Alison Mariella Désir: Running While Black, Her Story, Her Book

10/18/22 • 37 min

Alison Mariella Désir is a runner, mother, activist, community builder, and now author: her highly anticipated book Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport that Wasn’t Built for Us is available today, October 18. Alison’s story is one of love and gratitude for running, and the power of this sport to create change. Hers is also a story of highlighting how the running world mirrors the racism and sexism of our larger culture and history. And her story is about making a path forward, creating space for change. In this episode, Alison tells her story completely in her own voice.

In this episode, Alison tells her running journey and touches on many of the topics that are featured in her book. Let this serve, then, as an inspiration to read her whole story in Running While Black, a book that will certainly become a best-seller and an important read for all runners, especially white runners.

On Women’s Running Stories, we often feature running journeys that highlight how running is about more than the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. Alison's story is exceptional in this regard.

Her new book is the latest example of how Alison interweaves her running with her commitment to leave the world a better place than it was when she found it. Over the years, she has become a leader in the running world, with a clear, powerful voice. She has shown how running can be a vehicle to create change. She’s also working to create change within the running industry so that this sport can some day truly live up to the claim that it is open and welcoming to everyone.

Alison not only does the work herself, but also inspires and encourages and helps make space for other people doing the work to move the sport of running toward being a space where everyone feels not only welcome, but that they belong.

This episode is sponsored by The Feed, the largest online marketplace for your sports nutrition, offering the brands you know and love, from Skratch Labs, Clif Bar, to Maurten, plus their athlete customized supplements called Feed Formulas. In addition to supporting Strides Forward, this sponsorship supports Hear Her Sports and Keeping Track: together we are a collective of women-hosted podcasts focused on women in sports.

As part of this sponsorship, you can get $80 in credit at The Feed: just go to TheFeed.com/forward to claim your $80 in credit at The Feed.

Keep Up with Alison Mariella Désir

Alison’s website: http://alisonmdesir.com/

Alison on Instagram: @alisonmdesir

Links to Organizations Mentioned in this Episode

Harlem Run: http://www.harlemrun.com/about

Run 4 All Women: https://www.run4allwomen.com/

Meaning Through Movement: https://www.meaningthrumovement.com/

Running Industry Diversity Coalition: https://www.runningdiversity.com/

Take the Lead on Instagram: @woctakethelead

Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories

Instagram: @womensrunningstories