The Running for Real Podcast Maria Solis Belizaire: No Runners Left Behind; Founder of Latinos Run - R4R 246
"How do I find a group to train with? I don't feel comfortable doing this alone, do you know any, any Latino groups?" These are the questions Maria Solis Belizaire asked when she realized she wanted to run a marathon but didn't know where to start. Today, she's the founder of two organizations, Latinos Run and Latinas Run which support over 25,000 runners across the USA in cities including New York, Phoenix, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, and more.
Latinos Run is a global movement bringing together Latinos through running and fitness to lead healthier lives and inclusive running spaces. Latinos Run and Latinas Run celebrate the multicultural communities that make up Latin countries and create welcoming atmospheres for all runners no matter where you're from or what pace you go.
"It's not about just the Latino community or the Black community. We need everybody to kind of lift each other up. So we always welcome everybody. We have a lot of people who are not Latino within our running group and we are all for it. We welcome everybody." –Maria Solis Belizaire
In this episode we cover…
- Maria's story of growing up with running as part of her life but not finding an inclusive community or guidance as a kid resulted in her quitting the sport. Fast forward and she turned this obstacle into an opportunity to start her own inclusive organization, Latinos Run, which today supports over 25,000 runners of all different cultures, not just Latinos.
- The incredible variety of cultures within the Latino community. "You have people from Central America, South America, the islands like Puerto Rico. It's an extremely mixed and diverse community. And even within that community, you can see people from Argentina who are maybe typically more white than those from Dominican Republic who might be more culturally mixed with Indigenous or African roots. So we are very, very different."
- Maria shares about growing up in South Florida being surrounded by mostly Cubans and it wasn't until she got to New York that she started learning on her own and asking what Hispanic means, what Latino means, why some Hispanic or Latino countries have more African roots, others more Indigenous, and others more white.
- Faces and paces. How being inclusive in running doesn't only mean creating inclusive spaces for people of all cultures, but all paces too. Of not leaving anyone behind no matter if they're running a 15 or 18 minute pace or if they have a disability. She shares the story of a man who finished a 5K with a walker and cried at the end because he felt so supported.
- How she's constantly up against misconceptions from the Latino community itself that Latinos are fat and Latinos don't run so they don't belong in the sport. When in reality Latinos have been running for thousands of years.
- Running with Latinos Run sometimes becomes like a party. Everyone's having a great time and many families show up, not just individuals. It's a very welcoming atmosphere.
- The story of Maria's father who for the majority of his life has run on his treadmill every day, but doesn't feel safe running outside even in his own neighborhood so he won't attend races.
- Latinos account for one of the largest growing groups in the country, making up 52% of the US population growth(2019) yet running and health brands are leaving them out despite Latinos growing purchasing power. They also make up minimal percentages of road races and even less in trail races.
- There is a positive shift happening where the Latino community is becoming healthier and we're seeing a change within the general running community being more inclusive.
Maria Solis Belizaire Instagram
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Thank you to Maria, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.