Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running Jay Ell Alexander: Empowering a Generation of Black Women - 05/27/2020
After hitting her heaviest weight after graduate school, Jay Ell started running. That was almost 10 years ago. She is now the owner and CEO of Black Girls RUN!, a national running organization focused on supporting and encouraging African American women to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle through running. BGR is currently located in 75 cities and 33 states, and with a growing membership of 250K+.
In this episode, Jay Ell discusses with Coach Claire obstacles women of color face with their health and in the running community, BGR member success stories, and how lack of diversity in the recreational running community impacts runner safety, especially in light of the murder of black runner Ahmaud Arbery.
Jay Ell has a passion for creating safe and healthy spaces for women to come together and live their best life through running. She started as a volunteer at Black Girls RUN! eight years ago, and acquired the company in 2018, while also launching the BGR! Foundation with a focus on community engagement and local programming to support a healthy lifestyle in the community.
Jay Ell has her own public relations firm, and her background in public relations has been instrumental in growing the Black Girls RUN! brand. She is also a new children’s book author, and she and her husband, Chris, Sr., are parents to 8-month-old Chris, Jr.
Questions Jay Ell is asked:
2:53 You are the CEO of Black Girls Run. Can you talk about the organization, how it started, and its mission?
4:43 What are the obstacles black women face when it comes to running?
8:01 How have things changed for the group in the pandemic?
9:52 Is it more of a challenge now for people who feel vulnerable or that running solo isn’t something they’re able to do?
10:40 Do you still see a lot of online engagement with the group?
11:43 What are some success stories and transformations have your members experienced?
13:58 Women of all races are welcome to join in your group runs, but no men allowed. Why is that?
15:43 On a serious note, I would like to get your thoughts on diversity in the running world. With the recent murder of black runner Ahmaud Arbery, it has become glaringly obvious that the running community has a serious diversity issue. Can you expand on this?
17:28 Why do you think there is a lack of diversity below the elite levels?
19:52 Do some of the daughters come with their moms on the runs?
21:35 How important is it that parents set healthy examples for their kids?
22:28 How can the running community as a whole be more inclusive?
23:51 Before this happened, I had never thought to be worried about the safety of the athletes I coach, especially men. But when I asked my athlete, John, a kind, successful runner in his 50s who's also a black man over 6' tall about the case, he told me that he thinks about his survival every time he runs. He takes special precautions to make sure that people don't even see him, like running a 1-mile stretch of a service road over and over again. Do you hear stories like this as well?
26:14 What is the future of Black Girls Run?
27:16 Do you get most of your funding from donations or corporations?
27:55 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running?
29:02 What is the best gift running has given you?
29:56 How can people connect with you?
Quotes by Jay Ell:
“We talk about health has to come over beauty. Well, when we spend a lot of money sitting in a hair salon, spend a lot of time in a hair salon, sometimes a run or your health can go on the back burner because you want to preserve what you have on top of your head, the style that you have or get your money’s worth, and so that’s absolutely a real conversation.”
“I think especially in the days that we’re in now where social media and things are definitely much more present, just skin color is still a big issue as well, just kind of running while black. That is a real conversation.”
“We’re finding women, that they’re almost living like a second life. Now they’re traveling more, they’re running to travel, they have this new friend group, they’re losing weight.”
“A runner does not traditionally have to look like a 120-pound white female. It can be all shapes, all sizes, all curves, all colors.”
“I definitely think children, they do see what their parents are doing, so it may not seem like a direct impact, but it’s dropping little gems that they may take away.”
“It doesn’t really dawn on you, sometimes we just take it for granted just to kind of run out our front door and just go for a run and not knowing what everyone else that may be a different walk of life, what they’re dealing with as well.”
Take a Listen on Your Next Run
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Mentioned in this podcast:
jayell.alexander@blackgirlsrun.com
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