Where are the black women? That thought struck Toni Carey on a run outdoors one day. The more she thought about it, she recalled a striking statement her mother made when Carey told her about tackling her first marathon. “She said, ‘That’s crazy. Black girls don’t run.’”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 60 percent of black women are obese, with 45 percent suffering from hypertension. Knowing how running might affect those numbers, and believing stereotypes and intimidation to be the biggest hurdles, Carey and longtime college friend Ashley Hicks-Rocha founded Black Girls Run on the East Coast in 2009. Not just as an interest group—as a movement.
“It’s hard for [black] women to wrap their heads around this idea of running,” says Carey, who found it important to let women know they could walk during the outdoor workouts, too. “We wanted to make women feel like it was something attainable.”
The message has resonated with thousands, including Oprah Winfrey, who honored BGR in 2014 with a Standing O-Vation Award recognizing people making positive change in their communities. There are about 70 chapters throughout the country, including one here in Las Vegas.
The Outdoor Issue
Since the local group’s 2012 founding, organizers have had a tough time getting consistent turnout at weekly runs. “Due to the 24-hour nature of our town and the various demographics, [we] struggle with garnering consistent participation for our group runs and maintaining consistency with our leaders,” Sandra Todd says of the effort she and fellow BGR ambassador Tanesha Williams are making to grow the movement here. Women of all ethnicities and ages are welcome to join and hit the trails at the Charlie Kellogg and Joe Zaher Sports Complex. Even if they run on their own, members are in the spirit of sharing the joy. “As you can see on our Facebook page, the ladies are busy hitting the pavement,” Todd says.
On a recent Saturday morning, Tammara Williams became one of them. Though she was nervous about her first run ever, she joined to get fit. “They encourage you to come and just keep moving.”
To learn more about the movement, visit blackgirlsrun.com.
