Verna Volker: With Leadership Comes a Responsibility For Others - R4R 260

It's a pleasure to welcome Verna Volker on the show. She is an ultrarunner, Hoka Global Ambassador, and the founder of Native Women Running, a space to celebrate and lift up native women's stories. Verna is also a part of Native Women's Wilderness, a platform that shares and elevates native women's stories exploring the outdoors. Verna is currently training for the Javelina 100K in October and the Black Canyon 40K in February. "I wanted to to make a difference where people were seeing native women in a positive light that we are matriarchs, that we are leaders in our families, that we are successful." - Verna Volker n this episode we cover… How she has taken responsibility as a leader to bring communities together and call them to action. "Getting up and doing what you can, is a celebration…" Verna speaks to the importance of holding onto a lens of gratitude in everything we do Being an agent of change to shift the perception of what mainstream media dictates a runner looks like What she has done to bring awareness to the mass graves of indigenous children found in Canada How Verna has used her virtual events to connect and support indigenous running communities in Canada and beyond. Resources: Native Women Running (events) Native Women Running IG Verna Volker IG Native Women Wilderness (website) Native Women Wilderness IG Thank you to Tracksmith, Generation UCAN, and InsideTracker for sponsoring this episode. Tracksmith is a Boston based running clothing company that truly cares about the quality and care of their running clothes. Running can be a demanding lifestyle for our clothes, they definitely go through the wear and tear to where we may be purchasing new clothes constantly. Tracksmith designers truly work with the finest materials and think of you as a runner in mind with spots for your keys, phone, and fuel. You can go here to check out my favorites! You can get $15 off your purchase of $75 or more, click here and enter code TINA15. Thank you Generation UCAN, I have been talking about them for years and my ONLY source for fueling while I am training and racing. And without fail I have had a product of UCAN every day, whether it is a peanut butter chocolate bar or their delicious cookies and cream protein powder. I am also excited to share with you a NEW product, a gel! Completely fueled with superstarch and ready to go wherever you are headed off to. Use code TINAUCAN for 20% off of your order. Have you not been feeling yourself lately? Gone down a lot of avenues but not really finding clear solutions? That is where Insidetracker can come in for you. I count on Insidetracker to help me decipher the science behind it all. I have trusted this company for years to help me show where I may be lacking and or if I just need a few tweeks here and there. I count on Insidetracker to help me decipher the science behind it all. Go here to get 25% off as a special for Running for Real listeners on their ENTIRE store. Thanks for listening! We know there are so many podcasts you could be listening to, but we are honored you have chosen Running For Real. If you appreciate the work that we do, here are a few things you can do to support us: Take a screenshot of the episode, and share it with your friends, family, and community on social media, especially if you feel that topic will relate to them. Be sure to tag us on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram If you are struggling through something a guest mentions, chances are, others are too, and you will help them feel less alone Leave an honest review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player Your ratings and reviews will really help us grow and reach new people Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you to Verna, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.