By Ashlyn Bowman, The Seattle Medium
Sisters, friends, community.
Those are the foundations of Black Girls RUN! (BGR!), a unique running club in Seattle/Tacoma that seeks to spread the joy and benefits of working out body and mind on the pavement.
The national BGR! organization was founded in 2009 to provide Black women a supportive space to embrace running and walking, to pursue a healthy lifestyle and to address health disparities affecting Black women, according to Sharon Chism, co-ambassador of BGR! Seattle/Tacoma.
According to the Black Girls RUN! website, African American women in the U.S. have some of the highest overweight and obesity rates compared to other groups. BGR!’s mission is to lower that number through a safe, supportive and empowering environment centered around fitness.
“One of the biggest things I love the most is the sisterhood,” said Jiquanda Nelson, co-ambassador of BGR! Seattle/Tacoma. The Seattle/Tacoma chapter was established in 2013. Now, the group has grown to about 1,700 members.
Each week, BGR! hosts two to three run/walk events across Seattle, with distances between 3 to 10 miles. Memberships and events are all free, with run information posted on their Facebook page.
Nelson and Chism said they strive to make the runs accessible to all women, regardless of their running abilities or skill level. “So, even if you’re not running, because running isn’t for everyone, what we really want to encourage is for people to move their bodies,” Chism said.
Nelson said BGR! ensures the events focus on movement over running, so more people feel welcomed. “We’re hyping up everybody. We’re not just hyping up the person who has the 8-minute mile pace, right, but we’re also hyping up the person with a 17-minute mile pace,” Nelson said.
Nelson joined BGR! after moving to Seattle in late 2018. She said aside from her husband and children, she had no other family or friends in the area.
“They were my first family here,” Nelson said about the BGR! women.
Today, Nelson has built a strong community and lifelong friendships with BGR! women; she even got a matching tattoo with a fellow BGR! member: The word “Believe,” with the “B” designed as a “13.” and the “i” as a “1” to represent 13.1 miles.
But Nelson was initially hesitant to start running.
“When Black women want to run or walk, the first question they ask me is, ‘What do you do with your hair?’” Nelson said. “And that’s usually a barrier for them even trying sometimes.”
Nelson and other BGR! members wear a Gymwrap headband, a Hairbrella or a BGR! Bondi Band when they run to absorb sweat, shield against rain and protect their hair.
“There is something about being able to connect with women who truly understand your experience,” Nelson said. One thing she appreciates most about BGR! is always having someone to talk to – whether it is about life milestones or issues at work or in relationships.
Me’Kyel Bailey, a BGR! member since 2021, describes Nelson as a big sister and mentor. The feeling is mutual among other BGR! members.
“I would say from many of the friends I met through the group, a lot of us do think of each other as sisters and having a sisterhood and really caring for each other,” Bailey said. Support for one another is ingrained in BGR! Seattle/Tacoma’s culture. “There is just a sense of we have each other’s back, we’re family, we’re girlfriends,” Bailey said.
Together, BGR! women will take yoga classes, explore coffee shops or attend concerts. They also go on race vacations, which they refer to as “race-cations,” where BGR! members travel together to complete a race.
In November, Bailey ran her first marathon alongside two BGR! members in Savannah, Georgia.
“Once you are a part of BGR! Seattle/Tacoma, you are always part of it,” Bailey said.
No matter the city, BGR! women offer friendship and exercise partners, welcoming women from different areas to join in on their local events through the “Find a Community” page on the BGR! website, according to Chism.
“Knowing that they are there to support you and cheer for you, is just really, really nice and really warm and really welcoming,” Chism said about BGR! women. “It’s like having that familiar anchor that you can go to if you are in a different city.”
BGR! women live by the motto “no women left behind” in a race or an event. “We’re going to wait until the last lady finishes and then we’ll leave,” Bailey said.
This sense of support and inclusivity is what makes BGR! more than a running club. It is a community, according to Bailey.
“If someone has anxiety, we want to let them know that they’re not alone and this is more than just a run group. We’re a supportive group and we are here for them,” Bailey said to those who may be nervous to join BGR! or start running. All it takes is showing up.
To become a member Black Girls RUN! Seattle/Tacoma, request to join the local Facebook page and answer a few short questions.
Source: Seattle Medium
