Running with Purpose athlete advocateS
the Intersection of running and advocacy
Meet our Athlete Advocate team!
#RunningForJustice x #RunningWithPurpose
Together we will use Running as
A PLATFORM FOR ACTION and cultivating community in a meaningful way.
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.
How can individuals or companies support?
We hope that the companies and individuals that support this team, the voices and the heart work - see this as an opportunity for growth and healing. Supporting the feet of our runners with your shoes, whether that’s through donation or offering discounts. Offering your social media platforms to host a conversation or writing platforms. Offering food, snacks, safety tools and technology to help promote runner’s safety. Offering apparel or discounts. And more! We can be creative. Want to sponsor the remaining applicants, the next 30 or those wanting to join this community run club, consider supporting Rising Hearts financially, so we can offer them singlets, goodie bags and more.
WARNING: To be in this work with us, you have to be committed to building an intersectional future, be part of dismantling the current systems that oppress and marginalize communities and bodies, to stand strong in saying the words - colonialism, White Supremacy, Racism, systems of oppression, Indigenous Sovereignty, Black Lives Matter, and more. This is an opportunity for us as community, to work together.
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.
WHY RUNNING WITH PURPOSE?
Kul Wičasa Lakota. Pronouns: She/They. Tongva Lands / LA
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 storyteller through filmmaking as Co-Director Producer/Impact Producer. Fighting for runner’s safety, the safety for Indigenous, Black, Brown, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Two Spirit, LGBTQ+, Non-binary kin, and Peoples with Disabilities and pushing for meaningful justice, equity, diversity and inclusion efforts within the running, outdoor, organizational, institutional, and company spaces.
Jordan Marie Daniel (now, Whetstone), is ran the 2019 Boston Marathon with a red hand print over her mouth and the letters MMIW painted on her arms and legs, dedicating a mile in prayer, to 26 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Ever since that last minute decision, within an hour of getting to the start line in Hopkington, Jordan has used her running platform to bring awareness to this epidemic, to social and climate justice issues, and to elevate opportunities to support those in need. No longer focusing on getting that brand sponsorship or the fast time, Jordan recognized that running has transformed for her into a deeper, more selfless purpose. She found her ‘WHY.’ Her purpose. The ambitions to one day get an Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier and to represent the Brings Three White Horses family at the Olympic Trials is still there and feels that having a deeper purpose in awareness and community building, will only help to make that dream come true one day. Now, it’s about community building, pushing the running and outdoor industries to do better, to ensure that those not included, do not feel like a check in the box and to encourage sponsors and brands, that if you support an athlete with an advocacy background, to create the infrastructure to support the Athlete Advocate and their community. Jordan’s life changed quickly and brought her into a whole new world of running and meeting other inspiring individuals who are advocates and using their sport to do the same. Not wanting to feel alone in this and wanting to learn from others, Running With Purpose Collective was created to bring like minded bodies together to do this heart work collectively.
2024 Athlete Advocates
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers. Arkansas Diné + Mexican
Being an Athlete Advocate brings even more purpose to running for me and adds to my 'why'. I am grateful to have an opportunity to use running as a way to advocate for causes that are important to me and to have the support of Rising Hearts.
I work as a program evaluator in a community health setting. My work is centered on improving community programs and prioritizing the culture and needs of the community.
Cal Calamia (they/he) is a transmasculine marathoner, inclusivity activist, educator, model, influencer, and poet often running on Ohlone lands in the Bay Area, CA. They have instigated the introduction of non-binary divisions and other inclusivity initiatives in road races across the globe, winning 1st in the New York City Marathon's division and taking 2nd place at the Chicago and Boston Marathons. Cal is also the founder of non-binary+ run club and 2 Hot 4 Hoodies, as well as a graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of San Francisco. Cal is committed to increasing trans and non-binary visibility and elevating joy for all athletes.
Being an Athlete Advocate helps me stay grounded in not only excelling in my running career, but drawing attention to issues of community and equity in order to make the running world safer and more celebratory of all athletes. Space for kinship and shared learning, healing, and problem-solving with talented and passionate Athlete Advocates is a joy, an honor, and a necessity. This is a community that offers me hope and energy to keep moving forward.
My name is Phil and I'm a marathoner and ultramarathoner blessed to be running on Tongva lands across the roads and trails of Southern California. I’m also a liver cancer survivor and liver transplant recipient through living organ donation from my friend Mark. Since my transplant in 2019, I’ve run 6 marathons including the Boston Marathon twice and have completed 5 ultra marathons including the 2023 Black Canyon 100K. I also attempted to complete the 2023 Leadville 100 but made the decision to drop after 50 miles due to a safety risk.
As grateful as I am for the ability to continue running, I’ve been incredibly blessed to help bring some attention to the cancer and organ transplant community. I’ve had the great fortune to join the board of directors for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation founded by the late Gabe Grunewald to advocate for rare cancer research and empower people to stay physically active despite their diagnosis. I’ve also supported the American Liver Foundation and Chris Klug Foundation to help bring awareness to the liver disease and organ transplant communities. Also, as an Asian American runner, I’ve been intentional in occupying space in trail and ultra events to raise the volume level for more inclusion for people of color in an otherwise white dominated field.
Being an Athlete Advocate entirely aligns with what’s been so important to me since I received my new chance at life. No race or event is worthwhile for me to participate in if it doesn’t give me an opportunity to give back to the under represented communities that don’t have the means or capabilities to join in. As an Athlete Advocate it's a privilege to help extend this sidewalk we journey on to bring more equity to the running community and empower so many more to share their inspiring voices through story.
A Black trail runner out of Colorado. I am passionate about helping make the trails and outdoors more diverse and inclusive for BIPOC. Everyone deserves to feel safe and seen in the outdoors. I have been a co-leader at several trail retreats and have volunteered at more trail races than I can count over the years. Being an Athlete Advocate will provide an opportunity to continue to push for diverse representation within the sport of trail running. And the safety of all people of color in outdoor spaces.
I'm a high school math teacher, DEI director of my running team and mom to my 2 year old boy.
Being an Athlete Advocate to me means using my platform and experience to help bring awareness to important causes centered around inclusivity. I enjoy organizing and being a part of community events that are about more than running as an individual sport. As an Athlete Advocate, I would like to learn how to better support underrepresented groups personally as well as through my running team.
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.
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.
Jocelyn is an ultra marathoner (50 miler) and a 113th marathon finisher.
She's currently training for her first 100 miler and has been using running as a way to advocate for women, girls and Dreamers for the years. She advocates for representation of BIPOC in races, more period products in races and human rights when it comes to immigration issues.
She is also the youngest woman and Latina to run 100 marathons.
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. Portland, OR.
I have been a runner for over 25 years and now more than ever I find myself wanting to run for more than just me. I want to run for my community by helping raise awareness for and elevating the voices of our BIPOC relatives.
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?
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.
Diné & Northern Paiute, Pronouns: She/Her. Tongva Lands - Los Angeles.
The work/advocacy that I do mainly involves the protection of our lands, sites and people and the ongoing epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls & Relatives (MMIWG&R) - this is what is the most important to me.
Runner, yogi, coach & writer // Advocate for how we all connect: intersectional environmentalism.
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.
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.
Mexica/ oaxaqueña. Pronouns; She/Her. Tongva Lands - Los Angeles.
The hat is made from one of the mothers from de 43 missing students of Ayotzinapan. The reboso is from hand me from my friends grandma, the necklace is made by one of my Danzante’s relatives and the dress is hand made out of telar from th elder women’s of Tlacochixtlaoca Guerrero/Oaxaca. And the picture is taken by my daughter. Running as prayer and for community.
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.
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.
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/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/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/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.
PAST ATHLETE ADVOCATES
Pronouns: She/her, Colorado.
Megan is passionate about inspiring, empowering, and connecting womxn-identifying distance runners of various backgrounds to discuss topics such as mental health, body image, eating disorders, inclusivity, and environment to help increase awareness of these topics in the running community.
Pronouns: She/her. Korean American runner, writer, and social justice advocate based in Duwamish territory (Seattle, WA).
Through her advocacy work and writing, Sandy fights against the harmful casting of Asian Americans as "model minorities," breaks stereotypes that hypersexualize Asian women, and hopes to contribute to a new narrative that recognizes and values the diversity of Asians and their full personhood. Sandy enjoys reading nonfiction and living a vegan and cruelty-free lifestyle.
Photo Credit: David Jaewon Oh / IG: @thisisdizzle
Oglala Lakota Nation. Pronouns: He/him/his. Nebraska.
Partner, Father, Visual Artist, MFA Actor, Educator, Culture Worker. Community building, racial justice, land back, police abolition, BLM, MMIW, MMIR, water protection.
