Dying To Ask

Running saved Alison Mariella Desir's life. Now she wants to save running from itself. Alison's new book, "Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport that Wasn't Built for Us," is a memoir. It simultaneously tells her personal story while uncovering the historic reasons why distance running is a predominantly white sport, tracing it to the origins of the running industry, racial discrimination and white supremacy. Alison decided to train for a marathon to fight depression. It worked. But, she quickly realized her experience as a Black female runner was drastically different from white women. She wrote an op-ed for Outside Magazine called "Ahmaud Arbery and Whiteness in the Running World" that went viral and ultimately led to her book. She is the founder of Harlem Run and Run 4 All Women movement to support women's reproductive rights. She's an advocate, a brand ambassador and most recently, the TV host and producer of "Out and Back with Alison Mariella Desir." Well + Good named her one of its "Changemake