In this episode, we tell the story of Botswana's Shirley Mosiakgabo, who started running 10ks as a way to lose weight after having her children and developed into an ultra runner. Shirley's story is a great testament that, if you have the desire and are consistent in your efforts and patient to let your abilities to develop, you can reach goals that previously appeared impossible or out of reach. 

We follow Shirley story from the early days of discovering a joy for making running a regular part of her life through to her experiences running her first Comrades Marathon. As of 2019, Shirley had completed Comrades a total of five times, and she is the Botswana Ambassador for the race. 

Where many people consider races like Comrades to be "crazy," Shirley shows us that, with time, dedication, and desire, completing ultras can also be a next step in a long-distance running journey. 

Early on, Shirley discovered the great satisfaction of completing a hard thing. When the opportunities arose to continuing stretching that hard thing out longer, her curiosity and drive, as well as support from friends and family, inspired her to see if she could go that extra distance. Shirley followed that curiosity to what's often referred to at the Ultimate Human Race, Comrades. 

This episode is part of our first season, and the theme of this season is experiences in and around the Comrades Marathon, which is a 90-kilometre, or roughly 56-mile, road race that takes place each year in South Africa. It is the oldest and largest ultra-distance foot race in the world. 

Show Notes Recommended Resources

The recommendation for this episode is RunGrl. This organization's tagline is Making Room for the Black Woman Distance Runner, with goals of promoting wellness, creating community, and providing running information and inspiration, as well as raising up and celebrating the voices and images of black women in distance running. 

On the website, there are loads of articles in the categories of running, health and wellness, and lifestyles, written by a variety of Black female contributors from across the US. The platform also features an initiative called The Relay which provides expert tips, tools, and insights from certified coaches, experts, and elite runners, including Olympian Marielle Hall, NCAA Division I runner Peyton Thomas, and RunGrl co-founders and certified running coaches Jasmine Nesi and Ashlee Green, among others. 

You can find RunGrl at rungrl.co. 

Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories

Instagram: @womensrunningstories

Twitter: @WomenRunStories

Website: womensrunningstories.com

Email host Cherie: [email protected]

Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/

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