fact that you had to create an additional space (for women in the sport.) I think the first thing is just building awareness about your privilege, because that will allow you to see things more clearly. And then, this work is about making sure that more people have access to the sport and access to opportunities and power. I was really excited to see that the Hardrock 100 has started to look at the percentage of participants, and next year they want to commit to having more women at the starting line. And my question is, what was the racial diversity of that group? How many people were Black? How many people identified as indigenous? Right? So start asking yourself those questions. And know that you will make a mistake, you will offend somebody, you will get something wrong, but you will have the opportunity for redemption. We say it's an ultramarathon with no medals. It's long work, and we cannot see the fruits of our labor. But I get it, it's scary to have conversations about stuff where you don't know the language. And you don't want to offend people. But guess what, you will. People who identify as men offend me all the time because of patriarchy. But we move through that. So I would say that it's both a personal journey, but it's also about redistributing power and access. DS: Everything you said resonated. I hear people say that they're honestly scared to not do the right thing, they're worried they're going do the wrong thing. And so you're saying no, just move forward. And you probably will offend somebody. But as long as you are moving forward, and you are trying, and then hopefully, more and more resources will be out there for everybody to take the first step. AD: There are already some really useful tools. I want to draw everyone's attention to Jordan Marie Daniel who put together this toolkit that really moves beyond just land acknowledgments. Wherever we are, we're on indigenous land. So
Photo: Credit Ryan Warner
wherever your race is taking place, what are the ways you have a relationship with indigenous communities? Even broader than that, do you have a relationship with the communities that you run through in general? That might not be something you're even thinking about. Where are your vendors coming from? Wouldn't it be cool if you have local vendors involved? If your (race is) going through neighborhoods that are under-resourced, what are the ways that your race going through that neighborhood can contribute to the growth of that community? Because you want to have a longstanding relationship with where you're doing your event. DS: So it's been over a year, but Ahmaud Arbery's murder in Georgia opened a lot of people's eyes about the dangers of running while Black. It’s such a hard question to ask, but do you think there's any positive change or increased visibility that has come from that, or will come from it? AD: I think it is a difficult question. And I think, for me it's something that, when you're Black, this is something this is a reality that you know from a young age. And there are conversations around that I think about that I'm going to have with my son soon. He's only two years old, but around, you know, police, and to be honest, not trusting police and being cautious and making sure that he knows his rights. This was not eye-opening or shocking in any way. It was heartbreaking. And it was really personal for me because of my son. I didn't have a son before. Something that has been really meaningful is that the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, the injustice, allowed white people and many people who never considered what it's like to be in a different body, outside, that there are differences. And it allowed people to start to think about well, within my running group, there's mostly white folks. And we don't think about these issues. And we don't think about how running through a suburb at a certain time of day has
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