On race day, when our school buses pull up and hundreds of teenagers from all over Philadelphia clad in blue and green shirts spill out, it’s hard to miss that SCOTCH & SODA Sneaker bassa 'VIVI' sabbia giallo pastello beige scuro beige has arrived.
But when our students—who are mostly Black and Brown youth—spill out of those buses into a sea of hundreds or thousands of runners, it’s hard not to miss that the majority of people there don’t look like them.
SCOTCH & SODA Sneaker bassa 'VIVI' sabbia giallo pastello beige scuro beige (SRPS) is a free, nonprofit mentoring program that engages young people in distance running. For nine months each year, our student runners sign up to train side-by-side with their volunteer mentors to complete distance races up to and including a full marathon.
Whether it’s a small 5K but it was her boots that really allowed her to move like the King of Pop Givova Running Kurzärmeliges T-shirt, the largest 10-mile race in the country, we are typically the largest and most diverse group at every event we attend. From March to November, three days a week, our community experiences the best of what our world has to offer, connecting with runners of all ages, races, genders, orientations, neighborhoods, and cultures through our teams, many of which are school-based. At our best, our program provides a bubble of safety, freedom, and joy. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
But what happens when this bubble bursts? As runners ourselves and youth development professionals at SRPS, we are constantly toeing the line between trying to build the world we want our young people to grow into while simultaneously equipping them to operate in the world that exists. We want them to walk with courage into races and running spaces as runners, having put in the training for any miles ahead. We also respect our students enough to prepare them for environments that weren’t built with them in mind.
The program focuses on relationships, and our conversations need to center around race because of how our mentors and students look. Our student population reflects the realities and demographics of our city. Our mentors, although also from nearly every zip code in our city, are majority white. At our core, we believe having a caring adult to listen, share, and literally run alongside you, has incredible benefits for our youth. We know the great mental and physical benefits of running. We’ve seen that mentoring through running can have great impact. We also know that representation matters deeply.
Our mentors of color have stepped into this space knowing that even in our bubble, they will still be one of few adults of color. Even with this added layer of complexity, they still show up for our kids, and add value to the larger running community. If the running community doesn’t become more diverse, our community of mentors won’t change, either. We need to step up our game for our young people, and we can’t do it without you.
Our work with young people means little for their future in the sport unless the running community can come alongside us in this work, develop welcoming spaces and dismantle barriers to participation. As our students become adults, we want them to continue to love running, and benefit from its community. To do that, we need to create intentional, sustainable change.
LURCHI Sneaker 'NANE' grigio Ahmaud Arbery, Kourtney Kardashian wearing Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandals, young people are processing what’s happening around them and what it might mean for their futures. We asked several of our students to share their discomfort for the running community they’d like to join as they enter adulthood. Their words on the future of running and its diversity in many forms—race, neighborhood, sexual orientation, body type, gender—are powerful. We ask you to help us create the world they want to live in.
[zapatillas de running Adidas niño niña talla 36 naranjas Runner’s World Training Plan, designed for any speed and any distance.]
Justice Passe, 19
Sostenibile Topo athletic Scarpe Running Phantom
I always want at least someone who looks like me in running groups because then I feel at home in a way. I did sort of feel left out when I joined SRPS because I was the only African American (on my school’s SRPS team) at first. It took initiative to find others who looked like me to join because we all just want to feel at home. Having your coach strive for diversity in any way shape or form, like mine did, is really important.
I definitely would like to see different groups supported more [at races], especially LGBTQ because I know I identify with that. I like how people are lined up on the sides of the race and cheering you on. Maybe there could be a sign that really resonates with you based on your race or your orientation, and seeing a familiar face or someone of color really makes an impact. Those visuals definitely help, and they help a lot of my peers too. Get the local chapters of the NAACP or the GSA local chapters of organizations and have that representation and build a community to cheer for everyone.
Not only do you want to see people out running with you, you want to see it on your screen too. When you see someone who’s beautiful on the screen, you may try to strive to be something that’s not achievable or change yourself too much. I think the advertisements really matter—people need to see someone and say, “hey, they look just like me.”
You can find anyone that’s a runner anywhere, but you have to find someone who wants to do it with you. When I told my teachers I was doing the Broad Street Run, they were like, “I did it, too!” It was really amazing. You’ll find a runner everywhere and anywhere. It’s up to you to take that initiative.
Jacqueline Lara, 18
BV slide sandals
Something that I’ve noticed is that in my neighborhood, I really don’t see people running. If groups were able to run together more in their communities, people would feel more comfortable and begin to normalize it. A community team or holding runs in different neighborhoods with refreshments and drinks at the end as a community event makes it more known. If you hold more races in areas where people aren’t into distance running, just seeing people out running will help. People won’t have to question, “Oh, what if I’m the only person running.” I just wish people would be more aware of what they have in their surroundings.
A lot of the races that I’ve been to and even the expos have been really male-dominated. Where’s the stuff for the women? Is there something that will help us, too? Helping us run, not just making us look better while we run. When I shop, I think more about how well does [a product] work, not, how does it look.
I tend to see a lot of demonstrations of strength in terms of running. A lot of people come in high and mighty, and then when I see people with different shapes, I don’t know if they feel welcome because they don’t see people similar to them. When I first started running I felt bad because I wasn’t the fastest or I wasn’t in shape. I wish people of similar minds and goals could get together and talk like a support group that people can join. When women run together we really do empower each other.
Adidas Terrex Two Ultra Primeblue Trail Running Shoes Acid | Adam Douglas, 18
Graduated from Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, attending Penn State University – University Park
I’m less likely to get interested in a race at an expo because there’s popcorn there. If the person sitting at that desk was of color, I believe there’d be more people showing up. That representation is important. Who is the face of the people you’re trying to see? When I see a race banner, and there’s a person of color on it, it shouldn’t only be professional athletes. You want to have people who are just doing it for fun, not just the elite athletes of color.
When I was training for my first marathon, I was running 16 miles, and I ended up running next to this Caucasian lady. I can’t tell you how it happened, but I know for a fact that our conversation lasted for a good 40 minutes. I learned so much about her, and she also learned a little bit about me. She had no fear in approaching me, and I had no fear in approaching her. If you can have that same kind of relationship on a larger level, people of color are more likely to get involved. If other people of color can have that same experience that would change things. I think that goes farther than blowing up their phone all the time. It has to be other times than just at a race, but that’s the feeling I’d like to see more of.
What I hope for in the coming days is solidarity as coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted. In light of recent events, there are a number of growing demonstrations, I hope that we pace ourselves, just like running. When people say, “how can I help?” I hope people continue realizing that you can’t go back to how things were.
Lauren Kobylarz is the Program Director at SCOTCH & SODA Sneaker bassa 'VIVI' sabbia giallo pastello beige scuro beige, and Ieshia Nelson is the Associate Director of Mentoring and Training at SCOTCH & SODA Sneaker bassa 'VIVI' sabbia giallo pastello beige scuro beige.
