Wednesday was Global Running Day. I usually love this day as it reminds me of how unifying and life changing running can be. However, this year, running (like so many other things) seems to have gone down a notch or two on the priority pole. There are more important things to pay attention to like black lives, like navigating the new normal of pandemic life, like black lives, like black lives, like black lives…
I runfess….I love SRTT/MRTT but there are some other great great women only running groups out there! I participated in the Mermaid 24 hour relay (check out my review here). I ended up doing 3 “fins” (aka “legs”) – one at midnight, then at 3AM and 3:30 AM (I was still up anyway). I only walked the latter two but it was cathartic to be part of something bigger.

I runfess….I didn’t hit the 100 mile goal for our SRTT/MRTT May Miles Challenge. I’ve been really lax about getting my runs/walks in despite signing up for the Peloton App (which is really fabulous, BTW, if you’re into high energy people encouraging and motivating you in an almost annoying “are you really that excited about working out? I’m pretty sure you are..now I have to work out” type of way). I thought I wasn’t going to make it then realized, I was really only 14 miles miles away from the 75 mile mark. So on the last day, I just went and ran 14 miles broken up over the course of the day. Not bad, but not good either! I’ve been hurting all week. Lesson to be learned – consistency is important!

I runfess…I did the Run for Maud but it isn’t enough. I’ve been thinking about how else to support the current protests for racial equality. For me, it’s less about “bad cops” – my brother is cop and he is a good person and his other cop friends are all good people – and more about fixing the misunderstanding among cops regarding their role in society.
Do you remember “A Few Good Men”? Not the part with the famous line but the one that comes at the end – the one that really says, what the role is of the military and the police (in my opinion) – check it out here.
Police officers are sworn to protect the public trust and to hold themselves and others accountable. They, like other organizations, have a Code of Ethics that their members need to adhere to (see a fuller version here). Some police officers have already realized that there needs to be change.
But the larger picture is racial inequality and systemic racism that is inherent in our society. It’s the reason why white people are allowed to protest WITH GUNS to re-open the economy but black and brown people aren’t allowed to protest at all.
Running also isn’t devoid of racism as these articles can attest to – check out these articles from Runners’ World: here, here and here. Racism is horrendous in it’s insidiousness. That’s why the first step to being anti-racist is to notice the racism around us in all it’s forms. The second and harder step is deciding what YOU are going to do about it.
I don’t have the answers and I can’t begin to process while my heart is still hurting. But one thing that I have learned from running – the more you do it, the better you get at it. The more we are actively anti-racist, the better we will be. We just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Thanks again to Marcia for headlining the monthly Runfession.

©️ 2020 iido
❤️❤️❤️❤️ Irma, you’re last few sentences are brilliant. I am going to take that as my new mantra. Thank you.
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Thank you, Jane! How are you feeling? How is the shoulder?
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Not great, thanks for asking, Irma. I can see this recovery and rehab is going to be a marathon rather than a sprint, aa they say. But it won’t stop me from writing, including something inspired by your post! ❤️
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Your positive spirit can’t be held down! Hopping over to your blog to catch up with you tonight…
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You are not racist because your parents and elders taught you not to be racist as you were growing up. Your children will not be racist when they grow older because you are teaching them NOW not to be racist. “Non-colored” people, even if they are now, should teach their children not to be racist and “colored” people, even if they feel now, should teach their children not to be a victim We have to start sometime and that time is NOW.
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Thanks for your comment, Papa! Racism is definitely taught and it is up to parents to teach their kids about racism. White parents especially have the onus of teaching their white kids about white privilege and that they need to be actively anti-racist. Passive racism is what is so prevalent currently – silence about racism perpetuates the systems of racism. It is up to the people who benefit from racism (those with “white” skin/have less melanin/lighter complexions) to dismantle the systems of racism instead of putting the work onto those who are most negatively affected by racism (People of color/those with more melanin/darker complexions). Your final sentence says it all – the time is NOW! ❤️
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Irma, glad you got the 75 km in but pushing does bring pain 🙂
This is the most balanced and sensible post I have read on the current troubles, thank you! Just as there are killers amongst our law enforcers the majority are there to defend and protect!
Here in my country we need an independent watchdog as police are fully protected and corruption runs deep. We have far too many deaths in custody … racism runs deep at many levels and I do what I can.
Interestingly being such a white person people assume I will side with their twisted attitude and get a real shock when I confront them with a reality check.
If we don’t make a stand against, condemn racist attitudes and remarks then we are condoning them …
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I’m glad you’re able to see both sides, but there still needs to be police reform. I don’t think the police want to be hated but you’re right about racism and corruption running deep.
You’re so fabulous at using your voice as a reality check – it’s so evident in your writing here about what should be our priorities in life. We always have to stand up and condemn racism in all in forms. Silence is passive racism.
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I did a lot of study on this Irma, and if we don’t stand up for any wrong it’s like we committed the crime ourselves. No idea how I intervened in so much DV and didn’t land in hospital myself. Guessing it was shock factor as I was a skinny little thing then 🙂
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Yes, isn’t the saying “silence equals death”? Or at the very least it equals being complicit. You don’t need to have height or girth to have a powerful presence! They were probably responding to your “don’t mess with me” demeanor! 😉💪🏼
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lol oh my goodness, that needs changing then!
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My heart hurts as well, and I wish I had answers. I agree with you though that most cops do a great job, and I don’t agree with the movement to defund the police. I am a role model for my kids and lead by example. I have become distrustful though of politicians and the media who seem to manipulate so much to support their viewpoint.
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Yes, we need police officers but I think that they need to police differently and they need to be supported by the communities they work in. I know in NYC, where my brother works, his building is falling down and doesn’t have any air conditioning (we bought fans for his unit a few summers ago which they are still using – I felt so bad for my baby brother having to work in those conditions!) – their police force is already underfunded. I don’t think police officers like being hated – I know they don’t, but something needs to change otherwise issues of systemic racism in the police force will continue.
As a media consumer, I think we need to do our due diligence and do our own research on different subjects from reliable and objective resources. It isn’t enough to trust one network or a few news channels. I often find that international news programs (BBC, Aljazeera.com) are less biased and gives a sense of how the USA is viewed from the outside.
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