{"id":186479,"date":"2023-03-06T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=186479"},"modified":"2023-06-19T21:24:56","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T04:24:56","slug":"inclusion-in-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/inclusion-in-running","title":{"rendered":"What Does It Take to Design an Inclusive Running Race?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Darwin Romero, 37, started running by accident. It was a warm summer day in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, and the then-16-year-old Romero needed a way to get home from school. One of their friends would commute on a skateboard, a couple of others would go on bikes. Romero surprised themselves by covering the one-mile route through northeast LA on foot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that first mile in 2001, they signed up for cross-country at their high school, followed by track and field in the spring. Romero fell hard for the sport and has kept at it ever since, progressing from running the 800-meter, 1600 and 3200 on the track to ticking off marathons. \u201cI\u2019m a runner,\u201d they say. \u201cI can\u2019t breathe without it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Romero is preparing to run their tenth 26.2-mile race this spring at the Boston Marathon, where, for the first time, runners have the opportunity to register and compete as nonbinary<\/a>. Romero has run dozens of road races and is a leader in the Seattle road running community, serving as diversity, equity and inclusion committee chair and secretary for their local Frontrunners chapter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But adopting this activity isn\u2019t as easy as lacing up a pair of sneakers. Though it\u2019s often celebrated as a simple and affordable sport, running, particularly long-distance running, is expensive. A 2020 analysis<\/a> found that runners spend an average of $1,000 annually on the activity. An initial investment\u2014about $100 for a pair of shoes\u2014is just one of several barriers to accessing the activity that one-fifth of Americans say they enjoy<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, runners and event organizers are more aware of how inaccessible the sport can be. Following the murder of Armaud Arbery<\/a>\u2014the 25-year-old Black jogger who in 2020 was chased and fatally shot by three white men in Brunswick, Georgia\u2014athletes, media and members of the running industry have engaged in conversations about how the latter has historically excluded marginalized groups from the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running races are seen as a way for runners to hold themselves accountable<\/a> and demonstrate their commitment to the sport<\/a>. These organized events\u2014from 5Ks to marathons\u2014can play a critical role in improving representation in the running space. About a quarter of all runners signed up for at least one event in 2019, according to numbers from a Running USA survey<\/a> and the Outdoor Industry Association<\/a>. But races also present barriers. The cost of completing a race typically includes more than the entry fee<\/a>\u2014like gear, travel and recovery. And despite conversations around equity and inclusion in the running sector, many don\u2019t feel safe at competitive events. Everything from the way runners are depicted in marketing materials to how prizes are awarded sends a message about who is welcome\u2014and who isn\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Races will have to change if they want to continue to evolve with the sport, which is growing increasingly diverse. Of the 63 million Americans who enjoy running, 25% identify as Asian, 21% as Hispanic and 17% as African American<\/a>; running organizations project these numbers to increase in the future. Here\u2019s the work that athletes and advocates say needs to happen and the change that\u2019s already underway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is in four parts:<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n