Running also brought its unique brand of whiteness, with its hierarchy of who belongs at the top—white, thin, fast people. The sport’s whiteness sent a message about who a runner was, and it wasn’t a Black woman. And yet I kept hearing how running was democratic and a sport “for everybody” kept getting repeated: The world’s most democratic sport! All you need are shoes! Just show up! It was both annoying and funny, because it was clear that this message came from white runners in a white sport inside a white country, and they had no idea what it was like to be a Black body in such a climate.
