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Alison Mariella Désir: Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
Manage episode 427989712 series 2929825
Alison Mariella Désir is an athlete, mother, activist, public speaker, community builder, and now a hiker and mountain climber. Désir is well known for her groundbreaking book Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport that Wasn’t Built for Us and for her work making space for and creating communities that center and welcome BIPOC athletes into the running and outdoor worlds.
Désir was first featured on WRS in October 2022, when her book was released. That episode told the story of Désir's running life to that point.
In this episode, Désir shares the story of how and why she summited Africa's tallest peak, Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft), with an all Black group of women who she'd previously never met. Before this trip, hiking wasn't an activity that had held much interest for Désir. Today, she's searching for what mountain she'd like to summit next.
This is the story of discovering a new source of joy, empowerment, and rewarding challenge.
As transformative as this journey has been, however, when Désir returned to the US, she was faced once again with the reality of most running, trail, and outdoor communities in this country, especially those with the greatest access to power and change: how they center and favor white athletes. Highlighting this reality, in particular, was an article in the popular trail and ultra publication I Run Far, "Women in Trail Running and Ultrarunning: Perspectives on the Challenges and Progression Toward Equity." The equity discussed, however, focused only on white women: written by two white women, all the sources for the story were also all white women (a deliberate editorial choice).
Reflecting on the ongoing need for change, the need to get serious about inclusion, Désir's story ends with a call to action, a call for much needed conversations.
Keep Up with Alison Mariella Désir
Alison’s website: alisonmdesir.com
Alison on Instagram: @alisonmdesir
Alison’s Kilimanjaro hashtag: #AMDclimbskili
Mentioned in this Episode
Soraka Tours: soraka.tours
Alison Mariella Désir on WRS, October 2022: https://womensrunningstories.com/alison-mariella-desir-running-while-black-her-story-her-book
Article from I Run Far: "Women in Trail Running and Ultrarunning: Perspectives on the Challenges and Progression Toward Equity"
To support WRS, please rate and review the show
iTunes/Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/womens-running-stories/id1495427631
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8Hr2RysbV4fdwNhiMAXc?si=1c5e18155b4b44fa
Music Credits
Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh
penguinmusic, via Pixabay
Coma-Media, via Pixabay
SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay
Grand Project, via Pixabay
RomanBelov, via Pixabay
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Instagram: @over50sub20_5k_project
Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
134 episoder
Manage episode 427989712 series 2929825
Alison Mariella Désir is an athlete, mother, activist, public speaker, community builder, and now a hiker and mountain climber. Désir is well known for her groundbreaking book Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport that Wasn’t Built for Us and for her work making space for and creating communities that center and welcome BIPOC athletes into the running and outdoor worlds.
Désir was first featured on WRS in October 2022, when her book was released. That episode told the story of Désir's running life to that point.
In this episode, Désir shares the story of how and why she summited Africa's tallest peak, Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft), with an all Black group of women who she'd previously never met. Before this trip, hiking wasn't an activity that had held much interest for Désir. Today, she's searching for what mountain she'd like to summit next.
This is the story of discovering a new source of joy, empowerment, and rewarding challenge.
As transformative as this journey has been, however, when Désir returned to the US, she was faced once again with the reality of most running, trail, and outdoor communities in this country, especially those with the greatest access to power and change: how they center and favor white athletes. Highlighting this reality, in particular, was an article in the popular trail and ultra publication I Run Far, "Women in Trail Running and Ultrarunning: Perspectives on the Challenges and Progression Toward Equity." The equity discussed, however, focused only on white women: written by two white women, all the sources for the story were also all white women (a deliberate editorial choice).
Reflecting on the ongoing need for change, the need to get serious about inclusion, Désir's story ends with a call to action, a call for much needed conversations.
Keep Up with Alison Mariella Désir
Alison’s website: alisonmdesir.com
Alison on Instagram: @alisonmdesir
Alison’s Kilimanjaro hashtag: #AMDclimbskili
Mentioned in this Episode
Soraka Tours: soraka.tours
Alison Mariella Désir on WRS, October 2022: https://womensrunningstories.com/alison-mariella-desir-running-while-black-her-story-her-book
Article from I Run Far: "Women in Trail Running and Ultrarunning: Perspectives on the Challenges and Progression Toward Equity"
To support WRS, please rate and review the show
iTunes/Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/womens-running-stories/id1495427631
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F8Hr2RysbV4fdwNhiMAXc?si=1c5e18155b4b44fa
Music Credits
Cormac O'Regan, of Playtoh
penguinmusic, via Pixabay
Coma-Media, via Pixabay
SergePavkinMusic, via Pixabay
Grand Project, via Pixabay
RomanBelov, via Pixabay
Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories
Instagram: @womensrunningstories
Instagram: @over50sub20_5k_project
Facebook: facebook.com/WomensRunningStories
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/444164966663627
Website: womensrunningstories.com
Email host Cherie: clouiseturner@gmail.com
Women's Running Stories is a proud member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
134 episoder
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