Posted @withregram • @jetsetsarah I’ve been a runner since 2002. I was a runner at 200lbs; and am now, 70 pounds lighter. I started running in Montego Bay, Jamaica; ran my first race in New York City; and have toed the start line as far away as Sydney, Australia. I’ve run solo, with friends, and with strangers. The only constant in my running career has been that I’m a BLACK runner. 🏃🏾♀️ Being a Black runner means that when I see another runner, wave at them, and they don’t acknowledge me, I have to wonder if it’s because I’m Black, instead of just shrugging it off as rudeness. 🏃🏾♀️ Being a Black runner means that I can go to big, supposedly cosmopolitan cities like Boston and never see a single person who looks like me on a trail chock full of runners. 🏃🏾♀️ Being a Black runner means that whenever I pass a parked police car on my route, I wonder if the officer inside is going to pull me over and question me - and NOT for speeding! 😉 🏃🏾♀️ Being a Black runner means that in certain Miami neighborhoods I feel safer running with White friends because I know that their presence “neutralizes” any apprehension residents may have as I run by. 🏃🏾♀️ To be Black and running in America is to immediately invite suspicion. When Black amateur runners - particularly men - go for a run in this country, they are literally taking their life in their hands. There are so few images of us in the media, that a lone Black runner in a neighborhood is an anomaly. That’s why I’m joining fellow runners to encourage more representation of Black runners in media, including Runner’s World magazine. Because #RepresentationMatters. And #RunningIsARight, regardless of race. 🏃🏾♀️ If you’re a Black runner and you want to see yourself “on the cover” of Runner’s World, DM @dinelaofficial, and he’ll make you your own mock-up. * * * #jetsetsarah #runnergirl #runner #running #instarunner #runnersofinstagram #powerofshe #instafitness #fitfam #fitover40 #womenofrunning #ihavearunnersbody #irunthisbody #runhappy #therepresentationissue #runnerslife #runrunrun #fitness #fitnessgirl #everyrunnercounts #runfluencer #runstagram #runnerslife #gorun #runningmotivation #runningwoman https://www.instagram.com/p/CCccBtOnfp-mANebTrK03K4ohmTFH0L7TwqjzU0/?igshid=1uy1olgnknuo3
