Earlier this summer, the (RIDC) launched its #FreedomToRun campaign for Juneteenth, June 19, by releasing a series of on racial representation in industry employment and running participation. These studies were produced in partnership with Bentley University, providing in-depth analyses and first-of-its-kind research to establish a baseline measure for progress toward racial justice.

The three studies were titled 鈥淭he Future of Running: Connecting with the Next Generation of Racially Diverse Runners,鈥� 鈥淩acial Diversity and the Business of Running: Mapping a Path to Equitable Employment, Leadership, and Ownership,鈥� and 鈥淩acial Diversity in Trail Running: Understanding the Underrepresented Experience.鈥� The studies were funded by Altra, Brooks, New Balance, On, Patagonia, Salomon, Saucony, Smartwool, and Strava.

While RIDC previewed these findings earlier this year with industry partners in race management, events, retail, and brands, according to RIDC executive director Kiera Smalls, it has also made a concerted effort to share with key brands and organizations not partnered with the coalition, in an effort to get them to assess their internal policies and practices.

What Is the RIDC?

RIDC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that was established in October 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of the tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, which sparked a social justice reckoning across nearly every industry, including the running space. The organization was founded by a small group of running industry leaders that came together to form the RIDC, including co-chairs Chris Lampen-Crowell and Alison Mariella D茅sir, with the goal of increasing employment opportunities and running participation among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the U.S. by establishing transparency and measuring accountability among organizations.

That鈥檚 where this research came in, says Erin Flynn, a professor of marketing at Bentley University and a lead researcher on the studies who has also been involved with RIDC since its inception. In 2020, Flynn asked Lampen-Crowell if his team had data on where the industry currently stood, knowing she鈥檇 be surprised if anyone had actually ever studied this. When he said they did not, she volunteered to help with the research, which would be critical for pursuing the organization’s mission.

鈥淲ithout that, you’re holding subjective conversations,鈥� Flynn says. 鈥淧eople are well-intentioned. They might think they’re making progress and talking about it more, but without the data, we can’t really know if we’re actually making true change.鈥�

According to data from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), approximately 34 percent of runners (16 million people) in the U.S. are people of color, which highlights why it鈥檚 imperative for key players in the industry to address issues related to systemic racism and a lack of inclusivity, especially as the U.S. population is growing increasingly more racially diverse, with people of color projected to be the majority by 2045.

Large running events in particular, including all three U.S.-based World Marathon Majors, are still lagging when it comes to tracking racial demographic information among its participants, which has undoubtedly contributed to setbacks in progress, Smalls says.

鈥淕ender data has become standard practice, and it is necessary to recognize that race and ethnicity are essential for diversity, equity, and inclusion progress, too,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need event organizers to better understand the makeup of their participant base and identify existing disparities and underrepresentation. By persistently advocating for collecting and utilizing this information, we can build greater awareness, accountability, and progress toward achieving more inclusive and equitable race events.鈥�

It鈥檚 especially noteworthy that this research was released now, as more businesses and individuals alike have grown hesitant to discuss issues related to DEI after the anti-racism conversations surrounding the 2020 movements inevitably died down.

鈥淚t is important to acknowledge that the conversation surrounding racism in the running industry has faced some setbacks as time has progressed since 2020,鈥� Smalls says. 鈥淢any companies have become more hesitant to publicly address these issues, contributing to a lack of progress in addressing the systemic challenges faced by runners of color.鈥�

Diversity in Industry Leadership Remains Low

In terms of diversity in running industry employment, the studies showed that 11 percent of employees are Black/African American, with only 1 percent holding senior management leadership positions. With regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, only 15 percent are led by Black/African American senior executives, while 80 percent of senior executives leading them are white.

鈥淭he short answer for why [top leadership remains heavily white] is systemic racism. When we talk about representation within organizations, this is one of the key areas that need to change,鈥� Flynn explains. 鈥淭he desire for expedience in hiring and the prioritization of cultural fit are very common mindsets in the hiring process within the industry. When we’re in a predominantly white industry where hiring managers are predominantly white, if we’re sourcing candidates through personal and professional networks, we’re almost guaranteeing that jobs are going to go to white candidates, which is a main reason why we’re seeing disparate percentages of racial representation.鈥�

Additionally, the studies showed that 70 percent of running organizations have DEI goals, though 59 percent currently don鈥檛 track progress.

鈥淎chieving racial justice is a societal imperative, and running鈥攁s an industry and sport鈥攎ust be part of that transformation,鈥� Smalls said. 鈥淔rom the lack of racial diversity within running organizations to the cost and safety concerns of Black runners in particular, there are clear barriers to participation and inclusion that continue to be unaddressed that serve as a starting point from where we are to where we need to be.鈥�

Runners of Color: Unmet and Unsafe

Another key study finding was that, qualitatively, runners of color don鈥檛 feel valued as consumers or athletes, due to things like unmet product needs.

鈥淚n our trail and road running study, numerous examples shed light on the challenges runners of color face, both as consumers and athletes, with one prominent issue being the lack of inclusive product offerings that meet the needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds,鈥� Smalls says. 鈥淔or instance, there were concerns regarding the limited availability of apparel that accommodates various body sizes and hairstyles, making it difficult for runners of color to find suitable and comfortable gear.鈥�

Flynn also cited an example from D茅sir, who, during her time as director of sports advocacy for Oiselle, helped the brand release an update of a trucker hat that was now satin-lined so that it would work well for Black women鈥檚 hair.

RELATED: This Retreat Is Helping Support Women of Color in the Running Industry

鈥淸D茅sir] was quoted in the release saying that any Black woman could have told a product team that this was a need; she just happened to be the Black woman who identified it,鈥� Flynn says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great example of a simple unmet need that could have been identified if there were a racially diverse product team in place.鈥�

The research also highlighted the barrier of unaddressed, yet pressing, safety concerns, with participants citing hateful language, running alone, and getting lost as common fears.

RIDC Report: Industry Recommendations

Finally, the reports also included recommendations and questions for running organizations to assess their commitment to racial justice and DEI, including outlining action plans to achieve their goals, tracking progress and measurements of success, and defining what personal accountability looks like, as well as what factors contribute to cycles of oppression.

鈥淏y focusing on racial diversity, we can catapult the industry to the next level,鈥� Flynn says. 鈥淭here are so many published reports that show that diversity is good for business, that diverse work teams perform better, and that they’re significantly more innovative. The companies that embrace racial diversity are the ones that are going to shape the future of our industry. They are going to be the ones that win in the long-term.鈥�

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One-third of Americans鈥攊ncluding 28 million children鈥攄on鈥檛 have a park, or other natural area, within a 10 minute walk of their home. And most areas lacking in parks are home to low-income or BIPOC communities, in which the parks that do exist are four-times smaller on average than those in wealthy areas.

This didn鈥檛 happen by accident. 鈥淒ecades of systemic racism and redlining have led to chronic disinvestments in parks and recreational facilities in many marginalized communities, resulting in too few parks as well as parks marred by cracked asphalt, barren fields, and broken play equipment,鈥� reads the conclusion of a conducted by the Trust for Public Land.

And that鈥檚 a problem, because access to nature is a major factor when it comes to quality of life, and both mental and physical health. 鈥淪pending time outside can reduce mental fatigue and improve concentration, cognitive function, memory and creativity,鈥� Alicia Harvie, the Manager of REI鈥檚 Cooperative Action Network tells 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淟iving near nature also provides more regular opportunities for physical activity like walking, biking, and playing sports, which helps improve physical health and reduces the risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.鈥�

As we’re all experiencing during the prolonged, nationwide heatwave, urban parks are also a crucial adaptation for the climate disaster. “Improving access and closing the park equity gap will provide benefits like shade, reduced flooding, and clean air that are critical as we grapple with the intensifying effects of the climate crisis,” states Bill Lee, Senior Vice President of Policy, Advocacy and Government Relations at Trust for Public Land.

Since 2014 the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program has been addressing the disparity in access to nature through grant assistance targeting park building, rehabilitation, and improvement projects in economically disadvantaged communities. In its nine-year history, ORLP has provided $45 million in one-to-one matching grants to 50 different communities and is currently considering applications for $192 million more. , and paid for by the (LWCF) State and Local Assistance Program.

What is the Outdoors for All Act?

In 2020, with the passage of the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act, LWCF was permanently funded with a $900 million annual budget. But ORLP remains a discretionary grant program鈥攕ubject to the ups and downs of politics. That鈥檚 a problem the Outdoors For All Act鈥攊ntroduced in February by Senators Susan Collins (R鈥擬aine) and Alex Padilla (D鈥擟alifornia)鈥攕eeks to address. Should it be signed into law, Outdoors For All will .

How REI Is Working to Make a Difference

Now, REI is taking action. 鈥淲e all have a responsibility to address this issue,鈥� continues Harvie. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why the co-op recently launched ,聽a multiyear, nationwide initiative to ensure everyone in America has immediate access to outdoor spaces. We鈥檒l be supporting local projects and聽national, state, and local聽legislation in pursuit of our goal of getting 100m people outside in five minutes or less, no matter where they live.鈥�

REI is directly targeting passage of the Outdoors For All Act. A form on its website allows members of the public to in support of the bill. As of the time of publication, more than 45,000 people have taken the time do that. The Co-Op is also directing $5 from every $30 membership to its new Cooperative Action Fund, which will target grassroots advocacy, and partner with local non-profits to also help improve access to parks in disadvantaged communities.

鈥淲e鈥檒l be supporting local projects and聽national, state, and local聽legislation in pursuit of our goal of getting 100 million people outside in five minutes or less, no matter where they live,鈥� says Harvie. 鈥淭he Outdoors for All Act would permanently secure funding for parks and green spaces in the communities that need them most across the country.鈥�

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Two days before Halloween, Dakota Jones and Devon Yanko dressed up as world-class ultrarunners at the Javelina Jundred and turned in some spooky fast efforts for the race鈥檚 20th annual trail running party in Arizona鈥檚 Sonoran Desert.聽

The 31-year-old Jones showed off the revitalized form he displayed enroute to finishing third at the Hardrock 100 in July by running near Fountain Hills, Arizona. It was the first 100-mile win of his career and arguably his most prominent victory since he won the Pikes Peak Marathon in 2018.

Meanwhile, Yanko, 40, notched another top-tier result in her ultra career by winning the women鈥檚 division in 14:36 and placing sixth overall. In running the second-fastest women鈥檚 time ever鈥攖railing Camille Heron鈥檚 14:03 record from 2021鈥擸anko finished with a 40-minute gap over Nicole Bitter, who appeared to be the second-place woman throughout the race, up until the moment she finished in 15:16.

But about a half hour before Bitter finished, 27-year-old Riley Brady, who was one of two participants in the field of 399-runner field who had registered in the non-binary division but competing in the women鈥檚 awards category, ran an exceptional race and placed seventh overall in 14:45.

鈥淲hen I crossed the finish line, I was happy but in a little bit of disbelief!鈥� says Brady. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to be going to Western States. I always come away from races feeling like I鈥檓 walking on clouds because I love the trail community.鈥�

I always come away from races feeling like I鈥檓 walking on clouds because I love the trail community.

鈥淩iley is one of the most stunningly gifted and strong athletes I have ever met,鈥� says their Coach, David Roche. 鈥淭hey have a special spark that is ready to ignite the podiums of the biggest races all around the world.鈥�

It appeared that they won the non-binary division, as was amplified by the race鈥檚 social media and in the final results. But that鈥檚 where things got complicated.

 

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The Javelina Jundred was the second of seven in which, according to the stated rules, the top two male and female finishers automatically qualify for entry into the 2023 Western States 100 event. Dakota Jones and the men鈥檚 runner-up, Jonathan Rea (13:05), are the pending Golden Ticket winners for the men, while Yanko and Brady, and not Bitter, are the pending winners for the women鈥檚 division, . However, Bitter, the apparent second place women鈥檚 finisher, wasn鈥檛 awarded the second Golden Ticket, based on a technicality in how athletes are allowed to register.

Presently, Golden Tickets aren鈥檛 allocated to the non-binary runner division, but non-binary athletes in Golden Ticket races are allowed to choose a gender of award category (male or female) while registering on Ultrasignup.com, because the race had only two traditional award divisions.聽

Unfortunately, race staff, social media teams, and real-time results were communicating Brady as the leader of the non-binary division, and Bitter as the second female, during and immediately after she finished, said Jamil Coury, co-owner or Aravaipa Running. Brady has signed up as a non-binary runner and competed in the women鈥檚 award category to go after the Golden Ticket as they had communicated with the race organization prior to the race.

Most runners and those following the race weren鈥檛 aware of the stipulation that required non-binary runners to choose between one of two traditional genders for awards, so it created confusion, especially for Bitter, who wasn鈥檛 told she was third until after she finished. The results were updated on Monday to reflect Brady as the second female finisher and Bitter as third place to reflect the correct positioning for awards. Coury admitted the error was on his team, and he hopes this can be a learning moment and positive discussion point going forward.聽

鈥淲e basically screwed up. I鈥檒l own it,鈥� Coury said. 鈥淲e miscategorized them in the online race results, and our team was amplifying that on social media based on some internal miscommunication. We didn鈥檛 play through every scenario, and there are probably scenarios that are still unforeseen.鈥澛�

Brady, who never changed their registration status, correctly earned the Golden Ticket, said Western States race director Craig Thornley, who was working with the race directors at Aravaipa Running to try to fix the challenge in real time on Saturday.聽

鈥淭he change definitely left people to speculate that Riley chose to change from non-binary to women after they realized they were in second place, but that鈥檚 not at all what happened,鈥� Thornley said. 鈥淩iley did what they were supposed to do, but they were miscategorized on both social media and the immediate results. They were racing for a Golden Ticket the whole time, we just didn鈥檛 think it through. In a quest to be inclusive, it was probably a little premature.鈥�

Although Bitter finished over a half-hour behind Brady, she was being informed by race channels and live results that she was in second place for women the entire day, which would have guaranteed a Golden Ticket. Therefore, she had no reason to adjust her race strategy.聽

鈥淟et鈥檚 use this situation as a way to bring it right to the front of the table,鈥� Coury said. 鈥淭here are people who want to feel included, who want to be themselves, and they should be welcomed as they are. As race directors, we should make our rules clear so there is fairness in competition, that all athletes understand it鈥檚 very clear before the gun goes off, so they can track their place accurately. That鈥檚 where we messed up.鈥澛�

The running industry as a whole is trying to figure out how best to manage all of the scenarios in welcoming non-binary runners. The Boston, Chicago, and New York City marathons have added non-binary divisions in the past year, but each has different stipulations about how, or if, non-binary runners can earn prize money.

It seems logical that each individual should claim one gender identity when entering a race, but if a race offers only two gender categories for awards, does that mean non-binary runners can鈥檛 compete for awards? Ultimately, races will have to answer two questions: Should there be a non-binary division with equal prize money and award distribution? Or should runners be recognized by whatever gender identification they chose, while also being slotted into a competitive category based on their gender assigned at birth?聽

There are people who want to feel included, who want to be themselves, and they should be welcomed as they are.

Thornley said the Western States Golden Ticket rules will be reviewed and updated before next season. In the case of Western States, allocating Golden Tickets for non-binary runners would mean committing an 14 additional Golden Ticket entries into the 369-runner Western States field.

The intent of the process is to be fully inclusive, Thornley said, but he admits there have been unforeseen stumbling blocks. 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be, 鈥楬ey which gender would you like to be considered for awards?鈥欌�� Thornley said. 鈥淚t has to be predetermined, so we have some updating to do.鈥�

Bitter was happy with her race but disappointed about the confusion, according to Zach Bitter, her husband and coach. He said races and the racing industry needs to develop a consistent framework in which all possible outcomes are known ahead of time.

鈥�(It鈥檚 a) situation that had such a high likelihood for a mistake at some level,鈥� he said 鈥淚 feel bad for Jamil and Aravaipa, as there are already so many moving parts, and they were getting lots of pressure to get on board with new categories, and probably could hardly keep up themselves with everything that goes into an event that big.鈥澛�

Notable Finishes

As for the rest of the results, Kaci Lickteig continued her comeback from a devastating聽 hamstring injury last year by finishing fourth among women in 15:40. She was followed closely by Heather Jackson (5th, 15:42), a professional Ironman triathlete and former elite track cyclist who was making her 100-mile debut, and Kathryn Drew (6th, 15:43).

 

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Last year鈥檚 men鈥檚 winner Arlen Glick capped off a strong 12-month stretch that included six 100-mile podium finishes by placing third at this year鈥檚 Javelina with the sixth-fastest time (13:25) in race history. Amazingly, it鈥檚 Glick鈥檚 15th top-three podium finish in 15 career 100-milers since 2018. Brett Hornig (4th, 13:45) and Nick Coury (5th, 13:52) rounded out the men鈥檚 top five in what was the fastest race in Javelina history.

Willow Dolde, who was the first official non-binary competitor at Javelina last year, based on registration categories, returned this year and finished 131st while improving by 22 minutes with a 23:22 finish time. After the change to Brady鈥檚 registration status, Dolde is the only non-binary runner listed in the results.

In the Javelina 100K race, Scott Traer won the men鈥檚 race in a record-shattering 7:31, while Lotti Brinks finished second overall and won the women鈥檚 race in a similar fashion with an 8:36 effort. Ruairi Moynihan won the Jackass 31K night race for the second consecutive year in聽2:12, while Abby Jahn was the women鈥檚 winner in 2:29. There were no non-binary runners entered in the 100K or 31K races.

Golden Ticket Updates

The first Golden Ticket race for the 2023 Western States 100 was the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc on August 26, in Chamonix, France. American Katie Schide won and accepted the ticket, but runner-up Marianne Hogan of Canada already had an entry based on her third-place finish among women this year. American Kaytlyn Gerbin, the third-place finisher at UTMB, declined, meaning the second Golden Ticket will go to Jocelyne Pauly of France. On the men鈥檚 side, UTMB winner Kilian Jornet turned down his Golden Ticket, meaning the entries will likely go to runner-up Mathieu Blanchard of France and Tom Evans of the UK.

As for the top finishers at Javelina, Rea and Yanko have previously run Western States, but Jones and Brady have not. Each of those four athletes will have about two weeks to accept or decline the Golden Ticket for next year鈥檚 race. In the case that either first- or second-place finisher declines the entry or already has an entry to Western States, the automatic bid rolls down to third place, and then fourth place or fifth place, as necessary, before being rescinded. No places below fifth will be offered a Golden Ticket.

Here is a list of the remaining Golden Ticket races:聽

• December 9, 2022: (罢丑补颈濒补苍诲)听
• January 7, 2023: (罢别虫补蝉)听
• February 11, 2023: (New Zealand)
• February 18, 2023: (Arizona)
• April 28, 2023: (California)

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