Caela Fenton is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Oregon. Her research lies primarily in cultural studies of sport, utilizing feminist approaches to consider gender equity in sport industry, as well as digital iterations of physical culture. Her academic work has appeared in The International Journal of the History of Sport, Narrative, and Aethlon. Her journalistic work has appeared in Canadian Running Magazine, iRun, and The XC. Most recently, she served on the...

Tom O'Keefe is a social impact entrepreneur, and the founder of Stride for Stride, Heart to Cart, and Bostontweet.  Stride for Stride is a non-profit running organization that buys race bibs for immigrant, BIPOC, and low-income runners. Their goal is to make races more accessible and more diverse. Tom started Stride for Stride in 2018 after struggling to pay for race bibs and observing that most races lacked diversity - his assumption was that this was due, in part, to the high cost of...

Risa Isard is a sports industry veteran and policy expert. She specializes in advancing equity with and for girls and women, LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and others in and through sport. Her career in the sports industry spans professional and college sports, sports policy, and nonprofit thought leadership. She has developed partnerships with professional ninja athletes, hosted Billie Jean King in an on-stage conversation, directed the premier national event for increasing access to youth...

Tiara Williams is a former, Division I Texas Tech heptathlete and a track and field reporter. She was inspired to start the platform Real Talk in January of 2019 because she wanted to gain experience toward her dream career in sports broadcasting. She began to showcase track and field athletes in video interview segments, focusing not just on who they are as athletes, but also on who they are as people. In this episode, Tiara shares about her own struggles with mental health and why she...

Joanne P. McCallie ("Coach P") is a Mental Health Advocate and Hall of Fame DI basketball coach. With over 600 wins, she has coached at Maine, Michigan State, and Duke, earning National Coach of the Year in 2005. Coach P was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at age 30. After learning how to manage her mental health and continue winning as a coach, she decided to become a mental health advocate and speaker, sharing her story to inspire and educate others on how to "win without losing yourself."...

Lindsley Kump is a mama, wife, fur baby mom, field event marketing manager, trail runner, and the founder of Womxn Who Move. Originally from Hawaii, she has called Colorado home for 18 years now. Road running has been a key part of her life for almost 7 years now, and over the last year, she has transitioned into trail running. It's where her heart is; she finds she is happiest in nature and on the trails. With that being said, she believes a lot needs to change within the trail running...

Guarina Lopez (Pascua Yaqui) is a visual artist and storyteller using photography, film, and writing to share stories of this Native land, the Indigenous people, and the environment. She works at the intersections of Indigenous sovereignty, land and water rights, and colonial abolition. Much of her work is raising awareness about Native history, culture, art, and law as a way to elevate Indigenous stories beyond stereotypes to ground them in contemporary life. Guarina is also a runner,...

Hannah Borenstein is a Ph.D. Candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. Her academic research is about women runners in Ethiopia navigating a transnational athletics economy. Outside of academia, she writes primarily about the intersections of sports, race, gender, and labor politics. She speaks Amharic, can juggle, and loves to run. Discussed in this episode:  --COVID experience in different countries --Post-colonial feminist critique --Power dynamics that elite Ethiopian...

The mission of Kyniska Advocacy is to create a sporting world that celebrates, protects, and respects women in sport. They advocate for progressive policies in women’s sport, enacting change one campaign at a time. Kate Seary, Co-Founder: Kate is an experienced Welsh International middle-distance runner. She has been competing in athletics since 2008. Passionate about improving the culture of women’s sport, Kate is tirelessly innovative, actively fighting for policy changes to better protect...

Zahra Alabanza (she/her/they) conjures enthusiasm for life by practicing pleasure and play, living simply and seeking joy. Being a parent, organizer, creator and adventurer are a few roles that allow her to explore the depths of her pleasure and joy. She curates experiences; decolonizes and deconstructs spaces; and utilizes outdoor adventure, land base work, and wellness rituals to contribute to enhancing the quality of life among Black folk. Her work centers Black women, children and queer...

*CW: this episode mentions suicidal ideation National suicide prevention lifeline: 800-273-8255 Emma Gee is a queer Division 1 runner who competed for both Brigham Young University and Temple University. She recently completed her final collegiate track season at the NCAA Track & Field Championships by racing the 3000 meter Steeplechase. In April 2020, Emma graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Public Relations. She was the first LGBTQ+ athlete to come out publicly at...

Chris Mosier is a trailblazing hall of fame triathlete, All-American duathlete, and a 6-time member of Team USA. In 2015 he became the first known transgender man to represent the United States in international competition, and was a catalyst for change for the International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes. He is also a 2x National Champion and the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in any sport in a category different than their sex assigned at birth....

Lynn Mattix is a wife, mom, USAF veteran, military spouse, age-grouper in triathlon, and the founder of Fund Her Tri.  Fund Her Tri is a nonprofit that pursues equality in triathlon, breaks down the financial barrier & makes triathlon more accessible to women & girls. The Fund Her Tri team raises money to pay race registration fees for first-time, female triathletes. Lynn says, "In an effort to grow the participation of women in the sport of triathlon, I wanted to start an...

Lucy Bartholomew is a 25-year-old living in Melbourne Australia who runs professionally for Salomon Running. She joined the sport of ultra trail running at age 15, when she ran 100km with her Dad. Her accolades have included setting the course record at the Ultra-Trail Australia Championship and claiming a third-place finish at the 2018 Western States 100-mile race. Recently, she also set the fastest known time on the Larapinta Trail. Lucy says, "I love the nature, the community, the...

Featuring Vic Thasiah, Executive Director of Runners for Public Lands. Cut to the Chase with Emma and Kamilah is a monthly series on the Social Sport Podcast. Each month, Emma Zimmerman and co-host, Kamilah Journét, bring you a no-filter conversation at the intersection of endurance sports and social change. In other words, we cut to the chase. In this episode, we talk about the recent wave of anti-trans bills, transgender athletes' rights, and support for transgender athletes from the...

Liz Thomas is a professional hiker, speaker, and outdoor writer who held the women’s self-supported speed record on the 2,181-mile long Appalachian Trail from 2011-2015. Called a "thru-hiking legend" by Outside Magazine, Liz has also hiked 20+ long distance trails including the Triple Crown of Hiking (AT, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail) and first known traverses of the Wasatch Range and Chinook Trail. Her innovative urban thru-hikes of 14 cities led The Guardian to call her...

Sabrina L. De La Cruz is an elite runner, Olympic Trials Qualifier, and co-founder of Angel City Elite, a running team with the mission to bridge the disparity gap of BIPOC representation in the running community.  In this episode, we talk all about Angel City Elite, why representation is so important at the elite level, eating disorders and cultural beauty standards, and female athlete health.  Discussed in this episode: --Women’s Running article on Angel City Elite --Angel City Elite's...

Sandy Namgung (she/her) is a five-time vegan and cruelty-free marathoner, writer, and social justice advocate based in Duwamish land (Seattle, WA). As a Korean American woman, Sandy was frustrated by the lack of media attention regarding the significant increase of anti-Asian racism and violence during COVID-19. She began sharing and speaking up on Instagram about the racism, erasure, invisibility, and misogyny Asian communities continue to experience today, including within the running...

Sam is an organizer and a communicator with over a decade of experience leading environmental/conservation political campaigns in Alaska. He has worked on state and federal policy campaigns, as well as electoral efforts of ballot measures and campaigns for state legislature (notably his wife's successful run for Alaska State Legislature). In addition to his campaign work, he teaches "Civic Engagement" in the Center for Community Engagement and Learning at the University of Alaska-Anchorage...

Cut to the Chase with Emma and Kamilah is a monthly series on the Social Sport Podcast. Each month, Emma and co-host, Kamilah Journét, bring you a no-filter conversation at the intersection of endurance sports and social change. In other words, we cut to the chase. In this episode, we focus on people-centered environmentalism. We ask, what does "people-centered environmentalism" mean to us, and how can athletes better serve not only this planet, but the many people who call it...

Savanah and Dallas Erdahl are the co-founders of OPE Running, which was born from a desire for ethically and sustainably-made running apparel that doesn't compromise on style and fun. Savannah and Dallas combined their passions to create OPE! Savannah's background is in apparel, previously a seamstress for a local designer, while designing and sewing as much as she could in her free time. Dallas is an avid runner with a deep love for the sport. All of OPE's garments are made by HAND by...

Rahaf Khatib is a stay-at-home mom of 3; 11x marathon and 25x half marathon runner, 2x Sprint triathlete; First Syrian to Complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors; and was a top ten finalist in the 2015 Runners World cover search contest. Rahaf made headlines when she graced the cover of Women’s Running Magazine in October of 2016 as the first hijabi to appear on the cover of a fitness magazine. Rahaf has fundraised $16,000 for Syrian refugees, $6,000 for Brain Cancer in honor of her dear...

Wildwood Running, launched in 2020, aims to empower female runners in mind and body through leadership, confidence, relationships, and resiliency. It was founded by Robyn McGillis and Marie Davis Markham.   Robyn McGillis was a competitive Track and Field and Cross Country runner at the high school and collegiate level. Competing for University of California (UC), San Diego, she was a national qualifier in the 800m and the mile relay. In 2000, Robyn completed her MBA at the University of...

CW: This episode mentions eating disorders, psychological abuse, and attempted suicide  Rosie Cruz has exhibited immense strength and bravery in sharing her story, and the entire story of psychological abuse, enabled disordered eating, and physical and emotional harm in the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Cross Country and Track programs. This story is not new. We’ve heard it before. It carries different names every time—Nike Oregon Project, Wesleyan University, University of Arizona, etc....