Running with Purpose athlete advocateS
Meet our Athlete Advocate OG team of amazing humans, doing amazing, inspiring, heart centered work.
We hope to elevate the heart work of our Athlete Advocates. If you’re an individual with a platform or a company that wants to be in this heart work of justice, equity, diversity, access, safety, and inclusion - we have incredible voices that you can amplify. We are here to establish relationships with partners, organizations, and companies, to work collectively to a shared common goal and future those who have felt oppressed, harmed by the systems and tactics of the running industry, the unheard, and where all bodies, are respected, visible, protected and heard. We will be able to learn from each other’s lived experience and create a support system for each other to safely and successfully do this heart work for not only ourselves, but for our community and the next generations.
We are running with purpose. We are running for justice. We are running in prayer. We are running for healing. We are running for community. We are running for the safety of our communities.
2021 - 2022 Athlete Advocates
I want to use my running to raise awareness of our diverse stories to promote healing. It’s my hopes to inspire Native youth to be proud of who they are and where they come from- to have a sense of place and belonging to their culture and communities. I believe investing in our Native youth is investing in the well-being, longevity, and prosperity of our Nations.
2022 Running Strong for American Indian Youth Dreamstarter Grant Recipient. Founder of new program, Running Into Culture: A culturally-relevant Native youth running program.
Kul Wičasa Lakota. Pronouns: She/They.
Fourth generation runner. Passion advocate, running in prayer for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two Spirits, and Relatives - intersecting running and advocacy. Founder & Organizer of Rising Hearts - uplifting Indigenous voices and efforts, cultivating community for intersectional collaboration and fighting for a better future for our next seven generations to come. A filmmaker. Fighting for runner’s safety, the safety for Indigenous, Black, Asian, POC, Two Spirit, LGBTQ+, Non-binary kin, Peoples with Disabilities, for voices and bodies who do not see themselves in the spaces they want to be part of and enjoy, and pushing for meaningful justice, equity, diversity and inclusion efforts within the running, outdoor, organizational, institutional, and company spaces.
Zachary Friedley is a professional adaptive trail runner based in Mendocino, California. In addition to “trail blading” through the redwoods, Zachary is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the trail running community. In 2022, he will be working with his nonprofit, Mendocino Movement, to create opportunities for people with disabilities to better access movement in the outdoors. Zachary's personal goals for 2022 is to be one of the first adaptive athletes on many of the prestigious trail running events around the world, creating visibility and access for other adaptive athletes. He will be working with Race Directors and companies in creating a formal adaptive athlete division in trail running races around the world.
A mother, a runner, a friend, a voice for representation. Advocating for stronger and more diverse representation of AAPI runners, and for all BIPOC runners’s safety and mental well-being.
Pronouns: She/her.
Athlete, Indigenous rights activist, and member of the Navajo Nation living on the Choctaw Nation Reservation of Oklahoma. I want a better world for my niece and nephews and I think one of the most important things we can do is educate the public about the issues affecting Indigenous peoples. Make noise and be seen!
Pronouns: He/him/his. Minnesota.
Running to protect and heal the environment by restoring land to the stewardship of Tribal Nations and Indigenous leadership. Founder of ReNew Earth Running.
Nattalyee Randall. Pronouns: She/her. New York.
Running to raise awareness for all the Black and brown lives lost to police brutality AND to normalize Black runners.
Pronouns: She/Her, Colorado.
I'm very passionate about making trails more diverse. I believe we learn freedom and beauty on the trail. We are in touch with nature and our own spirituality. Being on the trail has a healing energy and is good for the soul. Many BIPOC don't feel welcome or safe on trails. I want to help change the narrative and make trails welcoming, diverse and safe for everyone. I want to see more runners like me out there and I want trails to be welcoming and the land that we run to be acknowledged.
1st generation born out of the Filipinx diaspora from Ylocos/Tagalog people living on Ohlone-Oroysom lands. After a few years of chasing obstacle course races and tactical endurance events, running and training was no longer meaningful until I learned about spirit running. Through grace and humility, I continue my spirit running journey with the 500 Mile American Indian Spiritual Marathon whose message is that "All life is sacred" and is demonstrated by its many efforts of building relationships on the lands we run on. It is an extension of my life's purpose of being of sustainable service; how to give and feel fully without burning out. My line of work is teaching skills for activities of daily living to veterans who have endured multiple traumas, how to make meaning again when horrible things happen. Through Running with Purpose, I hope to continue that service, that meaning making, that realness of what breaks the heart and what fills it up, to make it beat again stronger than ever.
Pronouns: She/Her.
Colleen grew up wandering the mesas, sandstones, and washes in northern Arizona. She is a desert girl at heart and is passionate about the protection of the sacred lands and waters she is surrounded by because it is part of who she is and where she comes from. She is also a strong advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous voices & perspectives in various spaces and is eager to learn from and engage with her fellow Indigenous relatives, runners, and advocates.
Pronouns: (she/her).
I’m a life-long runner and public health professional; I serve as a Community Advisor for Run 4 All Women and I’m extremely passionate about all things related to health equity.
Miel. Pronouns: She/ella/ela, Arizona,
This mind of mine is transforming and this body of mine is moving to dismantle systemically oppressive systems of our peoples and of our planet and towards the direction of collective learning and healing.
Pronouns: He/him. Dallas, TX
I have been a runner for over 25 years and my running has shifted from chasing PR’s to supporting organizations and their heart work. Work that I believe makes our world and our communities stronger. Today I run for Rising Hearts to promote my fellow advocates and the work they do, I run for Go The Distance to support people in recovery and sobriety, and I run for CureDHDDS to support families living with a rare diseases.
Navajo Nation (Diné). Pronouns: She/Her/Hers, Arizona.
Through her art, writing, and running, Shaniya strives to bring awareness to border town violence while creating and maintaining space for active restoration within indigenous communities.
My name is Nicol Hodges and live in San Diego, California.
I am advocate and voice for black women who no longer have a voice. I am the co-founder of Unity Runners for Breonna Taylor and I run to bring justice for Breonna Taylor and other black women who have lost their lives by the hands of our law enforcement with no accountability.
Pronouns: She/her, Texas.
Running for me is a privilege I want to acknowledge. A privilege of having the time, the space and the means to enjoy this sport. I also want to use this privilege to bring attention to important causes that can make this world more understanding and accepting because who wants to run in a world that isn't?
Pronouns: She/her/hers.
I was born and raised on what is currently known as Mexico City, The great Tenochtitlan, but I'm currently living on occupied Duwamish territory, Seattle. I identify as Otomi. I am an advocate for justice. I want Black, Indigenous and People of Color to be able to free themselves from the oppression of white supremacy. I want our lands back and I want reparations for Black People and i will love to see my country and all the over exploited countries free of the white colonies that are taking advantage of us and our lands. I hope I can use my voice to bring awareness and change so that future generations of BIPOC can have a better future full of opportunities, free of fear and a place were melanated bodies are celebrated and respected.
Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico.
As an educator and program coordinator for a non-profit organization serving Native youth & their families, one of my passions is bringing awareness and fighting stigma around mental health issues; because I want our young people to know that its ok to need help, to understand healthy ways of coping, and to see future generations supporting one another better than we have before.
Runner, yogi, coach & writer // Advocate for how we all connect: intersectional environmentalism.
Pronouns: She/Hers. Arizona.
Megan is an Artist, Mother, and Educator practicing habits of the heart to facilitate connection, healing, and learning. She is a white wife and mother to Lakȟóta men.
I run a 5k a day everyday as a silent protest against oppression. I call the initiative Miles For Justice and raise money to help marginalized communities.
Dine' Xicano. Pronouns: He/Him. Salt Lake City, Utah.
I run for healing intergenerational trauma and to build community with the youth to gain a connection to Mother Earth.
Ho-Chunk Nation, Pronouns: She/her. Wisconsin.
Start working with youth and addicts to outrun addiction to provide a healthy stable environment for the Ho-Chunk Nation Community and its future.
Pronouns: She/her, Maryland.
I am a founding member and current organizer of Runners4Justice. We run to raise awareness and encourage action on racial and social justice in Baltimore and beyond.
Pronouns: She/her/hers. Living in New Jersey as a guest on Lenape Haki-nk land.
I'm a weight-inclusive running coach and animal rights advocate. Some causes I'm passionate about include animal advocacy, reducing the suffering and environmental damage caused by animal agriculture, body liberation/fat positivity, and making sport safe for folks with historically marginalized identities.
Pronouns: She/they. Texas.
I run for the love of running. I am working towards using my running as a method of advocacy and to honor those that are unable to run freely like myself. I care deeply about dismantling the ways white supremacy has created my life and the lives of my white neighbors. I am committed to personally unlearning the ways that I have contributed to the systemic oppression of BIPOC and to nurturing my children, friends and family through this process as well. I live on and profit off stolen land. I am privileged to have the opportunity to learn from Jordan.
Pronouns: She/Her,
Born & raised in Wisconsin. I’m dedicated to raising awareness for Rising Hearts’ Running on Native Lands Initiative, as well as advocating for racial, social, economic, and environmental justice for future generations.
