Forget about asking for a seat at the table, build your own table. // For the last couple weeks I’ve read and seen many of my running friends advocating for Runner’s World magazine to put more people of color on their covers. While I agree with them on the importance of diversity and representation in Runner’s World, and don’t discount the important work they’ve been doing, I’m here to say that we can be the change we want to see in the running world by creating our own. // Why depend on 1 running print magazine to highlight and share our stories, when we have the power, skill set and influence to build hundreds if not thousands of diverse online communities ourselves? Think about the runners and running related accounts that you follow now. How many of them did you find in a runners magazine? For me, not many. I have found more people to connect with on social media than I have through any print magazine. // We don’t need to advise them on who they should feature. We don’t need to request that they use people of color during production or on set. We have the runners. We have the skills. We have the audience. We have the brand relationships. We have the influence. We have the power. We can build our table. // I’ve created a new online community calIed, Diverse Runners World @diverserunnersworld to share images of runners of different ethnicities, cultures, ages, gender identities, shapes and sizes. Please follow and share. My running peer Carolyn @irunfortheglory has been doing great work for years with her online community @diversewerun featuring multiethnic stories of runners. Please follow and share. If you have a or know a diverse online community or tag and share them below. Let’s build together. Diversity Matters. #diverserunnersworld https://www.instagram.com/p/CCMAQH-na_I/?igshid=1tioye9nca20w
