#BreakTheBias
I have been running with Glasgow FrontRunners (GFR) since 2018 and in that time I have found that the club challenges me to be a better runner, celebrates my achievements in and out of running and is a great social circle that includes everyone. Which is why I want to share my experience with GFR relating to this years Internal Women’s Day campaign.
The overall theme of the IWD2022 campaign is #BreakTheBias which is aimed at recognising that a challenged world is an alert world. It aims to:
· Celebrate women’s achievements and call out gender bias and inequity.
· Challenge bias, stereotypes and discrimination.
· Create a world where difference is valued and celebrated.
· Highlight that individually we are responsible for our own thoughts and actions but collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.
These aims are ones that we can all easily bring in to our everyday lives so that by next year they become a habit, and I believe this would be easy because many of these aims are already displayed by GFR in how they operate as a running club.
I can for the most part only speak to my experience of the club but I can see that they ‘Celebrate women’s achievements and call out gender bias,’ as in 2021 I became one of the clubs 42 qualified jog leaders. I became a jog leader alongside 4 other non-male jog leads and since then 2 further non male jog leads have joined because the club recognised in itself that there was a higher number of male jog leads so this needed to be better balanced to represent us as a club and support new members of all genders. Becoming a jog leader has been a hugely positive experience as the entire club provide their support, I have gotten to know members better and overall it is extremely enjoyable to encourage everyone on their running journey.
GFR also celebrate not only women’s achievements but everyone’s achievements. I first noticed this in lockdown as the club Facebook Page became a positive place where all members who were locking down with family, housemates or alone could share their runs, their progress and moments they were proud of so all other could celebrate with them. This display of encouragement really pushed me to try and improve my running along with the others, while a member of the club for 2 years by lockdown I did not attend often and ran mostly short distances - I’d joined a 10km group once and felt ILL after! So with the free time to focus on running in lockdown and the encouragement of the Facebook group I ran more often, for longer distances and felt much better for it. After lockdown we have been able to run together now as a club and all the members who have varying abilities in running are enthusiastic about each other’s running achievements recognising each other through shout outs, emails and in conversation as we run. Thanks to the advice and support from the club members I built myself up to run my first half marathon in February 2022 which I would never have done without GFR.
Finally the last aim ‘individually we are responsible for our own thoughts and actions but collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world,’ is lived by GFR as the club invites everyone to join regardless of ability, sexuality, gender or age all are given a warm welcome. This leads to people who may not have interacted meeting with and learning from each other, this education creates an inclusive world because once you understand an experience different from yours you may act differently in your daily life including more people, this knock on effect I hope could be having a great impact on our members, their friends and families.
These are just some examples I have experienced and many in the club have more shared in this blog series as this IWD GFR and many others will #BreakTheBias in 2022.
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This week, we're also celebrating IWD to raise money for Refuweegee, which is a Glasgow based charity that welcomes people to Glasgow and the rest of Scotland who have been forcibly displaced from all over the world. Our JustGiving Page is here: