"You did not come this far just to come this far."

As women of color, these words are a constant reminder to keep going, whether it is in training, on race day, or in our everyday lives. We do not define ourselves by our job titles; we are defined by the heart work we put into creating a safe space for others. In our daily lives, we are professional women in the outdoor and legal industry but away from that, we are advocates for mental health and social justice / team leaders / athletes / ultramarathoners. We continue working and running recreationally because our ancestors could not.

Recreational running has not always been accessible for people of color but running has always been a part of our peoples’ lives. From emigrating to Texas from Mexico, to government displacement through The Navajo Long Walk, resilience is ingrained in our ancestry. When we face obstacles in our training or competition, we use these words to remind ourselves that we can overcome the hurdle in front of us. We pull strength in the knowledge that we have strong women that came before us and that we have the possibility to encourage strong women coming after us.

We harness this strength through ultra running and endurance events because it helps us better make sense of the challenges we face off of the trail. We can apply the lessons we learn on the trail to our day-to-day routine and better navigate life’s highs and lows. We choose to suffer out in nature because it helps us to make sense of any suffering or trauma we have dealt with in our personal lives. We also find joy and connect with our true self during these adventures. We better connect with our knowing that we are strong, that we can do hard things, and that we are deserving of peace and happiness. We move to heal generational trauma, we move to empower our communities, and we move toward the best version of ourselves.

*Although women, especially women of color, face many barriers and dangers in the running world, we must acknowledge we are privileged in some ways: Rebecca manages a climbing gym and has access to discounts in the outdoor industry, and Kelsey’s workplace provides race registration compensation to selected events in her area.