Discover The World Through Running.

Ep.14
"Meaning Through Movement"

with alison désir

“The more you open yourself up to somebody, the more powerful that relationship is… think about it for any kind of community you’re gonna join or any job that you’re gonna be a part of, think about how you want to form that relationship, and showing up as your authentic self… but you don’t have to be in every space, you choose the space that works for you... you want to be in spaces where you feel challenged or where you thrive, and if you’re looking to join a running club, community, crew, whatever the case may be, think about where you feel comfortable and where you can let your guard down and be yourself.” — Alison Désir

For this month’s episode I spoke with Alison Desir, founder of Harlem Run, a NY-based run collective, as well as several other organizations that bring people together around movement and community. She’s passionate about building strong, positive, and diverse communities, simply because her organizations are built by people, and creating a place where they feel safe, accepted, valued, and welcome is important for them to thrive. She also advocates for the importance of mental health, having obtained her master’s in Counseling Psychology, and has publicly spoken about her depression and how ultimately it led her to seek out connection with other people through running. She builds on what she learned through her struggle to make each one of her communities more meaningful to everyone involved. Beside Harlem Run, Alison has also founded Run 4 All Women, the Global Wxmen Run Collective, and Meaning Thru Movement. All are focused on empowering individuals through an active lifestyle.

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About Alison

Named by Women’s Running as one of twenty women who are changing the sport of running and the world and by The Root 100 as one of the most influential African Americans, ages 25 to 45, Alison is an endurance athlete, activist, and mental health advocate.  Alison is the founder of Harlem Run, Run 4 All Women, and co-chair of the newly formed Running Industry Diversity Coalition, which seeks to make the running industry more equitable and inclusive.  In 2020, Alison launched the highly successful Meaning Thru Movement Tour, a series of 9 virtual fitness and mental health events that featured widely sought after experts and fitness professionals. Passionate about community, mental health and fitness, Alison’s nickname, “powdered feet,” comes from the Haitian Kreyol saying, which describes a person so active that you never see them, just the footprints of where they’ve been in powder. Alison started running distance after a period of depression, and, over the past several years, has been able to Find Meaning on the Run.  When Alison is not running, she is working to resolve and speaking passionately about issues related to women and girls as well as mental health.

 

Alisonmdesir.com 

OUR HOST: FERNANDO VILLA 

 

 

From Nogales, Arizona in the U.S. Southwest. Fernando is an adventurer, architect, writer, and climber. He likes to travel to inform his views of the world, and loves being proven wrong. 

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