Archive for March 6, 2012
White girl running
This all began more than a year ago, as I sat in the audience at a Social Media Week event about fitness blogging that was hosted by Beautiful Athlete‘s Tina Shoulders. Ashley Hicks was on the panel to talk about Black Girls Run! Ashley seemed cool and fun and had started BGR!, a running blog (with co-founder Toni Carey) that was gaining a ton of fans. Naturally, I seethed with envy. And curiosity. So when I got home, I checked out their site and became a fan myself. But a closet fan. Because although I really liked everything they were saying and doing and promoting—and their VERY cool pink-black-and-white branded gear—I kind of felt like I was interfering. Hanging out somewhere I shouldn’t. Trying to horn in on something (an identity? I don’t know) that doesn’t belong to me.
But then, two things happened. In April, BGR! featured a post called “White Girls Run, too,” in which one of the ladies (not sure if it’s Ashley or Toni) talked about how her BGR! shirt got a weird reaction from the white, female desk clerk at her local YMCA. The end of that post read:
So for all the white women who follow us (or would like to), you don’t have to stand on the sidelines and watch from a distance. We want and need your support. Be a part of the movement!
I wish I could say that right then, I made a decision to show my support. But still, I hesitated, feeling like a big dork. Cut to months later, when after seeing so many New York-area runners decked out in fierce BGR! gear at the Rock ‘n’ Roll New York 10K in Brooklyn, I finally fired off this tweet:
Sad but true: Though my conscience poked at me to do something earlier, it was fashion that finally pushed me to actual action. How psyched was I when they responded?!?
YES! I sent them my address, they sent me this shirt:
Because of the holidays, travel, and some Achilles’ woes, I didn’t race much at the end of last year/beginning of this year. But this past Sunday, at New York Road Runners‘ Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K, I wore the shirt with pride.
Pretty fly for a white girl?
All this to say, Black Girls Run! are some pretty awesome people. I love what they stand for, and I love anyone and everyone who wants to run as a way to be healthier, happier, and better. If it’ll have me, this WG would love to be a proud part of #BGRnation.
Haul Buns 