Jay Ell Alexander: Empowering a Generation of Black Women - 05/27/2020

Jay Ell Alexander - Empowering A Generation of Black
Women

 


After hitting her heaviest weight after graduate school, Jay Ell
started running. That was almost 10 years ago. She is now the
owner and CEO of Black Girls RUN!, a national running
organization focused on supporting and encouraging African
American women to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle through
running. BGR is currently located in 75 cities and 33 states, and
with a growing membership of 250K+. 


 


In this episode, Jay Ell discusses with Coach Claire obstacles
women of color face with their health and in the running
community, BGR member success stories, and how lack of diversity
in the recreational running community impacts runner safety,
especially in light of the murder of black runner Ahmaud Arbery.


 


Jay Ell has a passion for creating safe and healthy spaces for
women to come together and live their best life through running.
She started as a volunteer at Black Girls RUN! eight years ago,
and acquired the company in 2018, while also launching the BGR!
Foundation with a focus on community engagement and local
programming to support a healthy lifestyle in the
community. 


 


Jay Ell has her own public relations firm, and her background in
public relations has been instrumental in growing the Black Girls
RUN! brand. She is also a new children’s book author, and she and
her husband, Chris, Sr., are parents to 8-month-old Chris,
Jr. 


 


 


 
Questions Jay Ell is asked:

 


2:53 You are the CEO of Black Girls Run.  Can you talk about
the organization, how it started, and its mission?


 


4:43 What are the obstacles black women face when it comes to
running?


 


8:01 How have things changed for the group in the pandemic?


 


9:52 Is it more of a challenge now for people who feel vulnerable
or that running solo isn’t something they’re able to do?


 


10:40 Do you still see a lot of online engagement with the group?


 


11:43 What are some success stories and transformations have your
members experienced?


 


13:58 Women of all races are welcome to join in your group runs,
but no men allowed.  Why is that?


 


15:43 On a serious note, I would like to get your thoughts on
diversity in the running world.  With the recent murder of
black runner Ahmaud Arbery, it has become glaringly obvious that
the running community has a serious diversity issue.  Can
you expand on this?


 


17:28 Why do you think there is a lack of diversity below the
elite levels?


 


19:52 Do some of the daughters come with their moms on the runs?


 


21:35 How important is it that parents set healthy examples for
their kids?


 


22:28 How can the running community as a whole be more inclusive?


 


23:51 Before this happened, I had never thought to be worried
about the safety of the athletes I coach, especially men. 
But when I asked my athlete, John, a kind, successful runner in
his 50s who's also a black man over 6' tall about the case, he
told me that he thinks about his survival every time he runs. He
takes special precautions to make sure that people don't even see
him, like running a 1-mile stretch of a service road over and
over again.  Do you hear stories like this as well?


 


26:14 What is the future of Black Girls Run?


 


27:16 Do you get most of your funding from donations or
corporations?


 


27:55 What advice would you give yourself back when you started
running?


 


29:02 What is the best gift running has given you?


 


29:56 How can people connect with you?


 
Quotes by Jay Ell:

 


“We talk about health has to come over beauty. Well, when we
spend a lot of money sitting in a hair salon, spend a lot of time
in a hair salon, sometimes a run or your health can go on the
back burner because you want to preserve what you have on top of
your head, the style that you have or get your money’s worth, and
so that’s absolutely a real conversation.”


 


“I think especially in the days that we’re in now where social
media and things are definitely much more present, just skin
color is still a big issue as well, just kind of running while
black. That is a real conversation.”


 


“We’re finding women, that they’re almost living like a second
life. Now they’re traveling more, they’re running to travel, they
have this new friend group, they’re losing weight.”


 


“A runner does not traditionally have to look like a 120-pound
white female. It can be all shapes, all sizes, all curves, all
colors.” 


 


“I definitely think children, they do see what their parents are
doing, so it may not seem like a direct impact, but it’s dropping
little gems that they may take away.”


 


“It doesn’t really dawn on you, sometimes we just take it for
granted just to kind of run out our front door and just go for a
run and not knowing what everyone else that may be a different
walk of life, what they’re dealing with as well.” 


Take a Listen on Your Next Run


Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes
channel
Mentioned in this podcast: 

 


Jay Ell Alexander


Black Girls Run


jayell.alexander@blackgirlsrun.com


Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community


RunnersConnect Facebook page


claire@runnersconnect.net









Follow Jay Ell on:






Facebook - Jay Ell Alexander


Instagram - Jay Ell Alexander


Twitter - Jay Ell Alexander


 


Facebook - Black Girls Run


Instagram - Black Girls Run


Twitter - Black Girls Run








We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.


The best way you can show your support of the show is to share
this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your
Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.


The more people who know about the podcast and download the
episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running
influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which
hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!