How you do anything is how you do everything.
This saying is a mantra at our house and in our work, a reminder to ourselves and our teams that every action and thought and word counts, that everything we do counts. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to this in his famous street sweeper speech, the Stoics made a whole philosophy of this principle, and if you close your eyes right now and bring to mind the way the wisest person you know moves through the world you'll likely agree this saying applies to them as well. As it is with any wisdom, etching it in marker on a whiteboard or in an Instagram bio or as a permanent tattoo doesn't make it so. Wisdom is not etched but forged with presence and constant forgiveness of self and otherws, moment-to-moment awareness of the highest aspiration then setting off to bring it to life with action. Am I the person that bends down to pick up that piece of trash on the trail or run past it? Do I return the cart at the grocery store or leave it chilling next to my car? Do I blame others for my suffering and the suffering in the world or look in the mirror at ways that I'm contributing to it?
We've written about who we are as a Woodlands Running community and on our aspirations to understand Body Justice and our goal to create a safe, welcoming, inclusive, diverse community that reflects all Bodies. Now, we set out to put action to our words by seeking out local and global experts in the area to first understand and do an audit on the language and actions we take as a community group then taking responsibility for recruiting more diverse Bodies to join us. My palms are sweating as I write this knowing that I, as a cisgender, white woman have so much to learn and don't want to come across as an expert in anything besides having a relentless learner's mindset and make an effort toward humility. We're not buying the bullshit "Oregon/trail running so white" rhetoric to explain away the lack of diversity in our sport. We can do better than that, we have to, we want to, we will and are.
We are proud to announce the members of our first ever Woodlands Endurance Team, woohoo! We are proud of the diversity in gender and life experience and encourage you to read through their bios to learn more about their differences and commonalities; most importantly a common shared love for the sport of trail running and connecting with others. We're also proud that this is a team unlike any other as the applicants were not chosen based on speed or distance or experience or how "cool" they appear on social media, but rather how willing they are to volunteer at races, lead group runs where no one is left behind, advocate for all Bodies in sport and to celebrate others. Be sure to give the Team members congrats and a follow to connect on the socials and get to know them better.
Do you have ideas or ways we can extend to new diverse groups in Southern Oregon? How about books or resources we can read/listen to that can extend our empathy and activism? Please email Hayley at woodlandsrunningco@gmail.com and/or share this post with someone who may be also to help us on this mission.
Congrats again to the 2021 Woodlands Running Co. Endurance Team (or WRCET aka "work-it)!
