225. Alison Mariella Désir, Author of 'Running While Black'
Alison calls herself a disruptor, and that descriptor would be putting it lightly. The author of Running While Black isn't holding back in her new expose, and she's on the show today to share some of her experiences. For episode 225, Alison opens up about being in a dark place before picking up running, using drugs and trying to numb the pain of her depression, and how sport reminded her of what it was like to feel again. Alison also talks about starting a running movement in harlem, Harlem Run, with the goal to make running more inclusive and welcoming to people of color. She shares what it felt like to be at the forefront of media attention for her efforts, despite knowing that so many people that looked like her felt othered in the space, and we also talk about how it feels for her to be a Black woman raising a Black son in the wake up Ahmaud Arbury’s murder. She also speaks on the establishment of the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, and where she hopes this conversation will go moving forward.