Running While Black

Starred review from September 1, 2022
D�sir, an activist who founded Harlem Run and Run 4 All Women, describes herself as an "unapologetically straightforward communicator with a passion for community health." In this debut book, she recounts how training for a marathon helped her deal with depression and feel at home in her own skin. From the opening, "Timeline: Freedom of Movement" with side-by-side columns of "Running History" and "Black People's Reality," it's clear this is not a typical ""running transformed my life"" memoir. D�sir draws readers to her experiences as a Black woman, daughter of Colombian and Haitian immigrants, and as a mother. She effectively communicates the anger, trauma, and stress of runners like herself who deserve to be able to run freely in public spaces. She learns about Black runners like Ted Corbitt and Marilyn Bevans, both trailblazers who are not heralded like their white counterparts, a reminder that Black stories are too often ignored in mainstream media. The impact of Ahmaud Arbery's 2020 murder while he was out for a run, D�sir notes, awakened the broader running community to the reality of running while Black. Later chapters address systemic racism in the running industry: Can the industry change and effectively address diversity issues, and does it really want to? D�sir, a gifted writer, is a change agent pressing the running community to address white supremacy. A powerful memoir.

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