Today I’m talking to the founder of Native Women Running Verna Volker.
Verna is a Navajo mother of four and a second-grade teacher based in Minneapolis who never saw herself as a runner before picking it up over ten years ago. She grew up playing basketball through high school but always hated conditioning they would do. Verna went to college to become a teacher and spent time teaching kindergarten through second grade.
When she started sharing her progress through social media, Verna saw an online running community that failed to look like her or the other women she knew. She started sharing the stories of other Native women, which organically grew into the Native Women Running online community. This year, she stepped away from teaching and into a new role running Native Women Running full time. Verna has created a platform for Native women to exchange stories of prayer, ceremony, and healing through the sport of running.
Verna continues to draw attention to the continued injustices and violence against Native women. She organized a virtual run supporting the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. For more information, please check out the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women.
We talk about:
- Stepping outside of your comfort zone
- Making gradual progress
- Prioritizing rest
- Surprising yourself
- Setting boundaries
- Building up other women
For more information on Verna Volker, you can find her (and Native Women Running) on social:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Stitcher
