Alison Désir Runs for All of Us

The 33-year-old started running as a way to cope with depression. Then she launched Harlem Run. Now she wields the sport as a tool to help the whole country.

On January 18, 2017, five black women in Harlem took their first steps toward D.C. Talisa Hayes, Marquita Francique, Kim Rodrigues, Alma Nolasco, and Alison Désir ran 252 miles as a relay over 60 hours, averaging ten-minute miles. They arrived the morning of the Women’s March and ascended the steps of the Capitol Building at dawn, having raised more than $100,000 for Planned Parenthood and gained plenty of press attention. This year, Désir, the leader of that group, is organizing the Midterm Run to raise money for candidates who are campaigning to flip a district.

For Désir, 33, running started as a way to cope with depression in her twenties. The experience may have saved her life and prompted her to create Harlem Run, and has unexpectedly transformed her into an advocate for civil rights and mental health.

Publication: Outside Magazine. Jun 19, 2018.

Read the full story here.

Images by Rachel Link.