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Speaker 1: Surround yourself with cheerleaders that cheer you on and speak

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Speaker 1: your name louder even when you're not in the room.

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Speaker 2: Hey Hurdlers, Emily Abadi here bringing you episode one and

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Speaker 2: eighteen of Hurdle, a wellness focused podcast where I sit

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Speaker 2: down with inspiring individuals to talk about everything up from

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Speaker 2: their big wins to how they've gotten through some of

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Speaker 2: life's toughest moments. On the show, you can expect a vulnerability, motivation,

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Speaker 2: and candid discussions with everyone from top athletes to aspiring

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Speaker 2: entrepreneurs and what it really takes to follow your passions.

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Speaker 2: My mission is simple to inspire you to be your

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Speaker 2: best self, move with intention, and have some fun along

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Speaker 2: the way. Today's episode, I am chatting with j. L. Alexander.

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Speaker 2: She is the CEO and owner of Black Girls Run,

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Speaker 2: an organization whose goal is to encourage African American women

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Speaker 2: to make fitness and healthy living a priority. In today's episode,

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Speaker 2: we talk about some staggering statistics. According to the CDC,

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Speaker 2: eighty percent of African American women are overweight and so

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Speaker 2: bgr Black Girls Run. They want to create a movement

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Speaker 2: to lower that percentage and subsequently lower the number of

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Speaker 2: women with chronic diseases associated with an unhealthy diet and

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Speaker 2: sedentary lifestyle. In today's episode, Jyll gives me her entire backstory.

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Speaker 2: We talk about everything from her upbringing, having two extremely

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Speaker 2: active parents, going off to college, and like me, also

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Speaker 2: gaining a fair amount of weight. And what I found

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Speaker 2: really refreshing and interesting about Jl's story is that it's

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Speaker 2: a prime example that carrying weight can feel different for

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Speaker 2: different people. So for JL, she was extremely happy in college,

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Speaker 2: even with you know this little extra love, so to speak,

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Speaker 2: whereas I, for instance, felt really stuck and alone and

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Speaker 2: knew that I needed to make a change at that time.

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Speaker 2: Jalle goes on to tell me that after college and

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Speaker 2: she got into the working world, that's when she felt

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Speaker 2: as though she wasn't her best, that the weight was

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Speaker 2: starting to really hold her back a little bit, and

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Speaker 2: that's when she got into running. We laugh a bit

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Speaker 2: talking about those first few runs, that first race, her

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Speaker 2: now husband banditing alongside of her to motivate her and

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Speaker 2: help her make it through, and she tells me all

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Speaker 2: about her journey to finding Black Girls Run and how

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Speaker 2: she got so heavily involved in the organization, and we

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Speaker 2: also talk about how the current events are impacting her,

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Speaker 2: her family and Black Girls Run and what they're doing

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Speaker 2: to show up. There is a little little little bit

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Speaker 2: I'll just say this upfront of technical wonkiness in this episode,

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Speaker 2: but trust me, stick with it. It's well worth the listen.

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Speaker 2: This was the recording I've been looking forward to since

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Speaker 2: meeting JL down in Atlanta for the Olympic Marathon trials.

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Speaker 2: We sat down to on a panel discussion, including past

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Speaker 2: hurdler Des London. Before we get into the swing of

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Speaker 2: things today, I do want to take a moment to

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Speaker 2: slash Hurdle to get yours today, No code necessary. As always,

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Speaker 2: please comment, post, share your thoughts, your feelings on social

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Speaker 2: media by tagging at Hurdle Podcasts and at Emily a Body.

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Speaker 2: If you have a hurdle moment of your own to share,

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Speaker 2: or you just want to say hi, I'm always available

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Speaker 2: over email. It's Emily at hurdle dot us. And last,

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Speaker 2: but not least, I do one more time. Need to

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Speaker 2: call out the Black Girls Run Challenge, the one Million

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Speaker 2: Miles for Justice. I set up a team just for

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Speaker 2: the hurdlers. It's called Hurdlers and basically what it is is,

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Speaker 2: with your twenty five dollars registration fee, you decide on

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Speaker 2: the number of miles you would like to pledge. You

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Speaker 2: register for the virtual event, you complete your mileage, you

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Speaker 2: track your mileage, and it's just a way for us

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Speaker 2: to come together stand for what's right, raise awareness and

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Speaker 2: of course also raise some funds. The net revenue from

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Speaker 2: this event goes toward the NAACP, and I'm so amped

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Speaker 2: for you to join us. It goes until July fifteenth,

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Speaker 2: So the link to register is in the show notes

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Speaker 2: and the password for Team Hurdlers is hurdle moment. And

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Speaker 2: with that, let's get to hurdling.

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Speaker 1: Today.

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Speaker 2: I am sitting down with JL Alexander. She's the CEO

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Speaker 2: of Black Girls Run. Jail Hicky, I'm doing great?

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Speaker 1: How about you?

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Speaker 2: You know what? I am actually really good now that

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Speaker 2: we're like sitting in one place on the sounds good

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Speaker 2: first and foremost, why don't you kick us off by

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Speaker 2: talking to me about what Black Girls Run is?

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Speaker 1: Sure? So we are Black Girls Run. We are a

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Speaker 1: dynamic organization, no bias at all, but we are a

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Speaker 1: national run organization. We have been around since two thousand

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Speaker 1: and nine and our mission is to empower women with

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Speaker 1: an emphasis and focus on African American women to make

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Speaker 1: healthy living and physical activity a lifestyle. And we do

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Speaker 1: that through the sport of running, through community building, sisterhood

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Speaker 1: and all walks of life can join us. Our only

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Speaker 1: role is no men allowed, but blue, black, green, or yellow.

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Speaker 1: You can join us on the pavement and help bring

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Speaker 1: awareness to just the statistics that impact the health statistics

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Speaker 1: that impact the Black community.

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Speaker 2: So let's talk about those health statistics. I read on

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Speaker 2: the Black Girls Run website that the stat that you

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Speaker 2: lead off with is that African American women have the

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Speaker 2: highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other

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Speaker 2: groups in the US.

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Speaker 1: Right yep. Four out of five women are considered obese

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Speaker 1: are overweight, And obviously when you are carrying more wheat

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Speaker 1: sometimes that lends to other issues like high blood pressure

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Speaker 1: or diabetes, but even things that may not be weight related,

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Speaker 1: so like breast cancer and ovarian cancer and even most

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Speaker 1: recently COVID nineteen, Black people are at the top of

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Speaker 1: the charts again because of those pre existing conditions. So

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Speaker 1: we just culturally, we've been just the people that have

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Speaker 1: been unhealthy for a long time, candidly speaking, and so

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Speaker 1: our mission is really to start changing those numbers and

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Speaker 1: start impacting communities to really make us a healthier people.

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Speaker 2: I love that, So let's dial it back because I

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Speaker 2: feel like when I talk to individuals about that, my

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Speaker 2: personal passions are health and fitness. The first question that

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Speaker 2: I get is okay, So have you always felt this way?

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Speaker 2: So now I'm turning the table, I'm bringing it to you.

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Speaker 2: Talk to me about where you grew up. I know

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Speaker 2: now you live in Richmond, but give me your beginnings.

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Speaker 1: So I was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia. Most

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Speaker 1: folks know us as the tide water right on the water.

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Speaker 1: I've been in Richmond for a little over ten years now,

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Speaker 1: but grew up just a regular childhood, great childhood mom

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Speaker 1: and dad. But my parents have always been active. My

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Speaker 1: parents met on the tennis court and they are still

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Speaker 1: seventy and seventy five, very avid tennis players. As much

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Speaker 1: as I might not admit it before, I guess before

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Speaker 1: becoming grown teenage years, I wouldn't have said that health

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Speaker 1: and fitness was an impact on my life or was

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Speaker 1: a priority. But now that I look back now, my

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Speaker 1: parents definitely emphasized that early on, so always playing sports.

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Speaker 1: My mom was a health and physic, a professor at

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Speaker 1: a historically black college, and like I said, my dad

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Speaker 1: played overseas basketball, played college basketball. So physical activity has

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Speaker 1: always been at the forefront, and we've always just kind

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Speaker 1: of talked about just healthy eating and so forth, And

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Speaker 1: obviously with my mom coming from an academia background, that's

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Speaker 1: always a conversation as well. So she kept this active

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Speaker 1: growing up and obviously continue to play sports. And then

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Speaker 1: when I got got by myself and started living on

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Speaker 1: my own and didn't understand, oh I have to cook

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Speaker 1: every day, Oh I have to go to the grocery store,

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Speaker 1: that's when the weight started coming. So yeah, so but

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Speaker 1: fortunately healthy living and physical activity has actually been a

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Speaker 1: part of my lifestyle for as long as I can remember.

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Speaker 2: I'd love to dive in if you don't mind a

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Speaker 2: little bit to that's when the weight started coming and

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Speaker 2: where your head was at at that time. Because for me,

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Speaker 2: for example, I know when I was overweight in college.

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Speaker 2: It wasn't like I didn't know it right, Like I

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Speaker 2: knew that I was overweight. I knew that I wasn't happy.

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Speaker 2: It was bigger than just a number on the scale.

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Speaker 2: I felt like I didn't want to take photos of

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Speaker 2: myself sometimes I felt really self conscious about like the

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Speaker 2: clothes I would wear and where I would go out

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Speaker 2: at night, and et cetera, et cetera. And so for you,

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Speaker 2: when you felt like that was getting out of hand,

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Speaker 2: did you find that it was manifesting in other ways.

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Speaker 2: Did you feel really self conscious H.

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Speaker 1: If I think back. I definitely put on the freshman

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Speaker 1: fifteen for sure in college, but I don't know if

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Speaker 1: it really impacted. I don't know if it really impacted

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Speaker 1: like my outward expressions or outward feelings. I was like

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Speaker 1: on my own, I was College was just a ton

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Speaker 1: of fun, and so I don't think it really The

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Speaker 1: weight really started impacting me until like after college and

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Speaker 1: I was in the real world a little bit older,

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Speaker 1: and the weight wasn't coming off as easy as it

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Speaker 1: once was before. I think that's when it made a difference.

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Speaker 1: So my weight fluctuated through college, but I was always

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Speaker 1: if you would, I'm five ten, so the weight really

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Speaker 1: didn't start showing until you know, twenty twenty five pounds

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Speaker 1: because I was more so tall and lean for so long.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, no, I totally hear you, And I think

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Speaker 2: there's a big difference obviously. I mean there are so

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Speaker 2: many different healthy weights, like there's no like one number

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Speaker 2: that's good for everyone, of course, and for me in

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Speaker 2: my experience, I noticed that I was just like actually unhappy,

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Speaker 2: which is why the weight was more so an issue

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Speaker 2: aside from the general health concerns, But for you, it

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Speaker 2: sounds like, you know, you felt really confident in who

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Speaker 2: you were, which is just a really special, special thing.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think the the weight really didn't change

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Speaker 1: until later on til like I kind of say it now,

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Speaker 1: until life like really started happening. I think in college

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Speaker 1: I was still fun still well I'm not not to

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Speaker 1: say that I'm not fun now, but you know, college,

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Speaker 1: you didn't have real responsibilities and you were still kind

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Speaker 1: of like a just a child just learning to figure

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Speaker 1: out life, and life really wasn't coming at you yet.

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Speaker 1: And so I think that's when it, really, like I said,

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Speaker 1: started impacting me after college, when you start looking for

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Speaker 1: a job, you get in the routine of a nine

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Speaker 1: to five, you get real bills, you move out the house,

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Speaker 1: and it's like, hold on, I just turned to an

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Speaker 1: adult overnight, and I don't know how to process this.

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Speaker 1: And then that's when I think I started going to

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Speaker 1: food for more comfort and not really you know, dealing

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Speaker 1: with portion controls. And then I met my now husband.

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Speaker 1: Of course, you put on that happy weight, So it

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Speaker 1: was a lot of things happening immediately after graduating from college.

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Speaker 1: That started to attribute more to my emotions and how

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Speaker 1: I reacted to certain situations that I found comfort and food.

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Speaker 1: And then I was like, okay, now this weight is

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Speaker 1: really an issue, so we have to do something about it.

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Speaker 1: Did you have like.

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Speaker 2: A specific moment where you kind of came to terms

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Speaker 2: with that.

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Speaker 1: I think I hit now this is almost I guess

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Speaker 1: a brush on my own shoulder to say good job.

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Speaker 1: But my then heavyweight was two thirty seven, and I

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Speaker 1: could and I could feel a difference in my body.

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Speaker 1: And that's when my husband and I were in our

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Speaker 1: prime of you know, the honeymoon stage of dating and

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Speaker 1: you I was just I was just eating.

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Speaker 2: And living, having a good time, right, just.

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Speaker 1: Having a good time. And then I got on the

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Speaker 1: scale and I was like, holy smokes, like something feels

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Speaker 1: different about my body. And I saw two thirty seven.

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Speaker 1: Now now I say that now I'm a pounds away

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Speaker 1: from two thirty seven, but I've also lost, like I

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Speaker 1: hit my heaviest with my son at three or four,

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Speaker 1: So two thirty seven is now now a positive for

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Speaker 1: me that I'm going back to. I hit my heaviest weight,

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Speaker 1: my then heaviest weight again in twenty ten, so ten

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Speaker 1: years later, I'm getting back to my then heaviest weight,

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Speaker 1: which is a positive for me now. But in twenty ten,

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Speaker 1: I was like, oh, Jay, you have a ment over

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Speaker 1: two hundred pounds your whole life. What is going on?

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Speaker 1: And that's when I realized I needed to shift some

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Speaker 1: things and kind of get a little bit more serious

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Speaker 1: about my health as well.

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Speaker 2: So when you say that you were ready to get

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Speaker 2: a little bit more serious about your health, what was

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Speaker 2: your first instinct, the first thing that you wanted to

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Speaker 2: kind of tweak a little.

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Speaker 1: Bit physical activity. I wasn't. I was almost like against

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Speaker 1: going to the gym, against working out. I just wasn't

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Speaker 1: physically active at all. I was going through grad school

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Speaker 1: so really hyper focused on my career and love life,

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Speaker 1: and just some things were just taking a back seat.

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Speaker 1: And so that's twenty ten is when I started running.

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Speaker 2: Okay, so talk to me about that first run.

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Speaker 1: I signed up for a training team, and I had

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Speaker 1: signed up for I'm one of those people that I

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Speaker 1: have to pay for something to feel obligated and see

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Speaker 1: it through to the end. So I signed up for

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Speaker 1: ten k, huge tenk here in Richmond, and I was like,

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Speaker 1: we're going to do this, We're going to sign up,

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Speaker 1: We're going to train for it, signed up for a

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Speaker 1: training team, and I look back at pictures now, it

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Speaker 1: was the worst pair of shoes I could have had,

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Speaker 1: the worst clothes I could have had. But I think

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Speaker 1: I was just so focused on finishing. But though that training,

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Speaker 1: that training was tough, very tough one. I was probably

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Speaker 1: one of the only black women out there on the

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Speaker 1: training team because at that time, running wasn't running wasn't

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Speaker 1: what it is now. You didn't have communities like you

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Speaker 1: do now, and social media was just kind of coming

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Speaker 1: into the fold as well, where it was open to everyone.

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Speaker 1: So like Twitter and Facebook, which was once you know,

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Speaker 1: just for college students, now it was open to everyone.

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Speaker 1: So we didn't have that sense of community outside of

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Speaker 1: just the regular people that I hung out with. So

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Speaker 1: my training team was just a whole bunch of white

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Speaker 1: girls and me.

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Speaker 2: After that make you feel, well, you.

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Speaker 1: Know, I come from a very my My community in

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Speaker 1: Norfolk is definitely very black and white, so and I

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Speaker 1: went to a majority white high school. So it wasn't

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Speaker 1: anything that I felt different about or made me feel different,

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Speaker 1: but it definitely made me. I think started to consider

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Speaker 1: that now I'm coming into spaces where I'm not a majority,

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Speaker 1: and you know this, I can treat it as a

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Speaker 1: learning lesson or I can deter me. And so my

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Speaker 1: first kind of running crew was definitely all white girls.

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Speaker 1: But you know, I kind of continued to push through.

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Speaker 1: And that's what's ten years later, I'm still running. I

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Speaker 1: didn't realize, I guess the environment that I was in

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Speaker 1: until I look back at on look back on it

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Speaker 1: now and realize, yeah, I was probably one of the few,

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Speaker 1: if not the only black girl just on the training team.

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Speaker 1: But then that's when I started to build that community

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Speaker 1: of when I see the other black girl that she

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Speaker 1: might be on across, I was like, oh, let me

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Speaker 1: go link with her. So it was a few just

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Speaker 1: seeds that started to be planted in terms of building

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Speaker 1: a community that I needed to kind of help foster

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Speaker 1: that that need to stay physically active, to stay healthy.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, I think that all of that definitely helped

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Speaker 1: to contribute to just just how I continue to just

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Speaker 1: kind of persevere through it all.

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Speaker 2: So when you started running, you you ran a race. Yep,

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Speaker 2: how did the race go?

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Speaker 1: Tim k went? Okay?

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Speaker 2: Define okay?

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Speaker 1: You know that first run you get that runners high,

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Speaker 1: and I don't even know if it's runners high, if

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Speaker 1: that's you like your first run, but it's like you

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Speaker 1: get so excited with all these people out here and

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Speaker 1: people in costumes, and I probably took off way too fast.

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Speaker 1: And then I just had a pair of rebounts on

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Speaker 1: that I think they were more like aerobic shit versus

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Speaker 1: running shoes, so didn't know about like the running shoes

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Speaker 1: of the world. And had like on this like baseball

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Speaker 1: sleeve type of cotton shirt and I had it like

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Speaker 1: customized with like my name on it, and like I

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Speaker 1: was doing the most and yeah, so the run went okay.

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Speaker 1: My husband actually ran it rogue with me. He didn't

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Speaker 1: have a bib or anything, but he kind of got it.

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Speaker 1: He got yeah, he got caught in the shoe and

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Speaker 1: then he just kept on running on the sidelines with it.

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Speaker 1: And he ran it in Jordan's which is even more hilarious.

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Speaker 1: We both say that now so but again, we were

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Speaker 1: much lighter in weight back then, so I think that's

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Speaker 1: the only reason we got away with it.

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Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, Oh my gosh. When you ran that

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Speaker 2: first race and you must have something right despite all

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Speaker 2: of the small shortcomings, because we're like, shoot, I can't

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Speaker 2: wait to do this again.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I can't wait to do it again. But we

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Speaker 1: got to critique some things and we got to switch

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Speaker 1: some things up. So yeah, So that's when I started

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Speaker 1: just diving into the whole running world of Okay, what

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Speaker 1: do I really need so this won't be so painful

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Speaker 1: the next time?

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Speaker 2: And also, of note, I think something you just brought

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Speaker 2: up your husband banditing it with you is really special

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Speaker 2: because I think that's one of the best pieces of

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Speaker 2: advice that you often hear about starting any new activities.

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Speaker 2: Start it with someone, oh for sure can keep you accountable.

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Speaker 2: So I mean, aside from that accountability factor, I mean,

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Speaker 2: we mentioned you were wearing the wrong clothes, so maybe

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Speaker 2: gearing up right. What other best practice tips do you

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Speaker 2: have when it comes to someone who may really want

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Speaker 2: to get lacing up but just doesn't know where to start.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I think you've hit it on the nose.

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Speaker 1: Good pair of shoes, pair of socks, and then finding

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Speaker 1: someone to hold you accountable because it's so easy to

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Speaker 1: fall off when it's just you by yourself. You'll coop

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Speaker 1: one pushing it Oh next Monday. Oh yeah, I'm not

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Speaker 1: feeling it today. But if you have someone that's supposed

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Speaker 1: to be showing up to meet you, or you're kind

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Speaker 1: of in a challenge together to hold each other accountable,

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Speaker 1: more often than not that you will keep pushing.

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Speaker 2: So it's not that long after this first race that

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Speaker 2: you first found Black Girls Run.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it was shortly after, but oddly enough, I was

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Speaker 1: introduced to BGR through my professional side, which is in

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Speaker 1: marketing and PR. And that's when BGR in two thousand

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Speaker 1: and nine twenty ten really started taking off from being

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Speaker 1: just an online blog presence to now they were actually

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Speaker 1: diving into the idea of creating communities, creating run groups,

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Speaker 1: creating meetups, and they started just building up a lot

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Speaker 1: of traction. That kind of grass roots really started catching fire,

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Speaker 1: and they needed some media assistance and it was actually

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Speaker 1: introduced through a professional colleague to help them out with

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Speaker 1: their media and PR.

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Speaker 2: And so where was Black Girls Run originally founded.

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Speaker 1: It's a combination between New York and Atlanta. New York

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Speaker 1: was kind of the first group, and then Atlanta's Peachtree

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Speaker 1: Road Race was the first meet up, so that it's

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Speaker 1: a combination of those two locations.

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Speaker 2: And how did it feel for you to finally feel

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Speaker 2: as though you had like a very solid, big community

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Speaker 2: of women that were not only you know, interested in

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Speaker 2: what you were interested in, but then also without a doubt,

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Speaker 2: I'm sure like minded.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I think back on it now, it's

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Speaker 1: been eight years since I've joined in with BGR, and

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Speaker 1: I was I don't think I even really understood it then.

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Speaker 1: I was like twenty four twenty five years old and

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Speaker 1: still kind of figuring out my place in life. So

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Speaker 1: even though I was surrounded by like some dynamic women

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Speaker 1: that health and fitness was on the forefront, I was

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Speaker 1: still in a community that most of the women that

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Speaker 1: I was around, they were already in kind of the

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Speaker 1: groove of what they had going on for in life.

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Speaker 1: So I was kind of at a place trying to

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Speaker 1: figure it out. And I think that helped to contribute

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Speaker 1: to kind of me coming into my own. But I

409
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Speaker 1: don't think at twenty four to twenty five I really

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Speaker 1: understood the dynamics of the organization that I had just joined.

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Speaker 2: I think also, I mean, running has done so so

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Speaker 2: much for me, and I'm sure at that time when

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Speaker 2: you were trying to figure out, you know, the right way,

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Speaker 2: so to speak, with quotes around it, because there is

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Speaker 2: no one right way, but the right way to get healthy,

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00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:07,960
Speaker 2: the right way to kind of find yourself. That that

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Speaker 2: first race, that next run after the first race, the

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Speaker 2: next run, after the next run, after the first race,

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Speaker 2: like all of them helped you believe in what it

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Speaker 2: was that you had to offer.

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Speaker 1: Again, Oh absolutely, to say that, you know, I say, now, oh, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I'm just going to go out for three miles. I

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Speaker 1: didn't say that when I first started. And so if

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Speaker 1: you see, like just not to you know, three miles

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Speaker 1: is a huge feat. I don't care if you've been

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Speaker 1: running for a long time or a short time, to

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Speaker 1: just say that now I've seen how far I can come.

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Speaker 1: But even just early on, just to continue to sign

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Speaker 1: up for racist just even not even races, but just

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Speaker 1: to continue to show up, I think that was helping

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Speaker 1: me to develop into whoever person I was going to

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Speaker 1: become and help contribute just to my characters. Well, I

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Speaker 1: always say that runners, we have something in us that

434
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,720
Speaker 1: everyone just doesn't have, and it's something special, and I

435
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:13,000
Speaker 1: think that's something special. Was starting to develop and trying

436
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:14,639
Speaker 1: to kind of build that community.

437
00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,720
Speaker 2: At the same time, you get involved with the black

438
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,719
Speaker 2: girls run community on the marketing side of things, And

439
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:26,800
Speaker 2: where does that journey really take you? Everywhere?

440
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:32,240
Speaker 1: Literally everywhere that you can imagine. I was fortunate enough

441
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,080
Speaker 1: just to be presented with this opportunity, just to start

442
00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 1: off as a volunteer and the you know, my first

443
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,959
Speaker 1: job with them, you know, I flew up to New

444
00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:46,440
Speaker 1: York to work a media PR event and from there

445
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,080
Speaker 1: I slept head to toe with the co founders in

446
00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:53,640
Speaker 1: a studio apartment, first time meeting them in person. It's

447
00:25:53,760 --> 00:26:00,399
Speaker 1: crazy to say that now, and literally fast forward, I

448
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,600
Speaker 1: just became their right hand person and learned the ins

449
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,440
Speaker 1: and outs of the business, learned the ins and outs

450
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:11,840
Speaker 1: in building relationships and communities. And here we are eight

451
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:16,679
Speaker 1: years later, and I bought out the company and now

452
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 1: I managed the vision of pushing the company forward.

453
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,560
Speaker 2: So what does that mean when you say, like, talk

454
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,800
Speaker 2: to me about that process and what made you decide

455
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:27,439
Speaker 2: that that was the right thing for you to do.

456
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:36,720
Speaker 1: This is a very interesting story. But twenty seventeen, I

457
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 1: think our co founders just kind of hit a point

458
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:43,879
Speaker 1: where they saw the organization just get to where it

459
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:46,879
Speaker 1: could be under their leadership, and it was time for

460
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:51,639
Speaker 1: a new chapter. And we shopped it around to a

461
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:56,080
Speaker 1: few companies and nothing ever came to fruition. And I

462
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,520
Speaker 1: was kind of always part of the package deal if

463
00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:01,480
Speaker 1: you will, like we'll sell, you know, but Jail has

464
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,879
Speaker 1: this institutional knowledge and she'll continue with the organization. And

465
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,960
Speaker 1: nothing came to fruition. And then at the end of

466
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, they were like, well, Jayo, how about you

467
00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:13,600
Speaker 1: buy it from us? And I was like, oh, nah,

468
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,919
Speaker 1: I'm good. Thanks, but I'm seeing the headache that this

469
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,640
Speaker 1: is cause I've seen, you know, what has happened. I've

470
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 1: seen the back end of things, and you know, my

471
00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:26,919
Speaker 1: life is kind of steering in a different direction. So

472
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:31,639
Speaker 1: I'm good over here. And you know, it continued just

473
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:33,920
Speaker 1: to weigh on my heart, like, all right, so if

474
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:36,399
Speaker 1: I don't buy it, then what's going to happen? You know,

475
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,080
Speaker 1: where does this community go? And so I had just

476
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:42,800
Speaker 1: a candid conversation with my family, with my husband, you know,

477
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,439
Speaker 1: trying to pay off debt, wanted to start a family.

478
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,480
Speaker 1: So the next chapter in my life I was kind

479
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:50,679
Speaker 1: of planning for and this wasn't part of it. And

480
00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 1: went home for Christmas dinner that holiday and pitched the

481
00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:00,080
Speaker 1: idea to some family members, some friends, and then they

482
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,399
Speaker 1: were like, jay O, you love black girls, line, like

483
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,160
Speaker 1: why wouldn't you do this? And I was like I do,

484
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:10,239
Speaker 1: but like no, I don't. I don't want this, and

485
00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:12,640
Speaker 1: I just kept on coming up with like different reasons

486
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:17,080
Speaker 1: of why not, and I, you know, just continue to

487
00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:21,960
Speaker 1: toy around with it, and you know, we I was able. Basically,

488
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,119
Speaker 1: I was able to get some angel investors from my family,

489
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,760
Speaker 1: six family and friends to basically write me a check

490
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:29,879
Speaker 1: and they were like, Jayo, go pursue your dreams, like

491
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,640
Speaker 1: you know, this is what you were intended to do.

492
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:39,720
Speaker 1: And I really believe, you know, no matter how non religious, religious,

493
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,200
Speaker 1: non spiritual, wherever you find yourself on the spectrum, I

494
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,520
Speaker 1: really feel like my steps were ordained way before I

495
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,400
Speaker 1: even made the decision to say, hey, let's sign this,

496
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,880
Speaker 1: let's sign the dotted line, let me go ahead and

497
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,120
Speaker 1: transfer over this money. I think things were already set

498
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,720
Speaker 1: in place for me to make it happen. So you know,

499
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,560
Speaker 1: I wasn't. I didn't. Fortunately I wasn't. I didn't have

500
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:03,840
Speaker 1: to go to a bank to get alone. My family

501
00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,600
Speaker 1: and friends were able to back me and say, hey, jail,

502
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,280
Speaker 1: we see the vision, we see we know who you

503
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 1: are as a person, and we support that. So that

504
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,880
Speaker 1: literally had happened as easy as that. Yeah, Like I said,

505
00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:19,040
Speaker 1: here we are two years later.

506
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,560
Speaker 2: I'll never forget. Like a year ago, I was listening

507
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,360
Speaker 2: to a podcast and someone told a story different than yours,

508
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,040
Speaker 2: but then used the phrase angel investor, and the host

509
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,160
Speaker 2: stopped them right after they said it and said to them,

510
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 2: can you explain what that means? And I thought at

511
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:38,440
Speaker 2: the time that it was so valuable because I feel

512
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,840
Speaker 2: like that's one of those terms I gets thrown around

513
00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:44,000
Speaker 2: a lot and people just are like, yeah, totally, but

514
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,840
Speaker 2: like fifty to sixty percent of the people don't know

515
00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:50,120
Speaker 2: what that means. So would you mind explaining really quickly

516
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,760
Speaker 2: what it means that your family and friends angel invested

517
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:53,000
Speaker 2: in you.

518
00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:57,080
Speaker 1: So, I mean, candidly speaking, is someone a person that

519
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:03,040
Speaker 1: provides the capital or the money to get started with

520
00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:07,160
Speaker 1: the business. So my mom wrote me a check made

521
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,680
Speaker 1: out to me, and I went through the whole legal

522
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,720
Speaker 1: process with an attorney drew up drew up to make

523
00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,920
Speaker 1: it as real as possible and hold me accountable, drew

524
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,840
Speaker 1: up papers that we both signed off on saying that

525
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,120
Speaker 1: I would pay back by this amount of date. But

526
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,680
Speaker 1: just you know, the black and white of it is,

527
00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:29,840
Speaker 1: they provide the money, the capital for a business startup

528
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,080
Speaker 1: or like ownership to become an owner in some type

529
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,480
Speaker 1: of equity. They yeah, they just they just gave me

530
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: the money.

531
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:43,400
Speaker 2: Got it. Sometimes you just need someone to like put

532
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:44,960
Speaker 2: it out for you in a way that you can understand.

533
00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, yeah, I can provide it's candidly, but yep,

534
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 1: that's it. I didn't have to go to the bank

535
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:53,080
Speaker 1: to get a loan, but basically I'm more so in

536
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,000
Speaker 1: debt to my family and friends than an actual bank.

537
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:56,840
Speaker 1: Got you.

538
00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,360
Speaker 2: So, once you became the owner and CEO of Black

539
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 2: Girls Run, what changes for you?

540
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:08,520
Speaker 1: A lot changed. I had to really take in on

541
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,320
Speaker 1: a community and trying to manage my own expectation of

542
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:16,320
Speaker 1: like what's next as an owner and CEO? How do

543
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:20,120
Speaker 1: I just kind of continue quote unquote business as usual?

544
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,080
Speaker 1: What now we have a different direction in the business.

545
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,040
Speaker 1: So for the first six months, I was still working

546
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:31,160
Speaker 1: my nine to five job and managing the company, And

547
00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,800
Speaker 1: that first year I did like an eleven city tour

548
00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 1: of hosting like fitness events across the country and it

549
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:40,600
Speaker 1: started just taking a toll on man. I was like,

550
00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,760
Speaker 1: I'm going to burn out before I even make it

551
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,200
Speaker 1: to like one year of owning this company. This is

552
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:49,240
Speaker 1: not gonna work. And I just had took the step

553
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 1: of faith and stepped out and just started doing it

554
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 1: full time six months after buying out the company. And

555
00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:01,400
Speaker 1: so that that has been that has been rewarding, a

556
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:06,240
Speaker 1: learning process. It's ebbs and flows every day, obviously, even

557
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 1: in the times that we're in now, being so I

558
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:13,040
Speaker 1: kind of got forced into becoming an entrepreneur, if you will.

559
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:19,240
Speaker 1: But yeah, that's where BGR has taken me into ownership

560
00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:20,200
Speaker 1: of my own company.

561
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,800
Speaker 2: What would you say if you had to look back

562
00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:28,120
Speaker 2: on this time period since you stepped into this owner

563
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,720
Speaker 2: and CEO role, have you had any interactions in particular

564
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:35,480
Speaker 2: that you can recall that were really just those light

565
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:37,720
Speaker 2: bulb moments that were like, you're doing the right thing.

566
00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,480
Speaker 2: You're doing the right thing, even when it felt really hard.

567
00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 1: I thought your question was going to be, have you

568
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,960
Speaker 1: had the light bulb moments where you're like, no, this

569
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:49,760
Speaker 1: is not gonna work.

570
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:51,960
Speaker 2: I know you're believing it because you're talking to me.

571
00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:54,320
Speaker 2: So there's got to be those moments man.

572
00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:56,960
Speaker 1: I agree with you, but I think I may have

573
00:32:57,080 --> 00:32:59,960
Speaker 1: had more situations where it's like, what the hell.

574
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:02,680
Speaker 2: Do I want to hear about all of it?

575
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,720
Speaker 1: I want to hear about all of it. But I've

576
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:10,720
Speaker 1: absolutely had those occasions. Like I said in my first year,

577
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:14,640
Speaker 1: I really the women of our community and a Black

578
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:20,120
Speaker 1: Girls Run are just so absolutely amazing. And you know,

579
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,960
Speaker 1: we're a national organization, but really, what I always say

580
00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,760
Speaker 1: is that the magic happens at the local level. When

581
00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:30,320
Speaker 1: you meet someone who is training for their first half marathon,

582
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,760
Speaker 1: who used to be a smoker, who used to be overweight,

583
00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,080
Speaker 1: and now she has a story to tell, and I

584
00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:39,960
Speaker 1: can look in her eyes and see how much BGR

585
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:45,440
Speaker 1: has impacted her life. And so those kind of conversations,

586
00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:48,120
Speaker 1: when I'm able to get into the community and go

587
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:52,080
Speaker 1: run with you know, a BGR Cleveland on a Saturday

588
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,640
Speaker 1: morning through the neighborhood for just a three mile easy

589
00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:00,760
Speaker 1: run and talk to those women, that's those conversations have

590
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 1: what has been what has continued to push me keep

591
00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:08,160
Speaker 1: the fire lit to say, Jo, you are absolutely on

592
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:12,399
Speaker 1: the right track, and so that yeah, that's so We've

593
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,279
Speaker 1: had those situations and I've had you know, I've had

594
00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,280
Speaker 1: those conversations where things are not going so well either,

595
00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:21,400
Speaker 1: and then I have to look at the bigger purpose

596
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,120
Speaker 1: and see and understand that the work that I'm doing

597
00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:27,799
Speaker 1: is definitely bigger than me, so we can we can

598
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:28,919
Speaker 1: continue pushing through.

599
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:32,440
Speaker 2: Talk to me about the difference between just having the

600
00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:37,560
Speaker 2: opportunity to talk to and obviously your your organization is

601
00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:41,520
Speaker 2: all encompassing and it's not just black women. But what's

602
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,759
Speaker 2: the difference for you between having the opportunity to sit

603
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:49,400
Speaker 2: down and just speak with a woman versus having the

604
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:52,920
Speaker 2: opportunity to lace up and run with another woman.

605
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,839
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a huge difference. On the pavement, I

606
00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,880
Speaker 1: always say this, on the pavement is a level playing ground.

607
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:03,640
Speaker 1: Everyone puts on their shoes the same way, everyone laces

608
00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:05,960
Speaker 1: up their shoes the same way, and we're going to

609
00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:09,719
Speaker 1: run the same mile. No matter how fast or slow

610
00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,360
Speaker 1: you're going, We're still running the same out as a runner,

611
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,600
Speaker 1: You're still going to go through the same experiences. So

612
00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:18,080
Speaker 1: I think that is more impactful for me to go

613
00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,640
Speaker 1: out and actually run with someone versus just kind of

614
00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:26,359
Speaker 1: chopping it over coffee and a bagel, and you know,

615
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,040
Speaker 1: the conversation may get a little bit deep, but sometimes

616
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:33,319
Speaker 1: it may stay you know, some type of sometimes superficial.

617
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,319
Speaker 1: But I think running when you're sweating and you get

618
00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:39,160
Speaker 1: your wind going and you're like, damn, I can't talk

619
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:42,800
Speaker 1: right now, like I'm winded, and things, you start talking

620
00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,319
Speaker 1: about some things that you may not have conveyed during

621
00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:50,520
Speaker 1: that coffee networking meeting. But on the pavement we're on

622
00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:52,879
Speaker 1: a level playing ground, And I think that's what makes

623
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:54,760
Speaker 1: the connection so much more authentic.

624
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,840
Speaker 2: I think you get vulnerable right like the second you

625
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,880
Speaker 2: start sweating, the second you start breathing heavy, the second

626
00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:05,160
Speaker 2: that you have a moment where you remember like okay,

627
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,839
Speaker 2: like I might not have this completely in the bag.

628
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:12,560
Speaker 1: You're going down Absolutely when I started getting winded. Even

629
00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:14,400
Speaker 1: with my crew that I run with now on a

630
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,080
Speaker 1: regular basis, if a Saturday morning is just I'm not

631
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,440
Speaker 1: my body is just not feeling it this morning, and

632
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:24,000
Speaker 1: they can see me lagging behind, you know, their question

633
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:26,880
Speaker 1: of jail, how you doing or what's good jail, like

634
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,640
Speaker 1: you are right? That comes really from a point of

635
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:33,120
Speaker 1: sincerity versus just saying hey, how you doing today, Like

636
00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:35,640
Speaker 1: they're wondering why are you lagging back there? Like what's

637
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:39,120
Speaker 1: going on today that has you know that you're not

638
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:43,160
Speaker 1: feeling the run. So yeah, absolutely a level of vulnerability,

639
00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,120
Speaker 1: you know, accountability, and just the opportunity to connect on

640
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:48,879
Speaker 1: a deeper level.

641
00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:52,839
Speaker 2: So after you take on this new position with Black

642
00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:57,319
Speaker 2: Girls Run, how are you managing to kind of intertwine

643
00:36:57,400 --> 00:36:59,640
Speaker 2: this with your personal life?

644
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:06,600
Speaker 1: Hmmm. I always say there's no such thing as work

645
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:12,120
Speaker 1: life balance. It's more so work life synergy. But running

646
00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:16,480
Speaker 1: is definitely ingrained in me. So going out for a

647
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:21,000
Speaker 1: morning run a few days a week and doing some

648
00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:24,399
Speaker 1: type of physical activity every day, I am definitely more

649
00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:28,000
Speaker 1: conscious of making sure that that gets done because I

650
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,759
Speaker 1: have a community that I'm leading, so I definitely need

651
00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:34,960
Speaker 1: to make sure that my actions speak louder than my

652
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:40,200
Speaker 1: words and so yeah, so running has definitely become just

653
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:44,120
Speaker 1: a part of me, and so yeah that I would

654
00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:47,759
Speaker 1: say that's probably the best way I'm managing it is

655
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:49,560
Speaker 1: it has definitely become a lifestyle.

656
00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,799
Speaker 2: Taking a break from today's episode to give some love

657
00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:03,480
Speaker 2: to Daily Heard Listen. We are all dealing with enough

658
00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,560
Speaker 2: these days, and getting crafty in the kitchen can definitely

659
00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:11,000
Speaker 2: feel overwhelming, especially in my case living in this small

660
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:13,640
Speaker 2: apartment when it's getting warm out there. The last thing

661
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:16,080
Speaker 2: I want to do is cook for hours on end.

662
00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:20,319
Speaker 2: That is why I can't get enough of Daily Harvest lately.

663
00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:23,720
Speaker 2: Literally everything you order from the company can be ready

664
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:27,360
Speaker 2: in twenty minutes or less. Most options in five minutes

665
00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,880
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666
00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:34,719
Speaker 2: or feeling a little fancy with their tomato and crimini flatbread.

667
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:39,359
Speaker 2: Daily Harvest offers a ton of fresh frozen options made

668
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,640
Speaker 2: with organic fruits and vegetables that are not just satisfying,

669
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:47,520
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670
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:51,320
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671
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:54,319
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672
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:57,720
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673
00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,760
Speaker 2: two five for twenty five dollars off your first box

674
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:12,880
Speaker 2: at Dailyharvest dot com. Again, that's Dailyharvest dot com. So

675
00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:14,959
Speaker 2: the last time we hear about your partner, you're running

676
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,200
Speaker 2: your first mile. What's going on with your partner at

677
00:39:17,239 --> 00:39:17,640
Speaker 2: this point?

678
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:25,759
Speaker 1: My you mean my husband, of course? Oh yes, now

679
00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:28,960
Speaker 1: he is my husband. Were fast forward eleven years later.

680
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,759
Speaker 1: We are we've been married for seven years and We

681
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:35,440
Speaker 1: have a beautiful son that's nine months old. But he

682
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,560
Speaker 1: he has you know, ebbed and flowed with his weight

683
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:42,960
Speaker 1: as well over the years, and now he's kind of

684
00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:45,239
Speaker 1: in the same boat that I am. Trying to get

685
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:48,400
Speaker 1: more physically active so we can be healthy as a family,

686
00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,960
Speaker 1: and obviously with a son now that is starting to

687
00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:55,160
Speaker 1: keep us even more busier. We want to make sure

688
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:56,920
Speaker 1: that we're here for the long run as well, so

689
00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:59,719
Speaker 1: he makes sure that he's go out to run or

690
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,960
Speaker 1: by as well. So we're still going neck and neck

691
00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,280
Speaker 1: trying to keep each other just as healthy as possible.

692
00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:09,360
Speaker 2: Talk to me about becoming a mom while also overseeing

693
00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:10,239
Speaker 2: this organization.

694
00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:16,400
Speaker 1: Woof, that's a whole another podcast, but in another In

695
00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:20,640
Speaker 1: a nutshell, motherhood has been the hardest thing that I've

696
00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:24,440
Speaker 1: done in my life. Nine months of pregnancy doesn't prepare you.

697
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:28,759
Speaker 1: Or when people say you'll never be really ready, Oh,

698
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:35,360
Speaker 1: I understand that now, So you know, there's never a

699
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:38,400
Speaker 1: good time, but you know, things happen for a reason.

700
00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:41,240
Speaker 1: My husband and I, like I said, we were married

701
00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:43,600
Speaker 1: for quite a few years before we decided to take

702
00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:47,920
Speaker 1: the next step of adding someone to our mix. But

703
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:52,719
Speaker 1: it has been it's been a struggle more often than

704
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:57,880
Speaker 1: not to say, hey, I have to turn off the business.

705
00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:00,759
Speaker 1: I have to turn off being a sea so I

706
00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:03,440
Speaker 1: can focus on being a mom and being a wife

707
00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:06,640
Speaker 1: and making sure that I'm one hundred percent present. So

708
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 1: that's probably more so when the balance has to come in,

709
00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:16,000
Speaker 1: and not even the balance some being a mom is

710
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:19,080
Speaker 1: a twenty four to seven job. So if I did

711
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,200
Speaker 1: not have my husband, I don't know how I would

712
00:41:22,239 --> 00:41:25,759
Speaker 1: be doing this at all, because it definitely definitely takes

713
00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:27,680
Speaker 1: a village to raise a child and you can't do

714
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:30,560
Speaker 1: it by yourself. So it has definitely been a learning

715
00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:34,520
Speaker 1: lesson over the last nine months that I can't do

716
00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:38,839
Speaker 1: it by myself and that I have to understand when

717
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:42,000
Speaker 1: one thing takes priority over another to make sure that

718
00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,440
Speaker 1: I'm one hundred percent present when I'm able to be

719
00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:45,400
Speaker 1: in that space.

720
00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:49,640
Speaker 2: Talk to me about running through your pregnancy.

721
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:54,680
Speaker 1: It was beautiful. My pregnancy was so awesome. I'll go

722
00:41:54,800 --> 00:42:01,239
Speaker 1: back to being pregnant any day. Pregnancy was beautiful. This

723
00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:04,319
Speaker 1: time last year. It was this June. This time last year,

724
00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:08,680
Speaker 1: I was like seven months pregnant. So yeah, so I

725
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,680
Speaker 1: ran all the way through eight months, ran a half marathon,

726
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:16,360
Speaker 1: at eight months, stayed physically active as much as possible

727
00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:20,759
Speaker 1: in terms of just you know, continuance and strengthen, doing

728
00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:25,240
Speaker 1: pelvic exercises, getting ready for labor. Had an amazing trainer

729
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:28,000
Speaker 1: just to continue to just kind of push me and

730
00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:30,920
Speaker 1: keep me active, and it really helped to keep me

731
00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:34,920
Speaker 1: healthy throughout my entire pregnancy as well as just prepare

732
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:39,200
Speaker 1: me for the actual labor as well. So yeah, running

733
00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:41,600
Speaker 1: was something that I definitely had to do all the

734
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,760
Speaker 1: way through to stay just as healthy as possible.

735
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:48,080
Speaker 2: Once you have your baby, though, I would imagine that

736
00:42:48,640 --> 00:42:51,600
Speaker 2: getting back and do the swing of things with activity.

737
00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:55,880
Speaker 2: It's what was that like for you? Because for so

738
00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:59,879
Speaker 2: many God, I mean, it's just you're overwhelmed. You having

739
00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:02,200
Speaker 2: a new baby at home. You like want to take

740
00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:04,360
Speaker 2: time for yourself. You can't take time for yourself. Like

741
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:06,000
Speaker 2: talk to me about your experience.

742
00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:09,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, all of the above, And I don't think what

743
00:43:09,160 --> 00:43:13,000
Speaker 1: you just said is any different for anyone. Everyone goes

744
00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 1: through those same feelings. I just wasn't ready for those feelings.

745
00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:21,000
Speaker 1: So my son was born two days after my due date,

746
00:43:21,239 --> 00:43:24,360
Speaker 1: So that was an amount of an anxiety that I

747
00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:26,640
Speaker 1: was not ready for. Because you have this like date

748
00:43:26,719 --> 00:43:28,520
Speaker 1: in your head, and you're like, yeah, he'll be here

749
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:32,200
Speaker 1: September tenth, and then September tenth goes by, and September

750
00:43:32,239 --> 00:43:36,040
Speaker 1: eleventh goes by, and you're like, all right, so what's

751
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,640
Speaker 1: going on? So my son came two days late, and

752
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:43,440
Speaker 1: then at the same time, I was also planning our

753
00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:47,160
Speaker 1: major annual conference for Black girls runs. So I had

754
00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:52,800
Speaker 1: a lot on my shoulders and was really praying that

755
00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:55,920
Speaker 1: I had a healthy delivery. And you know, I was

756
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,759
Speaker 1: able to bounce back as fast as possible so I

757
00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:02,400
Speaker 1: could be present at our national conference. And that was

758
00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:07,120
Speaker 1: six days later after my pregnancy, and I we drove

759
00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:10,440
Speaker 1: to Charlotte, North Carolina with a six month old for

760
00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,359
Speaker 1: a four day conference. So that might not be it's

761
00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:15,920
Speaker 1: common to everyone, and I still don't know how I

762
00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:19,720
Speaker 1: did it. I was absolutely exhausted at a conference learning

763
00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:26,120
Speaker 1: how to breastfeed with a brand new child. My entire village,

764
00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:30,320
Speaker 1: my aunts, my cousins came with me, my husband, and

765
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:33,080
Speaker 1: they were quarantined to the room, obviously because we had

766
00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:36,520
Speaker 1: a six day old child. But that was my first

767
00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:39,040
Speaker 1: week of a brand new child.

768
00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:39,759
Speaker 2: I was.

769
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,080
Speaker 1: Bgr continued to persevere.

770
00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:51,239
Speaker 2: My God, what a woman. I mean I only know

771
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:53,720
Speaker 2: this from talking to you before, but in the weeks

772
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:55,800
Speaker 2: and months that become I mean, I feel like you

773
00:44:55,880 --> 00:44:58,560
Speaker 2: start off and you feel like superwoman. And then a

774
00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:01,800
Speaker 2: few weeks go by and you started to notice. He

775
00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:04,400
Speaker 2: started to notice that everything wasn't coming up roses.

776
00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:08,360
Speaker 1: No, not at all. I would say that I probably

777
00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:11,600
Speaker 1: faced that early. On day one, my son came home

778
00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:15,640
Speaker 1: and I think he was still in hospital hours and

779
00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:19,000
Speaker 1: we were like, Oh, he's amazing, Like he's sleeping through

780
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:22,200
Speaker 1: the night, like he's only like seventy two hours old,

781
00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:25,080
Speaker 1: Like this child is amazing. And then day four came

782
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:27,560
Speaker 1: and he was like, oh yeah, I thought, y'all I

783
00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:30,600
Speaker 1: had it easy. Like now I'm about to cluster feed.

784
00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,479
Speaker 1: I'm about to eat, like nibble on you for every

785
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:36,279
Speaker 1: twenty minutes. I'm about to cry until I don't have

786
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:41,440
Speaker 1: any lung left. And our first pediatrician appointment was Monday

787
00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:43,880
Speaker 1: morning at like seven thirty am, and we went in

788
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:47,080
Speaker 1: there after a night of being up all night as

789
00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:50,279
Speaker 1: new parents, and we looked like deer in headlights and

790
00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:53,640
Speaker 1: the pediatrician just like rubbed my shoulder and was like, baby,

791
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:56,280
Speaker 1: it's gonna be okay, and I just bawled out, started crying.

792
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:03,040
Speaker 1: It was so much emotion, like it was the craziest

793
00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:08,240
Speaker 1: thing ever. Yeah, my emotions. And I'm not an emotional

794
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:10,480
Speaker 1: person at all, but I think I've cried enough of

795
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:14,240
Speaker 1: the last nine months that will set me for life.

796
00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:18,400
Speaker 1: And so it's just a different type of hormone that

797
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:23,320
Speaker 1: takes over your body, I swear. And I started dealing

798
00:46:23,400 --> 00:46:27,080
Speaker 1: with my first few bouts of postpartum depression very early on,

799
00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:30,960
Speaker 1: trying to still try to hold on to an old

800
00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:35,360
Speaker 1: lifestyle that was slowly going down the drain, still thinking

801
00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:37,719
Speaker 1: I could just get up and go thought I was

802
00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:40,640
Speaker 1: going to just bounce back to running, like oh yeah,

803
00:46:41,120 --> 00:46:44,480
Speaker 1: we can just go out and run, and that was

804
00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:46,520
Speaker 1: not the case at all, And I just didn't know

805
00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:50,360
Speaker 1: how to manage that emotion. And so, yeah, postpartum depression

806
00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:54,200
Speaker 1: was very real for me very early on that I

807
00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:58,640
Speaker 1: didn't understand what was going on, and that was truly

808
00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:01,239
Speaker 1: a transition for me into becoming a mother.

809
00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:07,080
Speaker 2: Did you during that difficult time where did you look

810
00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:11,120
Speaker 2: or who did you lean into to better understand what

811
00:47:11,320 --> 00:47:11,680
Speaker 2: was going on?

812
00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:17,560
Speaker 1: I would say my husband. I never went to I

813
00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:19,920
Speaker 1: don't think it ever got to the extreme where I

814
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:23,239
Speaker 1: needed to go, like talk to someone professionally, but my

815
00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:26,759
Speaker 1: husband was my rock. I was able to just you know,

816
00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:30,080
Speaker 1: curse him out one minute and then the next minute,

817
00:47:30,640 --> 00:47:33,520
Speaker 1: you know, love on them and like say I'm sorry,

818
00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:36,520
Speaker 1: and like he really didn't understand it either, but he

819
00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:40,400
Speaker 1: knew he just needed to be just be present, and

820
00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:43,040
Speaker 1: I think that was the biggest thing for me. I

821
00:47:43,480 --> 00:47:45,600
Speaker 1: talked to my mom for a little bit, but I

822
00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:49,919
Speaker 1: feel like there's a little bit of generational gap there

823
00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:53,719
Speaker 1: in terms of when she had me versus me having

824
00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:56,680
Speaker 1: a child now. I don't think you know that whole

825
00:47:56,800 --> 00:48:00,919
Speaker 1: mental health and depression conversation was a little bit more,

826
00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:06,359
Speaker 1: was a little bit more shamed doing her generation than

827
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:08,719
Speaker 1: it is now, so she didn't really understand what I

828
00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:11,880
Speaker 1: was going through. And then, more oftentimes than not, I

829
00:48:12,560 --> 00:48:16,440
Speaker 1: sent a few nasty grams to some girlfriends that had

830
00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:20,279
Speaker 1: had kids, and it was like, so you didn't tell

831
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:22,560
Speaker 1: me that my hair was going to come out? And

832
00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:26,080
Speaker 1: they were like, oh, yeah, I remember that. I was like,

833
00:48:26,239 --> 00:48:29,600
Speaker 1: so why didn't you tell me about it? So yeah,

834
00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:32,040
Speaker 1: it was a combination of a little bit of everybody,

835
00:48:32,080 --> 00:48:34,240
Speaker 1: but I would say my husband was definitely the person

836
00:48:34,360 --> 00:48:36,960
Speaker 1: that just kind of held it down and if I

837
00:48:37,080 --> 00:48:39,840
Speaker 1: was boohoo crying, he would, you know, just kind of

838
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,400
Speaker 1: leave me be and let me go through what I

839
00:48:42,480 --> 00:48:46,120
Speaker 1: needed to go through, and then you know, come back

840
00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:48,160
Speaker 1: and continue to check on me to make sure I

841
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:48,640
Speaker 1: was okay.

842
00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:52,160
Speaker 2: You talked about a generational gap. You talked about how

843
00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:54,520
Speaker 2: things were difficult, you thought, You talked about how you

844
00:48:54,600 --> 00:48:57,640
Speaker 2: wish that maybe you had some more insight. It's so

845
00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,560
Speaker 2: interesting to hear this of a good friend, her name's

846
00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:05,000
Speaker 2: Cassie short Sleeve that just started a resource for new

847
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:09,480
Speaker 2: mothers and mothers in general called Dear Sunday Motherhood, and

848
00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:12,160
Speaker 2: she had just so many of the same issues that

849
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:15,000
Speaker 2: you're speaking about. Just like, why didn't anybody tell me

850
00:49:15,640 --> 00:49:17,759
Speaker 2: that it was going to be like this right right?

851
00:49:17,960 --> 00:49:22,360
Speaker 1: You go to you know, you go to these pregnancy

852
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:26,000
Speaker 1: classes and training classes, and you prepare so much for

853
00:49:26,320 --> 00:49:29,160
Speaker 1: like the labor but and then you get like this

854
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:32,360
Speaker 1: whole dissertation before they let you out of the hospital,

855
00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:35,120
Speaker 1: and I don't even know why they think like you're

856
00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:39,080
Speaker 1: really listening, but they talk about Mommy blues will hit

857
00:49:39,200 --> 00:49:42,879
Speaker 1: around day four, but that's it, and then everything else

858
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:45,320
Speaker 1: you're just kind of on your own. You're responsible for

859
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:48,759
Speaker 1: a whole human Now you're a whole different woman. Your

860
00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:54,000
Speaker 1: body is like going crazy berserk, and you're supposed to

861
00:49:54,120 --> 00:49:56,480
Speaker 1: like just keep pushing and keep nursing and keep cooking

862
00:49:56,560 --> 00:49:59,600
Speaker 1: and keep cleaning and keep being a wife. And it's like, well,

863
00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:04,600
Speaker 1: who the hell came up with these ideas? Yeah, so yeah,

864
00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:07,080
Speaker 1: it's a lot, it's definitely a lot. But we're women,

865
00:50:07,239 --> 00:50:10,800
Speaker 1: we're fearless, we have you know, we're full of emotion,

866
00:50:11,719 --> 00:50:14,520
Speaker 1: and well, one thing that I can say now, maybe

867
00:50:14,600 --> 00:50:16,920
Speaker 1: not nine months ago, one thing that I can say

868
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:20,400
Speaker 1: now is we are absolutely built for this. And I

869
00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:22,959
Speaker 1: can see why women have children and not men.

870
00:50:27,160 --> 00:50:32,279
Speaker 2: From being a mom. Okay, so talk to me about, uh,

871
00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:36,319
Speaker 2: what life is like for you these days, heading up

872
00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:39,800
Speaker 2: black girls, run being a mom and trying to you know,

873
00:50:39,960 --> 00:50:41,200
Speaker 2: juggle all the balls at once.

874
00:50:42,800 --> 00:50:46,520
Speaker 1: It's it's actually pretty good. We've we've hit a stride

875
00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:51,400
Speaker 1: right now, no pun intended that we are. You know,

876
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:54,120
Speaker 1: we're figuring out how we work as parents, how we

877
00:50:54,239 --> 00:50:58,120
Speaker 1: work with each other, what's our cues of Okay, Mommy

878
00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:00,640
Speaker 1: needs a little bit of time off. Daddy needs some

879
00:51:00,719 --> 00:51:03,040
Speaker 1: time on himself as well, so I think we're in

880
00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:06,200
Speaker 1: a stride right now that we're regular routine. And then

881
00:51:06,760 --> 00:51:11,560
Speaker 1: my husband also understands just my life is an entrepreneur,

882
00:51:11,719 --> 00:51:14,680
Speaker 1: that I don't work a nine to five and that,

883
00:51:15,239 --> 00:51:17,560
Speaker 1: you know, some days are better than others. Some days

884
00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:23,080
Speaker 1: I'm completely behind the screen and completely unavailable or checking

885
00:51:23,160 --> 00:51:28,080
Speaker 1: emails at three a m. I think he understands that. So, yeah,

886
00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:31,200
Speaker 1: we're we're definitely in a very good space. It's still

887
00:51:31,280 --> 00:51:34,600
Speaker 1: a lot on me at times, but I have learned

888
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:38,840
Speaker 1: to just better manage my schedule, what I'm available for,

889
00:51:39,280 --> 00:51:42,239
Speaker 1: what I'm not available for, being okay with saying no.

890
00:51:43,120 --> 00:51:45,799
Speaker 1: I think I'm in that much better space of doing

891
00:51:45,920 --> 00:51:48,840
Speaker 1: that now. And I don't have to be available for everything,

892
00:51:49,640 --> 00:51:53,480
Speaker 1: and everything is not an emergency. So yeah, so things are,

893
00:51:53,600 --> 00:51:56,560
Speaker 1: Things are good, The business is well in light of

894
00:51:56,680 --> 00:52:00,359
Speaker 1: everything that's going on just around us. You know, things

895
00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:01,600
Speaker 1: are definitely on the up and up.

896
00:52:02,760 --> 00:52:05,360
Speaker 2: Let's talk about that for a second. It's going on

897
00:52:05,480 --> 00:52:08,640
Speaker 2: around us, right to say it simply, I know, I

898
00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:11,359
Speaker 2: don't think there's like again, I mean, how many times

899
00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:13,799
Speaker 2: in this one episode can we say there's no right

900
00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:18,200
Speaker 2: answer for absolutely anything? These days are no there's no

901
00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:22,000
Speaker 2: one right approach to anything, but if you had to

902
00:52:22,719 --> 00:52:25,160
Speaker 2: to be honest about like the one or two thoughts

903
00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:28,759
Speaker 2: that you feel as though might be circling constantly in

904
00:52:28,880 --> 00:52:31,200
Speaker 2: your head, like give me some insight into where you're.

905
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:35,040
Speaker 1: At, and you know, I have to actually kind of

906
00:52:35,200 --> 00:52:38,759
Speaker 1: like press for wine, like back to three months ago,

907
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:42,800
Speaker 1: when like the pandemic became very real, like the idea

908
00:52:43,120 --> 00:52:47,680
Speaker 1: of when they said when our first race was canceled

909
00:52:47,800 --> 00:52:51,320
Speaker 1: back in March, Like I started crying and my husband

910
00:52:51,440 --> 00:52:53,680
Speaker 1: was like, why are you crying. I'm like, because this

911
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:58,839
Speaker 1: is my livelihood, and like things just changed so drastically

912
00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:02,520
Speaker 1: that we couldn't put like, okay, so what happens next.

913
00:53:03,520 --> 00:53:06,680
Speaker 1: So it was a lot of emotion early on, trying

914
00:53:06,760 --> 00:53:10,000
Speaker 1: to understand, like I know, like so other many like

915
00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:13,680
Speaker 1: I can't go outside, it's a virus. I can get

916
00:53:13,840 --> 00:53:18,800
Speaker 1: sick from people that are not in my household, Like

917
00:53:19,200 --> 00:53:22,640
Speaker 1: what's going on? And so trying to process those feelings

918
00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:27,160
Speaker 1: being quarantined, you know, having to wipe the process of

919
00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:29,040
Speaker 1: going to the grocery store and having to wipe all

920
00:53:29,080 --> 00:53:31,560
Speaker 1: the items down before you come in the house. It

921
00:53:31,719 --> 00:53:34,399
Speaker 1: was just a lot and I think it's it's still

922
00:53:34,440 --> 00:53:37,680
Speaker 1: a lot. I think we've come into a new normal,

923
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,560
Speaker 1: but it's still a lot. Going to the grocery store

924
00:53:40,680 --> 00:53:43,479
Speaker 1: is a lot for me. Having to wash my hands

925
00:53:43,560 --> 00:53:45,960
Speaker 1: all day every day, especially with a young child, is

926
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:49,680
Speaker 1: a lot for me. Not Being able to see my family,

927
00:53:49,800 --> 00:53:53,319
Speaker 1: especially my mom and dad, especially within the first year

928
00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:56,000
Speaker 1: of a child's life, where they seem to be doing

929
00:53:56,120 --> 00:54:00,640
Speaker 1: something different or changing on a daily basis, that has been.

930
00:54:00,719 --> 00:54:03,399
Speaker 1: You know, I'm totally I continue to say, I'm really

931
00:54:03,520 --> 00:54:06,200
Speaker 1: over the zoom and face time like that can be

932
00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:09,600
Speaker 1: taken away from me today if I could see my

933
00:54:09,680 --> 00:54:14,319
Speaker 1: mom tomorrow. So so it's been. It's been a lot.

934
00:54:14,360 --> 00:54:16,920
Speaker 1: I don't think one word could explain it other than

935
00:54:17,040 --> 00:54:22,719
Speaker 1: probably overwhelming. But then I also have to kind of

936
00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:26,360
Speaker 1: change my perspective that this has been an opportunity for

937
00:54:26,680 --> 00:54:30,480
Speaker 1: me to This year was really was supposed to be

938
00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:33,880
Speaker 1: really busy, and you know, I was going to do

939
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:36,840
Speaker 1: a lot of traveling, even as a new mom, And

940
00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:39,840
Speaker 1: now I was able to kind of press palls and

941
00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:43,920
Speaker 1: really be one hundred percent present for my son and

942
00:54:44,080 --> 00:54:47,680
Speaker 1: all of his development, strengthened my relationship with my husband. So,

943
00:54:48,120 --> 00:54:50,120
Speaker 1: you know, as much as I can kind of complain

944
00:54:50,239 --> 00:54:52,759
Speaker 1: and whine that you know, I don't like sitting at

945
00:54:52,840 --> 00:54:56,600
Speaker 1: home and I don't you know, being this this alone

946
00:54:56,719 --> 00:55:00,600
Speaker 1: together idea was really like the craziest saying to me.

947
00:55:01,080 --> 00:55:02,960
Speaker 1: But now, like I said, now I have to kind

948
00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:06,680
Speaker 1: of change my perspective and see, okay, we're actually better

949
00:55:06,840 --> 00:55:10,400
Speaker 1: coming out of this. And then in recent weeks, with

950
00:55:10,880 --> 00:55:16,120
Speaker 1: just the shift in the racial culture across the country,

951
00:55:16,719 --> 00:55:20,000
Speaker 1: you know, that's been something else compounded on top of

952
00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:24,640
Speaker 1: a pandemic, and those emotions are hard to explain now

953
00:55:24,840 --> 00:55:27,640
Speaker 1: even more I feel like they impact me because I'm

954
00:55:27,840 --> 00:55:30,440
Speaker 1: a wife to a black man, I'm a mother to

955
00:55:30,600 --> 00:55:35,120
Speaker 1: a black son, and those conversations have become part of

956
00:55:35,200 --> 00:55:37,680
Speaker 1: our household now and will continue to be a part

957
00:55:37,719 --> 00:55:41,359
Speaker 1: of our household as we raise our son. That conversations

958
00:55:41,400 --> 00:55:44,560
Speaker 1: that we may not have had before. So it's been

959
00:55:44,600 --> 00:55:46,879
Speaker 1: a lot of emotion, I would say, over the last

960
00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:50,520
Speaker 1: three weeks, trying to understand just where we are as

961
00:55:50,560 --> 00:55:56,080
Speaker 1: a country and how black girls run has been able

962
00:55:56,200 --> 00:55:59,839
Speaker 1: to foster conversations even in the running world that may

963
00:55:59,880 --> 00:56:03,759
Speaker 1: not have existed before. But then also just conversations is

964
00:56:03,920 --> 00:56:07,080
Speaker 1: just a husband and a wife that we haven't had before.

965
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:09,520
Speaker 1: Now that we have a sign together and we have

966
00:56:09,640 --> 00:56:13,800
Speaker 1: to raise someone, you know, in this climate of a world.

967
00:56:14,840 --> 00:56:18,719
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's been interesting just to say the least,

968
00:56:19,520 --> 00:56:21,640
Speaker 1: but just overwhelming with emotion as well.

969
00:56:22,520 --> 00:56:26,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean you're doing a lot, and I think

970
00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:31,080
Speaker 2: especially right now. I mean, aside from the conversations you're

971
00:56:31,120 --> 00:56:36,040
Speaker 2: having in your own home, have you had different conversations

972
00:56:36,160 --> 00:56:39,520
Speaker 2: within your organization about how you guys can show up

973
00:56:39,719 --> 00:56:42,200
Speaker 2: during this time or maybe some people don't want to

974
00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:44,520
Speaker 2: show up during this time, or maybe people just want

975
00:56:44,560 --> 00:56:46,480
Speaker 2: to break or do they want more Like what is

976
00:56:46,520 --> 00:56:48,759
Speaker 2: it that you're seeing in your organization?

977
00:56:49,280 --> 00:56:52,040
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you know, it's definitely taken an impact on

978
00:56:52,160 --> 00:56:54,960
Speaker 1: our organization and the conversations we having. We had to

979
00:56:55,280 --> 00:56:59,800
Speaker 1: immediately pivot, just like all other organizations in terms of

980
00:57:00,040 --> 00:57:03,920
Speaker 1: are now in terms of in person, how do we

981
00:57:04,120 --> 00:57:06,799
Speaker 1: still show up? How do we still be a community

982
00:57:07,719 --> 00:57:11,440
Speaker 1: alone together? How do we make sure that people are

983
00:57:11,520 --> 00:57:16,080
Speaker 1: still healthy and active through this pandemic and still hold

984
00:57:16,120 --> 00:57:20,360
Speaker 1: each other accountable? Why are black people at the top

985
00:57:20,400 --> 00:57:23,760
Speaker 1: of this list? Again, like these are continued conversations and

986
00:57:23,920 --> 00:57:26,640
Speaker 1: of why BGR has to continue to show up because

987
00:57:26,680 --> 00:57:29,400
Speaker 1: our work is not done if not it's gotten even

988
00:57:29,520 --> 00:57:34,800
Speaker 1: harder now to still be to still provide the services

989
00:57:34,880 --> 00:57:37,960
Speaker 1: and support now that we're in this pandemic and we

990
00:57:38,080 --> 00:57:42,080
Speaker 1: have something else that has you know, that's impacting the

991
00:57:42,120 --> 00:57:46,920
Speaker 1: black community again. So yeah, we we've definitely talked about things,

992
00:57:47,360 --> 00:57:51,440
Speaker 1: but even it's put us in a different different rooms

993
00:57:51,520 --> 00:57:55,040
Speaker 1: now as well with the whole with the entire U.

994
00:57:55,240 --> 00:57:59,360
Speaker 1: We're talking about social injustices now, we're in conversations with

995
00:57:59,480 --> 00:58:02,760
Speaker 1: people that we wouldn't have had conversations with before, and

996
00:58:02,920 --> 00:58:06,840
Speaker 1: so it's definitely been a shift and has taken had

997
00:58:06,840 --> 00:58:11,320
Speaker 1: an impact on the company very very very fast, very fast.

998
00:58:11,920 --> 00:58:14,040
Speaker 2: Can I ask you, like for an example of the

999
00:58:14,120 --> 00:58:17,200
Speaker 2: conversations you're having now that you weren't having before, like

1000
00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:20,360
Speaker 2: within your organization, not necessarily in your home unless you

1001
00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:21,880
Speaker 2: want to open up about that as well.

1002
00:58:22,240 --> 00:58:26,640
Speaker 1: Well, Yeah, I mean just organizationally, you know, candidly speaking,

1003
00:58:26,880 --> 00:58:29,680
Speaker 1: I've talked to the most white people in the past

1004
00:58:29,760 --> 00:58:33,320
Speaker 1: week than I ever have just with BGR or in

1005
00:58:33,440 --> 00:58:37,680
Speaker 1: the last two years of owning the organization, you know,

1006
00:58:39,800 --> 00:58:42,720
Speaker 1: to the credit of some of the organizations that we've

1007
00:58:42,800 --> 00:58:47,120
Speaker 1: partnered with, we've been talking about how to be more

1008
00:58:47,200 --> 00:58:50,640
Speaker 1: diverse and how to be more inclusive for years, and

1009
00:58:51,080 --> 00:58:54,560
Speaker 1: the kudos to them. But now what we've seen is

1010
00:58:54,640 --> 00:58:59,800
Speaker 1: a surge in organizations and a surge of individuals reaching out.

1011
00:59:01,320 --> 00:59:06,920
Speaker 1: Not sure if it's guilt, not sure if it's authentic,

1012
00:59:08,040 --> 00:59:10,960
Speaker 1: because in the back of my mind it's why now

1013
00:59:12,480 --> 00:59:15,600
Speaker 1: you know now that someone has someone else has been killed,

1014
00:59:15,880 --> 00:59:20,880
Speaker 1: Now that we have riots and protests nationally but also globally,

1015
00:59:21,040 --> 00:59:23,920
Speaker 1: Now you know, why now are you reaching out to

1016
00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:27,120
Speaker 1: black girls one when we have been a pioneer in

1017
00:59:27,240 --> 00:59:30,280
Speaker 1: the black community and in the running community of bringing

1018
00:59:30,360 --> 00:59:33,880
Speaker 1: more representation to the industry for over a decade now.

1019
00:59:34,920 --> 00:59:38,120
Speaker 1: So it's definitely those conversations have It's been a lot

1020
00:59:38,280 --> 00:59:42,080
Speaker 1: over like the last seven days, it's the whole George

1021
00:59:42,120 --> 00:59:45,600
Speaker 1: Floyd and a model are bury. But again I have to,

1022
00:59:45,840 --> 00:59:49,520
Speaker 1: you know, sometimes change perspective, not look so negatively at

1023
00:59:49,560 --> 00:59:53,160
Speaker 1: the situation and say that this is an opportunity to

1024
00:59:53,280 --> 00:59:59,400
Speaker 1: start building relationships and start building the authenticity between organizations

1025
00:59:59,440 --> 01:00:02,880
Speaker 1: and brand and so forth, that we can start creating

1026
01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:06,360
Speaker 1: impactful change and sustainable change. So you can look at

1027
01:00:06,400 --> 01:00:08,400
Speaker 1: it from both ends of the lens. But I think

1028
01:00:08,800 --> 01:00:11,600
Speaker 1: you know, we we hopefully are starting to move in

1029
01:00:11,640 --> 01:00:13,680
Speaker 1: a direction that will definitely change the country.

1030
01:00:14,440 --> 01:00:18,480
Speaker 2: I think like the next logical question is how can

1031
01:00:18,560 --> 01:00:21,360
Speaker 2: I help? What can I do that helps you further

1032
01:00:21,520 --> 01:00:24,360
Speaker 2: what it is your mission is not just you know,

1033
01:00:24,680 --> 01:00:28,240
Speaker 2: as the CEO of Black Girls Run, but I mean

1034
01:00:28,480 --> 01:00:31,000
Speaker 2: for all black female runners.

1035
01:00:31,960 --> 01:00:34,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, it's not a simple way to ask

1036
01:00:34,640 --> 01:00:35,120
Speaker 1: that question.

1037
01:00:35,880 --> 01:00:36,320
Speaker 2: Definitely, No.

1038
01:00:36,680 --> 01:00:39,160
Speaker 1: What I what I've kind of what I've kind of

1039
01:00:39,800 --> 01:00:42,520
Speaker 1: responded to with that question of what can I do

1040
01:00:43,440 --> 01:00:46,479
Speaker 1: is look a look at the end goal, like where

1041
01:00:46,600 --> 01:00:50,200
Speaker 1: are we ultimately? What do we want to see? What

1042
01:00:50,280 --> 01:00:53,200
Speaker 1: do you want to see happen between my organization or

1043
01:00:53,520 --> 01:00:55,200
Speaker 1: what do you want to see happen in the world,

1044
01:00:55,360 --> 01:00:58,640
Speaker 1: And then kind of back tread to figure out, Okay,

1045
01:00:58,760 --> 01:01:01,760
Speaker 1: so how how do we know how we got here?

1046
01:01:02,280 --> 01:01:04,720
Speaker 1: But how do we get to where we need to be?

1047
01:01:05,880 --> 01:01:09,400
Speaker 1: And you know, and I think that's where the conversations start.

1048
01:01:09,440 --> 01:01:12,680
Speaker 1: And then we just have to make sure that when

1049
01:01:12,760 --> 01:01:15,120
Speaker 1: you ask the question of what can I do, that

1050
01:01:15,240 --> 01:01:18,200
Speaker 1: it comes from a very authentic place and that it

1051
01:01:18,440 --> 01:01:22,680
Speaker 1: just doesn't you're not asking just because of what you

1052
01:01:22,880 --> 01:01:25,800
Speaker 1: see in the media, and you're not just kind of

1053
01:01:26,760 --> 01:01:31,080
Speaker 1: what's the word hopping on the bandwagon? Because everyone else

1054
01:01:31,120 --> 01:01:34,520
Speaker 1: has made the statement about how they can become a

1055
01:01:34,600 --> 01:01:38,479
Speaker 1: better organization, making sure that you guys have some meat

1056
01:01:39,160 --> 01:01:42,440
Speaker 1: and this is not just lip service, and that this

1057
01:01:42,720 --> 01:01:46,920
Speaker 1: just won't go off into a diversity and inclusion coalition

1058
01:01:47,080 --> 01:01:49,800
Speaker 1: that we're going to form, that you're actually changing the

1059
01:01:49,920 --> 01:01:54,280
Speaker 1: culture of your work environment, that you're actually going to

1060
01:01:54,480 --> 01:01:59,400
Speaker 1: put some put some meat and bones behind a meat

1061
01:01:59,400 --> 01:02:03,480
Speaker 1: and potatoes, I should say, behind what you say your

1062
01:02:03,640 --> 01:02:07,160
Speaker 1: organization needs to do better. So I think you know,

1063
01:02:07,320 --> 01:02:11,600
Speaker 1: coming from a place of authenticity. But then also in

1064
01:02:11,720 --> 01:02:16,200
Speaker 1: a way when you ask the question that when you

1065
01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:18,560
Speaker 1: ask it to a black person or ask it to

1066
01:02:18,800 --> 01:02:22,720
Speaker 1: a black running organization, is that all right? We don't

1067
01:02:22,760 --> 01:02:25,320
Speaker 1: know what the solution is either, like we can, we

1068
01:02:25,440 --> 01:02:29,240
Speaker 1: can very we can very candidly say okay, racism just

1069
01:02:29,360 --> 01:02:34,280
Speaker 1: needs to end, but that's a big statement like we

1070
01:02:34,360 --> 01:02:37,640
Speaker 1: wouldn't be here if you know, racism just didn't if

1071
01:02:37,680 --> 01:02:41,080
Speaker 1: it didn't exist, So I don't and and and in

1072
01:02:41,280 --> 01:02:45,480
Speaker 1: that people need to understand that it's okay for organizations

1073
01:02:45,560 --> 01:02:48,440
Speaker 1: to say, yes, we messed up, Yes we don't have

1074
01:02:48,600 --> 01:02:52,760
Speaker 1: representation that is diverse, but we don't know how to

1075
01:02:52,880 --> 01:02:56,320
Speaker 1: fix it. It's okay to say I don't know what

1076
01:02:56,480 --> 01:03:00,880
Speaker 1: the next step is. You we we didn't get here overnight,

1077
01:03:01,040 --> 01:03:03,880
Speaker 1: and we haven't been here for a short time. It

1078
01:03:04,240 --> 01:03:06,480
Speaker 1: took some time to get to the climate that we're

1079
01:03:06,560 --> 01:03:10,480
Speaker 1: in now. And I think saying I don't know probably

1080
01:03:10,560 --> 01:03:15,040
Speaker 1: will speak speaks louder and speaks more transparent than trying

1081
01:03:15,120 --> 01:03:17,520
Speaker 1: to say we're going to do X, Y Z, and

1082
01:03:17,560 --> 01:03:19,680
Speaker 1: we're going to give money to this and do this,

1083
01:03:20,360 --> 01:03:22,960
Speaker 1: and you know, it kind of fall falls short and

1084
01:03:23,080 --> 01:03:25,760
Speaker 1: it doesn't have that impact that we're looking for. I've

1085
01:03:25,840 --> 01:03:29,200
Speaker 1: talked to brands and organizations over the last week, and

1086
01:03:29,280 --> 01:03:32,040
Speaker 1: it could be just as simple as you know, they're

1087
01:03:32,120 --> 01:03:35,840
Speaker 1: saying their employee base does you know, is not reflective

1088
01:03:36,080 --> 01:03:40,000
Speaker 1: of the community that they serve. Well, send us. You know,

1089
01:03:40,080 --> 01:03:43,439
Speaker 1: people may not be aware of your employment opportunities. Send

1090
01:03:43,520 --> 01:03:47,000
Speaker 1: me the employment opportunities and we could broadcast them out

1091
01:03:47,040 --> 01:03:49,920
Speaker 1: to our community. You know, it could be just as

1092
01:03:49,960 --> 01:03:54,439
Speaker 1: simple as just collaborating on content, making sure that there's

1093
01:03:54,560 --> 01:03:58,919
Speaker 1: representation and imagery. But you know, you know these whole

1094
01:03:59,080 --> 01:04:04,720
Speaker 1: sensitivity you know, sensitivity trainings and cultural trainings. You know,

1095
01:04:05,560 --> 01:04:07,720
Speaker 1: it's very it's very corporate, and I think we have

1096
01:04:07,880 --> 01:04:09,840
Speaker 1: to be. We have to figure out steps that are

1097
01:04:09,840 --> 01:04:14,480
Speaker 1: a little bit more intentional that create more authentic relationships

1098
01:04:14,560 --> 01:04:16,160
Speaker 1: than just kind of checking off a box.

1099
01:04:16,880 --> 01:04:21,760
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, I'm with you. I hear you, I hear you,

1100
01:04:21,960 --> 01:04:24,400
Speaker 2: And I think and I think that these conversations like

1101
01:04:24,440 --> 01:04:26,640
Speaker 2: the one that we're having right now, like these are

1102
01:04:27,240 --> 01:04:29,800
Speaker 2: let me just ask, like, let's let's have the conversation,

1103
01:04:30,040 --> 01:04:32,280
Speaker 2: Let's like get the ball rolling, Let's figure out, like

1104
01:04:32,600 --> 01:04:34,640
Speaker 2: what is it that I can start to do now

1105
01:04:34,760 --> 01:04:37,760
Speaker 2: that can create this change? And then of course, like

1106
01:04:37,880 --> 01:04:40,560
Speaker 2: let me learn from you, just like at any given moment,

1107
01:04:40,800 --> 01:04:43,200
Speaker 2: you know, you can learn from me exactly.

1108
01:04:43,400 --> 01:04:49,000
Speaker 1: It deserves these conversations, you know, the conversations have to happen.

1109
01:04:49,120 --> 01:04:51,240
Speaker 1: You and I wouldn't have you even met each other

1110
01:04:51,880 --> 01:04:54,960
Speaker 1: if we weren't in a space together that was talking

1111
01:04:55,000 --> 01:04:59,360
Speaker 1: about you know, women in diversity in the running world.

1112
01:04:59,600 --> 01:05:03,480
Speaker 1: And so it took that atmosphere to happen for us

1113
01:05:03,560 --> 01:05:06,800
Speaker 1: to create a relationship to where we are now. And

1114
01:05:06,920 --> 01:05:09,680
Speaker 1: so I think more that needs to happen where we

1115
01:05:09,800 --> 01:05:14,640
Speaker 1: create safe spaces, where we create these opportunities so organic

1116
01:05:14,760 --> 01:05:17,520
Speaker 1: relationships can continue to manifest.

1117
01:05:18,360 --> 01:05:22,560
Speaker 2: When you look back on your time since taking on

1118
01:05:22,720 --> 01:05:25,240
Speaker 2: this role with Black Girls Run, What would you say

1119
01:05:25,280 --> 01:05:28,080
Speaker 2: has been some of the best advice you received in

1120
01:05:28,240 --> 01:05:28,760
Speaker 2: this role?

1121
01:05:30,120 --> 01:05:34,040
Speaker 1: Probably to surround yourself. Probably one of the top things

1122
01:05:34,160 --> 01:05:38,280
Speaker 1: is to surround yourself with cheerleaders that cheer you on

1123
01:05:38,920 --> 01:05:42,200
Speaker 1: and speak your name louder even when you're not in

1124
01:05:42,320 --> 01:05:45,440
Speaker 1: the room. And that requires, you know, just being very

1125
01:05:45,520 --> 01:05:50,880
Speaker 1: strategic and creating again authentic relationships with the people that

1126
01:05:51,440 --> 01:05:54,480
Speaker 1: are around you. A lot of the opportunities that I've

1127
01:05:54,560 --> 01:05:57,120
Speaker 1: come into over the last couple of years in this

1128
01:05:57,400 --> 01:06:01,120
Speaker 1: in this role is because of people believing in me,

1129
01:06:02,400 --> 01:06:06,120
Speaker 1: maybe when I didn't see it in myself, or believing

1130
01:06:06,200 --> 01:06:11,960
Speaker 1: in BGR and and they they cheerleaded louder for me

1131
01:06:12,440 --> 01:06:15,920
Speaker 1: even when I wasn't standing beside them, So that that

1132
01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:20,400
Speaker 1: would probably be the biggest takeaway or the biggest learning

1133
01:06:20,520 --> 01:06:23,840
Speaker 1: lesson that someone has taught me of just surrounding yourself

1134
01:06:23,920 --> 01:06:25,520
Speaker 1: with people that can really uplift you.

1135
01:06:26,640 --> 01:06:29,800
Speaker 2: People come to the BGR website, they might come on

1136
01:06:29,920 --> 01:06:33,560
Speaker 2: over to your social media, they see a woman who

1137
01:06:34,520 --> 01:06:38,080
Speaker 2: is a mother and a runner. When you look in

1138
01:06:38,520 --> 01:06:40,800
Speaker 2: the mirror, what is it that you see looking back

1139
01:06:40,800 --> 01:06:41,000
Speaker 2: at you?

1140
01:06:42,600 --> 01:06:45,200
Speaker 1: I see I see a badass woman. I really do.

1141
01:06:45,560 --> 01:06:49,080
Speaker 1: I really do. Oh, and I say that confidently. I

1142
01:06:49,160 --> 01:06:52,600
Speaker 1: think becoming a mother has been has put another notch,

1143
01:06:54,400 --> 01:06:56,840
Speaker 1: you know, put another notch on my belt, if you will.

1144
01:06:58,400 --> 01:07:02,560
Speaker 1: But I really do see someone that has overcome some

1145
01:07:02,720 --> 01:07:06,840
Speaker 1: struggles in her life, you know, someone that has matured

1146
01:07:06,920 --> 01:07:09,640
Speaker 1: through a lot of situations to become a better person.

1147
01:07:10,240 --> 01:07:14,480
Speaker 1: Someone that is vulnerable, that has emotions, that cries, that

1148
01:07:14,640 --> 01:07:17,040
Speaker 1: has our bad days and then we wipe the tears

1149
01:07:17,080 --> 01:07:21,440
Speaker 1: away and we make sure that the next day is

1150
01:07:21,560 --> 01:07:24,920
Speaker 1: better than yesterday, and that I treat every day as

1151
01:07:24,960 --> 01:07:29,640
Speaker 1: a blessing as well. So yeah, I confidently say that

1152
01:07:29,680 --> 01:07:31,720
Speaker 1: I definitely see myself as a badass woman.

1153
01:07:34,000 --> 01:07:38,600
Speaker 2: All right, we're winding down your jail. Awesome. My final

1154
01:07:39,200 --> 01:07:42,440
Speaker 2: question for you, all right, you have an opportunity right

1155
01:07:42,520 --> 01:07:45,880
Speaker 2: now to offer yourself a piece of advice. Let's go

1156
01:07:46,240 --> 01:07:50,760
Speaker 2: back to the time period where you feel like your

1157
01:07:50,840 --> 01:07:53,560
Speaker 2: journey is taking you one way. You think that you're

1158
01:07:53,560 --> 01:07:55,760
Speaker 2: about to move this way in your personal and professional life,

1159
01:07:55,760 --> 01:07:59,680
Speaker 2: and then all of a sudden, it's this bigger opportunity

1160
01:07:59,760 --> 01:08:02,560
Speaker 2: that kind of like divine intervention comes your way. You

1161
01:08:02,600 --> 01:08:05,560
Speaker 2: have an opportunity right now to offer yourself one piece

1162
01:08:05,720 --> 01:08:10,160
Speaker 2: of advice going through that hurdle moment right now, what

1163
01:08:10,320 --> 01:08:11,160
Speaker 2: do you tell yourself?

1164
01:08:12,240 --> 01:08:18,200
Speaker 1: I would tell myself to slow down and breathe and

1165
01:08:18,800 --> 01:08:25,320
Speaker 1: trust the process. Yeah, that that's probably what I would

1166
01:08:25,400 --> 01:08:29,120
Speaker 1: tell myself then, that you have to trust the process.

1167
01:08:30,240 --> 01:08:34,360
Speaker 1: So often we look at the end goal, we look

1168
01:08:34,520 --> 01:08:37,400
Speaker 1: at the victory, we look at what's on the other

1169
01:08:37,479 --> 01:08:41,040
Speaker 1: side of the finish line, not understanding that there that

1170
01:08:41,200 --> 01:08:47,040
Speaker 1: the pain and the hurt and the small successes that's

1171
01:08:47,120 --> 01:08:49,240
Speaker 1: in the journey. There's beauty in the journey, and so

1172
01:08:49,360 --> 01:08:52,759
Speaker 1: trust the process. That's absolutely what I would tell myself,

1173
01:08:52,840 --> 01:08:53,919
Speaker 1: and just just slow.

1174
01:08:53,760 --> 01:08:58,679
Speaker 2: Down, slow down. Thank you so so much.

1175
01:08:58,840 --> 01:09:01,479
Speaker 1: You're talking to you. This is beautiful. I appreciate the

1176
01:09:01,560 --> 01:09:04,400
Speaker 1: opportunity just to kind of let my hair down and

1177
01:09:04,680 --> 01:09:09,240
Speaker 1: talk openly and yeah, be able to share my story, lady.

1178
01:09:09,360 --> 01:09:10,479
Speaker 2: You can do it with me anytime.

1179
01:09:11,720 --> 01:09:12,280
Speaker 1: Sound good.

1180
01:09:13,240 --> 01:09:16,479
Speaker 2: Thank you so so much. Please take a moment and

1181
01:09:16,600 --> 01:09:19,000
Speaker 2: leave a quick review of the show by clicking the

1182
01:09:19,040 --> 01:09:21,800
Speaker 2: link with the description to this episode. We all face

1183
01:09:21,960 --> 01:09:24,320
Speaker 2: multiple hurdles in life. I want to hear about yours.

1184
01:09:24,360 --> 01:09:26,599
Speaker 2: Reach out to me at Emily at hurdle dot us.

1185
01:09:26,720 --> 01:09:30,120
Speaker 2: Connect with the podcast on Instagram and Twitter at Hurdle

1186
01:09:30,200 --> 01:09:32,240
Speaker 2: Podcast JL. How do they keep up with you? How

1187
01:09:32,280 --> 01:09:36,800
Speaker 2: do they follow Black Girls Run? Give me the details.

1188
01:09:36,439 --> 01:09:38,880
Speaker 1: Black Girls Run dot com. You can head to the

1189
01:09:38,960 --> 01:09:42,519
Speaker 1: website to find a local group near you and then

1190
01:09:42,680 --> 01:09:46,080
Speaker 1: connect with us on social media at Black Girls Run

1191
01:09:46,320 --> 01:09:51,559
Speaker 1: on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and just join the movement

1192
01:09:51,880 --> 01:09:54,160
Speaker 1: and continue to preserve the sexy with us.

1193
01:09:54,600 --> 01:10:00,320
Speaker 2: Preserve the sexy. Yes, I am at Emily Evadi. Hurdle

1194
01:10:00,400 --> 01:10:04,320
Speaker 2: Podcast Another Hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.