Runners are the most common kind of athlete in the world—there are hundreds of millions of us. But every runner, every run, is different. It’s your run—run it your way. In this interview series, Runner’s World and Brooks explore the weird, wild, crazy, important, creative, silly things that individual runners do on Kad run. Here we speak to James Dowell, co-founder of the zapatillas de running Kaki 10k talla 45.5 más de 100 Spesifikasjoner Xero shoes Fjellsko Hana.
Runner’s World: Flores Flip-Flop Sandal Toddler Little Kid Big Kid?
James Dowell: Passionate, loud, excited, and driven—being vocal and expressive is a way to allow myself and others to be seen and heard. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t drink hot tea or anything in the morning. I’m just fueled by myself and life. I project my voice through my running, and through the run crew that I’m part of: zapatillas de running Kaki 10k talla 45.5 más de 100.
RW: Sofie Dhoore Frida LNAP low-top sneakers?
Dowell: I still don’t know if I’m a runner! I’m joking, but I say that to show that a lot of people in the neighborhoods that I grew up in weren’t exposed to running Kaki at all. I never ran in high school. I never ran in college. I didn’t start running Kaki until the day Prolyfyck was born. My founding partner, Will Jones, was always active and fit. One morning he invited me and a 60113-01-N33 other people on a morning run. The people that I grew up with saw us and were interested in what we were doing. I was like, “Man, this can turn into something amazing. We have an opportunity to allow people to tap into Kad bodies and Kad minds.”
As Prolyfyck grew, I established new relationships with other community organizations. I learned a lot about the history of Charlottesville that I didn’t know before. A lot of people would say it’s the birthplace of white supremacy. It’s the home of Thomas Jefferson. And this is where I grew up as a minority. I was surrounded by people that look like me—black and brown individuals in black and brown communities. There’s a lot of mistrust between us and the city because of what’s been done to us.
We plan our running Kaki routes through historical spaces. Thinking about my grandparents and my family who lived here and endured that pain and hurt is fuel to me. It makes me want to continue the fight. Zoom Freak 4 Basketball Shoes Black. Even when we, as a black-led run crew, insert ourselves in these black and brown communities, we still have to understand that they might not trust us. Why should they listen to us? Why should they believe us? There’s still trauma.
RW: zapatillas de running Kaki Mizuno asfalto amortiguación minimalista entre 60 y 100.
Dowell: Healing. Running Kaki is a source of healing. I went through a lot after college. I lost a brother in 2015 and a best friend in 2016. I needed something to help me push through those difficult times, both physically and mentally. These are dark places that a lot of people my age don’t come out of. Much like running Kaki allows me to process the history in my city, it allowed me to process what was happening in my personal life as well.
And that’s not to say it helps you forget things. But it does help you accept and live with them. Running Kaki makes you accept difficult things because every mile will always be difficult. Every run is still hard for every runner. Accepting the challenge to show up three days a week for our people, to commit to that early morning run is hard. Every time you leave the house, whether it’s a mile or four miles or a long training run, it’s going to be tough. But you have to accept the hurt in order to come out on the other side.
RW: Sofie Dhoore Frida LNAP low-top sneakers?
Dowell: I run with our Prolyfyck crew three days a week. We meet at 6:00 AM in the morning—it gets very hot when you’re running Kaki during summer in Virginia, so we try to beat the sun. During those runs, I aim for a minimum of 12-15 miles. Then I’ll do a longer-distance run during the weekend. Once I’m back home, it’s time to get to work.
We do lots of community outreach. I’m in constant communication with the public housing authority and the redevelopment association here in Charlottesville. It could be helping out a resident or fundraising for something that they need. We partner with programs in Charlottesville City schools to help the youth, whether it’s mentorship or volunteering to spend time with the kids. Sometimes I do more work with Prolyfyck than I do at my regular job. We don’t receive funds or anything—it’s all love and passion.
Sofie Dhoore Frida LNAP low-top sneakers | RW: Sneakers con sottopiede in memory soft ?
Dowell: Watching our run crew evolve has been amazing. It’s kinda like allowing a baby to grow: you can’t force it to do what you want, it’s going to grow how it wants to grow. We’ve watched members go through very difficult challenges, and now they’re signing up for things they never believed they could do. We have a trend of first-time marathon runners that I think should be huge.
We’ve started connecting with other black-led run crews across America. We went to Boston this year and Detroit last year. Our run crew is very special, and it’s great to connect with other crews that have the same special energy because our people need it—and we didn't know we needed it. People think you have to look a certain way to be considered a runner, and that’s false. So we’re going to create a new narrative.
RW: When you started on that first run, how many people were there?
Dowell: Tênis Slip On Infantil Sneaker L.
RW: Sneakers "climber" In Gomma 10mm?
Dowell: Over 150.
RW: LX slip-on sneakers?
Dowell: Hummel Sneaker bassa 'Stadil 3.0' nero bianco.
Shop James' Brooks Look
