Indianz.Com > News > Cronkite News: Native women represent in the running community
Run the land: Native women across the U.S. take to the roads and trails
Monday, May 3, 2021
Cronkite News
TUCSON – “Getting lost is the best part of trail running,” Marlinda Bedonie said with a chuckle as we shielded our eyes from the morning sun, searching for our cars.
We spoke on a recent morning while trekking through Tucson Mountain Park on a mostly flat, single-track loop trail. Dipping in and out of washes and brushing against the creosote along the trail, the Tohono O’odham and Navajo mother and I chatted – out of breath – as we shared our running journeys and spoke about our families.
When we came to what we thought was the end of our loop, we realized that although we’d learned a lot about what we share in common, neither of us had any idea where our cars were.
Sometimes, getting lost can be part of finding yourself. In the past four years, Bedonie, 41, has found a passion for running and representing her culture in the sport. She often is featured on the Native Women Running Instagram page highlighting her half-marathons, 10Ks and other races.
Even when she’s jogging Arizona trails solo, she’s far from alone.
In 2018, Verna Volker, who’s Navajo, launched Native Women Running on Instagram. Just more than three years later, her account has more than 19,000 followers and she’s an ambassador for the running shoe company Hoka One.
Volker had started running in 2009 and soon realized something was missing in the community – representation by non-white runners.
“As I got more into running, I realized how little diversity there was,” she said. “I remember going through Instagram and I saw the same type of runner: the cute, white, blonde, fit (woman) who just ran Boston, and I just felt like I couldn’t relate.”
![marlindabedonie](https://indianz.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/03/marlindabedonie.jpg)
For Bedonie, running in prayer for the protection of her people and family is important as well. “I have family who I keep in prayer” while running, she said. “And everybody is going through a lot right now during this pandemic. We’re losing our family and we’re losing our friends. We have to say those prayers, we need them to be protected.” And as she and I ran through washes and jumped over rocks, a silence fell over us, leaving the crunch of our shoes on gravel as the only sound. When the silence ended and she talked about her college-aged daughter’s first half-marathon, it became clear that she was thinking about her family even as we were just a bit lost in the Tucson Mountains. Her children were at the front of her mind, her prayer in motion. Volker’s experience running is similar. “I am so thankful that running has found me,” she said. “There are times when I run and I’m just bawling. When I started doing ultra races, I would write family members’ names on my shoe to give me that motivation of running in honor of my brother or my sister or running in honor of my dad.” She said that her running helps her deal with loss, and it has become a healing ritual for her and countless others. “In Native Women Running, I have women who run for their husbands or their sons and it’s in that way that we relate so much,” she said. “And I think that’s why people gravitate toward Native Women Running.”
But this commonality alone isn’t what makes Native Women Running so special – it’s also the safe space and community that she has built. When Benodie was featured in an Instagram ad for Dick’s Sporting Goods, she told Volker that she likely wouldn’t have gotten that chance without Native Women Running. Volker was humbled and joyful. “She messaged me and she said, ‘Verna, if it wasn’t for you, I would have never gotten that opportunity,’ and that almost makes me cry because that’s what I do,” Volker said. “It brings me much joy to do that, and I’m thankful for how much these women inspire me, too.” For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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