015 Carolyn Su - Promoting Diversity & Inclusion in the Running Community

Episode Summary

Carolyn Su has established herself in the world of running as a resource, inspiration, and advocate for change. Carolyn is the creator of DiverseWeRun, an Instagram page that amplifies the stories of Black, Indiginous, People of Color (BIPOC) runners and advocates for racial representation, equity and inclusion in the running community. Today, Whitney and Carolyn discuss activism, Carolyn’s struggles with mental and physical health, and her mission to empower others to show up fully as themselves in all aspects of life.

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Key Takeaways

00:52 – Whitney Heins introduces today’s guest, Carolyn Su, who joins the show to talk about the launch of her upcoming podcast, For the Love of The Run

11:35 – Carolyn gets vulnerable to discuss her running origin story and shares how she overcame mental and physical health challenges

18:47 – Discovering your value and worth outside of your running goals

23:45 – Surgery, COVID and training for a comeback marathon

34:20 – The inspiration to launch, DiverseWeRun

39:16 – How building relationships can foster diversity and inclusion

48:01 – What keeps Carolyn passionate about running

50:02 – Whitney thanks Carolyn for joining the show and lets listeners know where to follow her

Tweetable Quotes

“My sense of worth and my place in life as a person - my identity essentially - was really based on a lot of external standards that I had bought into. So, at that time, running was more of a tool and a mechanism to reach and meet those standards.” (16:22)

“I have to, once again, revisit what is true about who I am, about my worth, my purpose in life and what is actually valuable in the big scheme of things - what actually matters. You know, I feel like it’s a continuous journey.” (21:55)

“Right now, I am in a place where I just want to make sure I can go out for easy runs with my heart rate where it’s supposed to be. And then after that we can look into other races. I am registered for the Chicago Marathon in October.” (31:10)

“Every week, I write a feature on an athlete who is a person of color. The whole platform highlights and amplifies our stories and shares how a person’s cultural background and race really impacts our entry into running as well as our experience in the sport, even now as we continue to show up.” (34:38)

“Ultimately, I think what is important is that all of us approach things with a desire to understand and to get to know the person, whomever it is that you’re interacting with. And building relationships with people takes time.” (40:33)