Honestly, it depends on where I鈥檓 at and how I鈥檓 feeling. Sometimes a comment lands for me in a way that I feel like I鈥檓 in the right frame of mind where I can answer it and don鈥檛 feel personally attacked. Other times, it is exhausting and I will not engage. But people who have genuine questions like, 鈥淚鈥檝e never seen the world that way. I can鈥檛 even understand. Can you explain it further?鈥� Folks who come from a place of curiosity, I am interested in engaging with because we have to remain curious. That鈥檚 really the only way that we build empathy and then we can make change. I think I have a good feeling at this point in my life to see when there鈥檚 a genuine conversation, and when somebody just wants to incite a feeling or troll me, and that will be my guide.

You鈥檝e also shouted out athletes like Alysia Monta帽o and Mirna Valerio for being unapologetically themselves in sharing their experiences and navigating the running world as Black athletes and how that has helped to validate your own experiences. Who are some other women in the running scene who you think are changing the game or have had a significant impact on your running journey?

, co-founder of (CSRD). The more I get to know her, the more I鈥檓 blown away by how honest, intentional and just brave she is. Also, , who is not somebody whose role is to talk about anti-racism. There should not be the expectation that every Black and Brown person is talking about racial equity. Does every Black and Brown person want equity? Of course. But our sole role on this Earth is not to talk about and try to deconstruct systems. For me, this is my passion and racial justice and equity is actually the work that I do. But India is a Black woman, this work isn鈥檛 what lights her up. She鈥檚 a coach who is the voice of a lot of races and does a lot of content focused on getting beginners into running, which is a beautiful thing. She is taking up space and showing her joyful, lived experience. Another one is , who served as one of the original leadership partners of RIDC and who I鈥檝e heard say, 鈥淚鈥檓 not a runner-runner.鈥� But she runs, she moves, and she is also somebody who鈥檚 always speaking unapologetically and has just done an incredible amount of good in the running industry.

You鈥檝e talked openly about how, as a Black woman, you鈥檝e always needed to be cognizant of your personal safety and just watch your back when you鈥檙e out for a run. The recent tragic murder of Eliza Fletcher re-bubbled up some of this discussion about how these cases usually don鈥檛 get as much attention when they involve women of color. You鈥檝e been asked before if women鈥檚 safety concerns affect you differently as a Black person, which has made you see how even womanhood is typically reserved for white people. How would you like to see the running industry improve when it comes to prioritizing and centering our safety and truly making this sport open to all?

Damn, good question. I mean, the murder of Eliza Fletcher absolutely was tragic and traumatic, but what it also showed me is that representation does in fact matter. Because when it鈥檚 a white woman who鈥檚 murdered, other white women and other white people feel like that could be them, so it matters to them. But when it鈥檚 a Black person, when it鈥檚 a Black woman or Black man, the response is not the same because they don鈥檛 relate to that story. And that鈥檚 where the problem is, that there is a sense of humanity and a sense of womanness or a sense of being centered, that is coupled with whiteness. Obviously, I don鈥檛 want anyone to be murdered while doing anything. But I want the same outrage, I want the same outpouring of support and demand for resources to come when our lives are taken. It鈥檚 even been reported that several months earlier, reporting that she had been attacked by Fletcher鈥檚 killer, but her account was not taken seriously. The way our lives are valued is not the same, which is why we say 鈥淏lack Lives Matter.鈥�

You鈥檙e juggling so much now between writing and now promoting this book and everything else you鈥檝e got going on in your career. The first thing you have listed in bios such as your LinkedIn headline is 鈥渄isruptor,鈥� which I think is awesome. Is that how you want to be known and remembered?

Yes, absolutely. I do a lot of things and that鈥檚 also just who I am. My nickname that my father gave me from a very young age, 鈥淧owdered Feet,鈥� speaks to that. I think that it鈥檚 really led by my curiosity of saying, 鈥淎re we doing this just because things have always been done this way? Is there a better way of doing this? Are we doing this and leaving people out?鈥� That doesn鈥檛 mean that I always have the answers or even the resources to address the system or the story or the place that I鈥檝e disrupted. It is powerful when somebody says something that causes you to pause and rethink the way you do something, rethink why you do the thing that you do. That鈥檚 what I hope my legacy is.

You recently held your first for women of color in the running industry. What was your vision for the event? Do you plan to make it an annual tradition?

Yes; we will absolutely be doing it next year. We say this is for women, femme and non-binary folks of color, and we had all of those people attend. But there were probably over 65 women of color who were there. And I was just looking around, 鈥淚 know there are more women of color in this industry, why aren鈥檛 they here?鈥� The goal for the retreat was, on one hand, simply just to provide a space where these folks could feel seen. We wanted to affirm, 鈥淵ou are not the only. Look at how many of us there are.鈥� We wanted to create networking opportunities, so that somebody who maybe is junior level could find mentorship and support that they may not have internally. Our goal for Year 2 is to be even more intentional with creating tracks for people who are entrepreneurs, as well as for people working for brands, retailers, and events. Our goal is to really shift the industry and ensure that more women, femme, and non-binary folks are in it and can see what it means to have a career in the industry.

How has your trajectory in your running journey and doing so much work in the industry impacted your identity as a runner? What have you learned about yourself both as a woman and as a runner?

As a runner, I鈥檝e learned that I really don鈥檛 care about accolades. Medals don鈥檛 matter to me. Particular races don鈥檛 matter to me. And maybe that鈥檚 because I鈥檝e been there, done that. That doesn鈥檛 mean that I won鈥檛 ever get excited about or train for a race. But running is just something that鈥檚 an important practice in my life and an important teacher in my life. And then as a human being, it鈥檚 taught me that you can really love something and also want to change it. Something can be transformational for you and still not be accessible for other people, and you can and should pursue that.聽

What other projects do you have going on in the coming months?

I have a PBS show that鈥檚 coming out in December that is very much about Black, Indigenous and People of Color who are reclaiming their space in the outdoors. Through that, I鈥檝e been able to kayak, fly fish, hike and more. So when I think about running or movement, I think about it in terms of the places that I want to see and the communities that I want to connect with.

I鈥檓 also planning a retreat for BIPOC of all genders in Alaska next summer, which I am super excited about. I was presented with the opportunity to create this retreat with , where they handle all the logistics, and I provide the experience of going to places that probably were not on our radar, and also have conversations about belonging, safety, and joy while running incredible trails and learning about the Indigenous land that we鈥檙e running on. I鈥檓 really grateful that I can curate these types of trips that typically don鈥檛 have somebody like me leading them and I invite everyone to check it out.

Even though it鈥檚 still being fleshed out, you already have quite the book tour planned out going into 2023. What are you most looking forward to about it?

I am excited to be disruptive in new places, to say things that make people really grapple with and rethink what they thought they鈥檝e known, whether about running or about history. I鈥檒l be in communities where I won鈥檛 know most of the people who show up, which will be new for me. Some of these are spaces where I don鈥檛 imagine that conversations around racial equity are happening a lot. I鈥檒l feel safe, since I鈥檒l be with folks who I love, including Chris Lampen-Crowell and John Benedict, who are with RIDC and who have gone through some difficult conversations with me. Many of the stops will include a 5K run and a conversation, and people are welcome to join for either or both.

What do you hope readers, both white runners and runners of color, ultimately take away from this book when they finish reading it?

I hope they leave feeling empowered to run, take action, question their beliefs, and learn true stories, not just what is taught in history.聽

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.聽

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Like every other competitor in Thursday鈥檚 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Chris Nikic had moments when he struggled mightily.

Completing a triathlon that includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run is no easy task for anyone. It鈥檚 especially difficult when mid-afternoon temperatures top 90 degrees, the humidity is a muggy 85 percent, and it feels like you鈥檙e breathing through a straw. But Nikic is a unique kind of athlete, fueled by an enormous amount of determination, purpose, and the belief that anything is possible.

Late last night, after battling fatigue, dehydration, heat, wind, and moments of self-doubt, the special needs athlete from Florida became the first individual with Down syndrome to finish the 140.6-mile world championship race in Hawaii.

With help of his volunteer guide, Dan Grieb, Nikic completed the race in 16 hours, 31 minutes and 27 seconds, finishing to a cascade of cheering fans, many of whom returned to the finish line long after in 8:33:46. Sodaro made sure to be there, too, alongside Ironman legend Mark Allen, a six-time winner of the race, to experience the heart-warming, tear-inducing moment.

 

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When Nikic crossed the finish line, he jumped into the arms of Grieb, who was at his side the entire way. They were tethered together on the open-water swim, in the choppy water of the Pacific Ocean. They rode side-by-side on the hot and windy bike course from Kona out to the remote town of Hawi and back along the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. They jogged and walked stride-for-stride on the 26.2-mile out-and-back course, to the Natural Energy Laboratory and back, to the seaside finish, a stone鈥檚 throw from where it all began.

Amid the crowd鈥檚 roar and Led Zeppelin鈥檚 鈥淲hole Lotta Love鈥� blaring on the sound system, Nikic marveled in the moment as he saw his finish time posed on a digital display board and then was greeted by his girlfriend Adrienne Bunn, his dad, Nik, and numerous other family members and supporters. All of this was an incredible way to celebrate his 23rd birthday, which Nikic did by not only finishing the grueling race, but by stunning the already weepy fans by presenting Bunn, a Special Olympics triathlete, with a promise ring.

A Heartful Highlight

It was an amazing finish to a challenging day that began at 6:27 a.m. local time and finished at 10:58 p.m. Given the harsh conditions, 鈥� 1:42 for the swim, 8:05 for the bike, and 6:29 for the run. He finished 2,265th place out of 2,314 competitors on the day, but at the finish line late Thursday night, he was No. 1 in everyone鈥檚 heart.

鈥淭his is something that changes perceptions for every parent worldwide with children with Down syndrome,鈥� said longtime Ironman finish-line announcer, Mike Reilly. 鈥淣ow they all know one thing for sure 鈥� anything is possible.鈥�

Nikic鈥檚 resounding effort was one of the biggest highlights for the first Ironman World Championship, as it returned to Kona for the first time since 2019. The championship race was postponed in 2020 and again in 2021 because of COVID-19, and eventually the 2021 race was moved to St. George, Utah, last spring.

Other age-group highlights included 78-year-old Cherie Gruenfeld of Cathedral City, California, winning her 14th Ironman age-group world title in 16:20:07, and the 17:58 finish of Team James 鈥斅�57-year-old Beth James, of Crested Butte, Colorado 鈥� who towed and pushed her 26-year-old daughter, Liza James, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2004 car accident that rendered her nonverbal and unable to walk.

Because of so many backlogged qualifiers, the race was split into two days this year, with professional women and age-group women racing on Thursday, along with physically challenged athletes, hand-cycle competitors, and competitors from several men鈥檚 age-group divisions. The men鈥檚 pro race and the remainder of the men鈥檚 age-group divisions will compete on October 8.

鈥淚 Want To Open Doors.鈥�

Although he had been involved in a lot of sports growing up, Nikic鈥檚 triathlon journey started four years ago with a much shorter triathlon at the Special Olympics event in Florida. When that went well, he and his dad focused on something bigger, something they knew could change his life. He knew that if he could do big things, maybe one day he would be able to fulfill his ultimate dream of living independently, getting married, and having a family of his own.

Nikic has parlayed his triathlon success into as a platform to show what is truly possible, a foray into motivational speaking as a means to help others with Down syndrome. He and Grieb both competed in the race wearing bright orange 1% Better shirts.

“I want to be an example for other people with Down syndrome. I want to open doors,” Nikic said previously. 鈥淎nd I want to raise awareness. Anyone who sees people with Down syndrome: don鈥檛 look away or walk away.

In 2020, at age 21, he became the first person with Down syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon. For this accomplishment, Nikic was awarded the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance as part of the 2021 ESPY Awards.

After that race, he was invited to participate in the 45th Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. To prepare, Nikic had been training three to four hours a day, six days a week, including strength training and yoga. It鈥檚 not an easy thing to do for anyone, but especially for Nikic, who suffers from reduced muscle tension (muscular hypotonia).

But Nikic has been overcoming obstacles his entire life. Nikic was born with several birth defects that affected his heart function, hearing, and balance, requiring several serious surgeries. , Down syndrome is a condition in which a baby is born with an extra copy of a chromosome. That changes how an infant鈥檚 body and brain develop, which can cause both chronic mental and physical challenges for the individual.

At 5 months old, Nikic endured open-heart surgery. He was so weak and had such poor balance that he did not walk on his own until he was 4. To keep him from choking, his family fed him baby food until he was 6. When he finally learned to run, it took him months to discover how to swing his arms at his side, instead of holding them straight above his head. It was a long journey from a challenging boyhood to the Ironman World Championship, but Nikic has always been up to the challenge.

鈥淭he second Nikic gets in the water for the start of the race, people all over the world with intellectual disabilities have won and become part of the larger endurance community,鈥�.

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On August 26 and 27, 1,046 teams finished the Hood to Coast relay race in Oregon, one of the most popular running relays in the world. The race starts at Mount Hood and goes west for 198 miles, finishing along the Pacific Ocean at Seaside.

One of these 1,046 teams featured 12 adaptive athletes: Several are amputees who run on prosthetic legs, one is blind, two have spinal cord injuries and race in push-rim wheelchairs, and others have different physical challenges. The 12 of them took turns covering the 198 miles from Mount Hood to the coast.

Each athlete鈥檚 road to Mount Hood鈥攁nd to sports in the first place鈥攊s different. While growing up, some of them had no idea that becoming runners and endurance athletes could be an option for them, and they got the equipment and support they need to do so relatively recently. Others have been competing in sports since they were young kids. They include professional athletes, Paralympians, triathletes, and beginners to running, plus one guide and one prosthetist.

About 20,000 people participate in Hood to Coast, and about 1% of them are athletes with disabilities, estimates Dan Floyd, COO of the Hood to Coast Race Series. Athletes with disabilities who participate in the event often have teammates who don鈥檛 have disabilities. In some years, the race has one or two teams of blind athletes, but this team may be the first consisting completely of athletes with a mix of disabilities. Floyd says he鈥檚 unaware of any other team like them.

The team鈥檚 name is Forrest Stump, named after a that one member of the team, triathlete and amputee Nicole Ver Kuilen, founded with prosthetist Natalie Harold to advocate for amputees. Along with Ver Kuilen, includes Jamie Brown, Mary Kate Callahan, Scott Davidson, Ashley Eisenmenger, Lina Garada, Josh George, Mallorie Hoyos, Leah Kaplan, Dee Palagi, Patrick Pressgrove, and Travis Ricks, plus prosthetist Harold and guide Anna Griessler.

Most of these athletes were either born with their disability or acquired it as children or young adults. Some lacked the equipment they needed to play sports and be active as kids, because insurance companies typically don鈥檛 cover it鈥攖hey deem it not medically necessary. For a kid whose leg has been amputated, for example, most insurance companies cover a walking leg but not one made for swimming, biking, or running.

These athletes know the physical and mental benefits of being active and participating in sports. So, in conjunction with their race, they partnered with the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics, and the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists to launch a campaign called “So Kids Can Move,” to get states to require insurance companies to cover recreational prostheses for kids.

In May, Maine enacted a law requiring insurance companies to cover prosthetic devices for kids鈥� recreational purposes, such as running, biking, and swimming. It鈥檚 the first state to do so, at the urging of amputee Jordan Simpson and Maine state Rep. Colleen Madigan. Now, the So Kids Can Move campaign is working to get similar legislation passed in Washington and Oregon and then expand to other states.

When Access Is Out of Reach

Nearly half of adults with disabilities get no aerobic physical activity, and adults with disabilities are three times more likely to have heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer than adults without disabilities, according to the. So Kids Can Move wants to spread the message that people with disabilities deserve the right to exercise, but lack of insurance coverage for medically necessary assistive devices and care prevents equitable access to participation in physical activity.

The cost of adaptive equipment like prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs varies, especially because prosthetic limbs must be highly customized for and fitted to the individual. Ver Kuilen says that, as a below-the-knee amputee, her running prosthesis costs between $12,000 and $15,000. The Veterans Administration typically covers prostheses like running blades, but most health insurers do not. Most athletes with a running blade have funded it themselves or received a grant from a nonprofit like, which is how Ver Kuilen received her running blade.

For years, Ver Kuilen ran on a prosthesis made for walking, which broke frequently and caused her back pain.聽 In 2017, she completed her own along the West Coast on her walking leg to raise awareness for amputee rights. Upon completing the triathlon, the Challenged Athletes Foundation gave her her first running blade at age 26.

Ver Kuilen lost her left leg below the knee to cancer at age 10, which made it hard to be the active kid she had been before that. 鈥淭he confidence that came from having access to a running prosthesis has completely changed my trajectory as both an individual personally and professionally,鈥� she says. She has since summited Cotopaxi, a volcano in Ecuador; become a Paratriathlon National Champion in 2019; and been named to the USA Paralympic Development Team in 2020.

Although nonprofits like the Challenged Athletes Foundation are essential in getting many people the devices and care they need to be active, people shouldn鈥檛 have to rely on nonprofits for that, Ver Kuilen says. And many people with disabilities don鈥檛 know these nonprofits exist, she says. 鈥淭his is a system level issue, and it’s not something that nonprofits can just solve.鈥�

Patrick Pressgrove agrees. He was born with a rare genetic disorder that affected the development of his legs and feet and resulted in a cleft lip and palate. 鈥淚 had a lot of operations to help me walk. I couldn’t walk until I was six, and even then, my legs were malformed, so I could never really get around normally. And by the time I was 13, I had severe arthritis in both of my knees,鈥� Pressgrove says. 鈥淪o when I hit the age of 14, it was either continue like that or have elective amputations.鈥� He decided to have his legs amputated above the knee to preserve his health and quality of life.

鈥淚 wasn’t even aware that running as an amputee was possible until I was in my mid-20s,鈥� Pressgrove says. 鈥淚f my family had known that insurance would have stepped in to help cover the costs, if not the full cost, they may have pursued that a lot sooner for me in my childhood.鈥�

Pressgrove received his running prostheses from the Challenged Athletes Foundation in 2015 and ran his first race in 2016, after joining, a nonprofit that supports physically challenged people in endurance sports. Since then, he has run half-marathons, marathons, and a triathlon and has become a leader in the Houston running community. He founded Freaks Run Club in Houston, is now COO of Team Catapult, and has run the 200-mile Texas Independence Relay with teams of adaptive athletes.

Pressgrove ran Hood to Coast in 2021 and didn鈥檛 notice any athletes with visible disabilities. At their race this year, the team noticed two other adaptive athletes.

A common thread with many of these athletes is that sports boosted their confidence. Leah Kaplan was born in China with a congenital limb difference鈥攕he is missing her left arm below the elbow, and she was abandoned when she was two days old because of it. When she was a kid, her mother encouraged her to try swimming, and she loved it. But, she says, 鈥淚 would hide my arm during some sporting events, just because other people were uncomfortable.鈥�

She stopped hiding her arm and competed around the country in para swimming in high school, appreciating the community she found in other athletes with disabilities. More recently, Kaplan also started competing in triathlons, and this past summer, she received her first-ever prosthesis, which makes it easier for her to bike safely. 鈥淪ports have taught me how to embrace my own uniqueness,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd don鈥檛 quit until you’re proud of yourself.鈥�

Making a Team for Hood to Coast

The idea to put together a team of adaptive athletes to participate in Hood to Coast originated with Ver Kuilen and Palagi, both lower-limb amputees, in 2019. 鈥淲e wanted to assemble a team of people with all different types of disabilities, and showcase what it is that we can do when we have access to appropriate prosthetics, orthotics, and wheelchairs鈥攁nd all the adaptive equipment that’s necessary specifically for physical activity,鈥� Ver Kuilen says. They registered a team, but the 2020 race was canceled because of COVID-19, and then they deferred in 2021 because of the ongoing pandemic.

But 2022 was a go. So they started planning. An overnight relay that requires vans is a logistical challenge for any team, but Forrest Stump needed an extra van for their push-rim wheelchairs and bike guides, Ver Kuilen says. 鈥淵ou just add on another layer of complexity, figuring out which exchanges are accessible, which ones aren’t, how we’re going to coordinate handoffs and getting people their equipment.鈥�

They pulled it off. 鈥淲e essentially set a precedent for what was possible at that race, as far as people with disabilities or just the logistics around it, because it was a lot of work. And we showed that it can be done,鈥� Pressgrove says. Their race might serve as an example for Hood to Coast officials and for future participants with disabilities to follow.

They also forged a bond among athletes with disparate experiences, supporting each other along the way. 鈥淚 already knew I loved everyone in this community, and I knew what we were capable of,鈥� Pressgrove says. 鈥淚t was fun to watch people realize that about themselves.鈥� When one of the athletes completed a leg of the race, it was his longest run ever, he says. 鈥淪o that was really cool, to watch them realize what they’re capable of.鈥�

Kaplan says she appreciates the camaraderie and the way the team motivated each other. 鈥淏eing part of the team felt very empowering,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 just loved walking around with the team and kind of repping Forrest Stump. I feel like we’re kind of like our own Avengers team.鈥�

Because the team included people with different levels of athleticism, their participation also shows 鈥渢hat these types of events aren’t just for Paralympic athletes鈥攖hey’re for anybody with a disability that wants to be involved in an adventure that is Hood to Coast,鈥� Ver Kuilen says.

Meeting Other Competitors

On the second day of the race, Pressgrove says, 鈥淎ll the teams kind of catch up to each other, so you run into a whole lot of people at all the handoffs, so the last four or five handoffs were just like a party every time you stop. It’s a really fun atmosphere.鈥�

Many of the people the team encountered on the course were encouraging and supportive, and some asked about So Kids Can Move. The Forrest Stump team met some people whose family members have disabilities, so they made some connections with the nonprofits that they鈥檙e involved in and that might be able to help.

鈥淥verall, it was an enormously positive and uplifting event,鈥� Ver Kuilen says.

But not all their encounters were positive. On the course, some other competitors stared at the team, laughed, and yelled at three of the athletes. Someone called a wheelchair racer a cheater because she wasn鈥檛 running. Someone else yelled that they couldn鈥檛 believe they were being passed by a blind person.

鈥淥ne guy I passed up in the middle of the night yelled out, 鈥榃hat the f—?鈥欌�� Pressgrove says. 鈥淚 don’t think he understood what he was looking at. We were running in a pitch black, and I ran past him pretty fast.鈥澛� 鈥淭here were a number of comments that were made that made our team feel very 鈥榦ther鈥� and like we weren’t expected to be there,鈥� Ver Kuilen says. 鈥淧eople just were so startled by our presence.鈥�

These reactions from fellow athletes may show that they lack awareness about adaptive athletes. But they solidified the team鈥檚 determination to show up and try to ease the way for others. They have been through much bigger challenges than ignorant comments.

Athletes with disabilities are often told they鈥檙e inspiring, and some people said so to the Forrest Stump team. 鈥淲e were like, 鈥極h, thank you. But you know, we’re doing the run just like you guys,鈥欌�� Kaplan says. 鈥淚’ve been told I was inspiring for even ordering food at a restaurant.鈥�

Pressgrove agrees. 鈥淚t’s great to inspire people, but we’re not out there for that. We’re just trying to be a part of the same community,鈥� he says. He appreciates when people share positive comments, but he hopes they take it further鈥攂y spreading awareness of So Kids Can Move, for example. 鈥淎nd the next time you come across someone that could benefit from any of these nonprofits, or just meeting another athlete that has a similar disability, hopefully take that moment and say, 鈥楬ey, I know someone I can connect you to.鈥欌��

Identifying and Removing Barriers

The Forrest Stump team praised the Hood to Coast staff for being accommodating and responsive when problems arose. But the team ran into some obstacles, including not having an ADA accessible porta potty or bathroom anywhere on the course, which one of the athletes needed. So she had to restrict her water intake. Also, the race ended on the beach in the sand, which was not accessible for some of the athletes. 鈥淪o our team ended up having to leave Seaside early and just kind of had our own celebration party,鈥� Ver Kuilen says.

Since the relay, Ver Kuilen has joined Hood to Coast鈥檚 Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement Advisory Committee, where she looks forward to representing the disability community and helping to make the race more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Floyd says that the Forrest Stump team pointed out some areas where the race can make improvements. 鈥淎nd we will definitely make changes. We invite it,鈥� he says. Having Ver Kuilen on the committee gives her and the disability community 鈥渁 voice within our event, which means she has a voice within the race industry,鈥� he says.

鈥淥ur number-one message is to get the world to move,鈥� Floyd says. 鈥淲e want everybody to move, participate any way they can,鈥� so he sees it as Hood to Coast鈥檚 responsibility to help show that adaptive athletes can participate. 鈥淲e have to create an inclusive environment where people know that,鈥� he says.

Ver Kuilen notes that more triathlons have been made accessible to paratriathletes. 鈥淭here’s a checklist that race directors can go through to make sure that things are accessible,鈥� she says. And some races are adding adaptive or para divisions. The was the first of any of the Abbott World Marathon Majors to include a competitive para athletics division for ambulatory para athletes, alongside its wheelchair division. Zachary Friedley created a trail run for adaptive athletes, as part of the Born to Run Ultra festival.

The Forrest Stump team is proud of what they accomplished鈥攁nd the space they hope they created for more adaptive athletes to come after them.

鈥淲hen I think of my journey as a person with a disability, I did not have this community or this camaraderie growing up. I really was the only person with a disability I ever knew,鈥� Ver Kuilen says. 鈥淪o being able to do this race alongside people who’ve had a similar life experience and trajectory, and just that community, is really special.鈥�

Being in vans with people for 36 hours, while pushing yourself physically and supporting each other through challenges, is a special kind of experience. 鈥淵ou might not be family when you go in, but you are when you鈥檙e done,鈥� Pressgrove says.

Supporting Adaptive Athletes

Learn more about the campaign ‘‘ from the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics & Prosthetics in collaboration with Ver Kuilen’s organization. Their work focuses physical activity being a basic human right. They works aims to raise money and awareness to increase access to the medical equipment and care needed for adaptive athletes of all levels.

Other organizations are also doing their part to make the outdoors and sport more accessible. For example, Paradox Sports helps expand the adaptive community’s access to climbing and mountaineering by funding group trips, giving athlete grants, and training guides, gym staff, and veterans organizations in adaptive climbing practices.

The post This Team of Adaptive Athletes Finished the Hood to Coast Relay鈥攁nd Is Fighting for Kids With Disabilities聽聽聽聽聽 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

REI and the California-based organization Outdoor Afro Inc. have collaborated on a new line of technical apparel designed to address gaps in the outdoor market and make gear more inclusive for all customers, both groups announced this week. The co-branded line has been in the works for two years.

鈥淣ature has been, and will continue to be, a place where Black people seek connection and respite,鈥� said , founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro Inc., a for-profit group that collaborates with companies on design, marketing, and sales efforts. The organization is distinct from the nonprofit Outdoor Afro, also founded by Mapp, which oversees a national network of volunteers in 60 cities to promote outdoor education, recreation, and conservation.

鈥淏lack people have always spent time outside across a variety of activities, but the community has always felt a gap in finding gear that fits, functions well, feels good, and represents their personal style,鈥� Mapp said. 鈥淩EI was the right partner to listen deeply and help us create a collection that would start to meet those needs.鈥�

In an posted to its website yesterday, REI wrote that building the line meant 鈥渃onsidering the range of Black body shapes that the clothes will fit and respecting the culture鈥檚 interpretations of nature. It [meant] exploring a broader range of fit modeling, bold, celebratory colors, and materials that work with textured hairstyles.鈥� The initial 22-piece collection includes leggings, fleeces, shells, and boots designed with input from Mapp and others at Outdoor Afro Inc. about color, style, and function.

鈥淭his collaboration with Outdoor Afro Inc. was not optional for us,鈥� said Maureen Estep, REI deputy vice president of strategic brand partnerships. 鈥淭his was not a question of 鈥楽hould we?鈥� It was 鈥楬ow soon can we?鈥� It was a commitment to lean into a partnership through an inclusive approach, and it changed us. We turned on a truly inclusive design process. It defined how we worked and who we brought into the work.鈥�

The collection uses technical lightweight and stretch materials that promote breathability and are easy to care for. REI wrote on its website that 鈥渢he line is a mashup of iconic 鈥�80s and 鈥�90s silhouettes coupled with modern details inspired by the Black community: a play on throwback jackets, a riff on parachute pants, and items printed with a Black folks would gather for rest and fellowship.鈥�

Mapp emphasized that, though the collection was designed with the Black community in mind, 鈥渋t also solves universal needs. We’re creating a better outdoor product for everyone.鈥�

To support the collection launch, Outdoor Afro Inc. and REI are debuting a new marketing campaign, .

鈥淲hat I realized is that everyone wanted access to the Black market from a diversity, equity, and inclusion point of view,鈥� Mapp said in summing up the effort, 鈥渂ut no one was truly creating accessible and stylish options that actually accommodated our body shapes. This fashion line is us,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e are also nature.鈥�

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When Jenny Bruso started hiking ten years ago, she couldn鈥檛 find a single rain jacket made for her plus-size body type. So, for the first three years after she started hiking, she resigned herself to getting soaked whenever she ventured out in wet weather. (She lived in the Pacific Northwest, so this was pretty much every day.) Eventually, Bruso mustered up the courage to do what she鈥檇 been avoiding: she walked into a big-box outdoor store, found a shop attendant, and asked for a rain shell.

Despite her outdoor experience at that point, the attendant treated her like a novice. He was rude and impatient. And he ultimately sold her the only rain shell in the whole store that fit her: a boxy men鈥檚 jacket. Bruso quickly realized that the experience wasn鈥檛 unique to her: nearly all the plus-size adventurers she knew鈥攏ot to mention people of color and women in general鈥攈ad been subjected to similarly rude treatment.

鈥淲henever I saw plus-size people on the trail, it was like we were all having this make-it-work moment with our clothing and our gear,鈥� Bruso says. It left her with an overwhelming sense of indignation鈥攁nd a strong thirst for change.

About a year after buying that ill-fitting rain shell, Bruso started the Unlikely Hikers Instagram to boost the visibility of hikers that don鈥檛 fit in with today鈥檚 mainstream outdoor image.

鈥淩epresentation is an invitation,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f people don鈥檛 see themselves represented in the outdoors, they鈥檙e going to unconsciously decide that it鈥檚 not for them, and that鈥檚 a big bummer.鈥�

Over the next few years, Bruso started to notice something incredible: though it was hard to be outspoken in the often vicious world of social media, her voice was starting to make a difference. Brand after brand reached out to partner with her. Some asked her to offer advice on garment fit and to consult with designers as they scrambled to produce new apparel constructed for bigger bodies. Other brands, like , wanted her to try their gear, provide feedback, and 鈥攁ll early efforts to better accommodate and increase the visibility of plus-size adventurers.

Initially, she couldn鈥檛 believe it. It felt like things were moving fast, that the world was finally listening. The energy and momentum were electrifying.

Today, Unlikely Hikers boasts nearly 150,000 followers. The community also runs an online shop and organizes . Bruso herself has become a household name, and she鈥檚 garnered backing from some of the biggest brands in the outdoor industry.

At first glance, it all looks pretty good: She鈥檚 a full-time ambassador and sponsored athlete. She gets free gear, helps design new products, and hikes all over the world for a living. Thanks to her efforts, some backpacking brands are beginning to launch plus-size packs, and several others have introduced extended sizing in their outdoor clothing.

But things only look glamorous from the outside, Bruso says. The internal reality of being a full-time advocate is often far different.

鈥淚 know I鈥檝e done a lot of things that have never been done before in the outdoor industry, but I feel like I can never do enough,鈥� she says. And that鈥檚 not just some kind of personal perfectionism talking, she adds: the truth is, brands have barely begun addressing plus-size adventurers鈥� needs.

鈥淣ow most of the top brands have a plus-size line or are about to release one, but you still won鈥檛 see us in their advertisements or social media feeds,鈥� Bruso says. It鈥檚 still difficult for bigger-bodied adventurers to find gear that works for them. And while the body-inclusivity movement is still going strong, she says, many products and projects within the outdoor industry have slowed considerably in the wake of the pandemic

鈥漁ver the six years I鈥檝e been doing this, I鈥檝e seen some real and meaningful change begin, but we鈥檝e still barely scratched the surface,鈥� Bruso says. 鈥淥utdoor culture is still not acknowledging [plus-size hikers] in any real way, and a lot of the time we鈥檙e having bad experiences in the outdoors.鈥� Those experiences include everything from weird looks and double takes on the trail to unasked-for advice and contempt from shop attendants and even other hikers. On top of that, she still has to manage a constant onslaught of cruel comments and unsolicited input from internet trolls鈥�evidence that prejudices are still alive and well.

Sometimes Bruso feels trapped. She wants to show how empowering and joy-filled hiking can be鈥攁nd the outdoor industry wants exactly that kind of happy-go-lucky representation in their ads鈥攂ut no one can be happy all the time. This is especially true when the needs of many underrepresented outdoorists aren鈥檛 being met. And when Bruso does offer constructive criticism, she often encounters backlash.

鈥淭here is an expectation that plus-size hikers should take what we get and be happy with it鈥攁nd that to give critique is mean, or about us, or me, being too sensitive and needing too much validation,鈥� she explains.聽

Existing at the leading edge of a movement can be thrilling, yet even the strongest leaders can get worn down. Fortunately, Bruso has a fail-safe strategy: when the exhaustion starts to seep in, she heads outside.聽

鈥淚 still feel a sense of purpose when I鈥檓 outdoors,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd when I鈥檓 in the community leading Unlikely Hiker events, I feel that reminder of my place in things in a profound way. That gives me so much healing and strength.鈥澛�

She鈥檚 also encouraged by the vast number of people who now stand beside her. 鈥淚t makes me so motivated and excited to see so many groups coming out of the woodwork all the time,鈥� she says, citing and 聽as two examples. 鈥淪o many people are stepping forward to create the outdoor community and experiences that they want to see.鈥澛�

Still, Bruso says, even with a big community behind her, activist work can be lonely. But no matter how tough things get, she goes outside every day. And she does what she can to stay true to herself and speak her truth, no matter what.聽聽

After all, it鈥�s her thirst for authenticity and change that got her to this point. And it鈥檚 that thirst that will keep her going until the outdoor industry is truly inclusive鈥攆or every body out there.

Jenny Bruso鈥檚 Top Gear Picks聽

Battling for representation is hard work. Here are two items Bruso uses to stay hydrated and equipped for whatever comes her way.聽

• Arete Sling 8: This lightweight, can hold everything that you need to stay equipped and hydrated on short hikes and neighborhood walks alike. Bonus: It comes with a water bottle that fits perfectly in the pack鈥檚 external sleeve.聽
• Chute Mag 32-Ounce Bottle: Made with 50 percent recycled material, CamelBak鈥檚 water bottle is both durable and completely leakproof. A magnetic attachment and built-in tether ensure you鈥檒l never lose the cap.

Founded in 1989, invented hands-free hydration and is the global leader in personal hydration gear. CamelBak is fulfilling its mission to continually reinvent and forever change the way people stay hydrated and perform by offering a combination of award-winning products that include everything from technical hydration packs to reusable bottles.

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