Alison Mariella Désir found salvation through running. Now she's addressing its disparities

We’ve all heard the slogan: Just do it.

And it’s so powerful, because it’s such a simple idea: Just put on your shoes, go outside, and run. It’s that easy.

But if you’re not white, that may not necessarily be true.

Alison Mariella Désir turned to distance running as a way to help her through some personal struggles. And while she found salvation, she says she also found a lot of racial disparities.

Alison chronicled her experience in her memoir “Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport that Wasn’t Built for Us.” She is also a recent transplant from New York City, and she’s been exploring the Pacific Northwest's outdoor spaces.

She’s got a new series on KCTS called “Out and Back with Alison Mariella Désir.” In it, she takes viewers to meet the people and groups around the Pacific Northwest who are working to address the issues of access that can exclude Black, Indigenous, and People of Color from experiencing the outdoors.

Soundside host Libby Denkmann caught up with Alison to talk about the new show, and asked her about when her connection with the outdoors and running started.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.