Today we continue our celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month (US) in Portland, Maine. There’s three remarkable women keeping one of our newest cities moving and grooving each week.
- Who are some of the women in the world of running/sport that you look up to?
Bailey: Chrissie Wellington
Hildegard: Caster Semenya is my personal hero! She is unapologetic and extremely talented. She has been facing adversity and discrimination for many years and her dignity, poise and steadfastness is an inspiration.
Mari: Dinee Dorame, Faith Briggs, Desire Linden
- When did you first #JustShowUp to NP? How did you come across NP? What is it that you were looking for in a fitness group? How did NP provide that? What was an “extra” that NP has that you found value in?
Bailey: I first showed up to Portland Sweat Project in October 2019. I had heard about it through a local run club, and once I had a Wednesday morning available I decided to see what it was all about. Being new to the area, I was excited for another workout group to meet kind people and exercise outdoors, for free, in a safe environment.
Hildegard: Summer 2019. I had just immigrated to the US from South Africa and I didn’t know anyone. I googled running clubs and fitness groups and happened upon this group that welcomed me with a cupcake and a party hat (it was their birthday). I loved the bounce, the dodgeball and all the laughter with strangers. It was exactly the kind of group I was hoping for, where I could move my body and get a good workout, but also meet people who would welcome me to their city and country and show me the ropes and ultimately become my dear friends.
Mari: NP held a pop-up workout in Portland, ME in 2015 (?) and I’d never heard of NP prior to this. A friend who worked at Lululemon told me about it, and I showed up. I don’t know that I knew what I was looking for in a fitness group, but I knew I wasn’t finding it in group ex classes at the gym. NP was fun, it was outside, and no one was counting reps. You could actually engage with the people who were there, which is why I do group things!
- What apprehensions did you have as you considered coming for the first time? What was your first impression? Why did you keep showing up?
Bailey: I was intimidated when I arrived at Portland Sweat Project for the first time, as the routines/traditions of the group were all new to me. I felt the sense that “everyone knows what is going on except for me”, as we started the start of the session with a bounce. By the end of the session, I could feel that all are truly welcome to the silly and inviting environment. I appreciate the consistency and reliability of the group, and have enjoyed the “just show up” accountability of it.
Hildegard: I was afraid that I wouldn’t be fit enough or that my accent would put people off or that they would already be a tight knit group and wouldn’t welcome me.The cupcakes and party hats got me over my first reservations very quickly. I kept showing up because I enjoyed getting out of my apartment and meeting up with a consistent group of people while getting to know the city.
Mari: I had none, because I had no idea what NP was. I had a blast, and felt inspired. I wasn’t able to keep showing up, because the nearest NP was Boston, and I wasn’t able to go there on a weekday before work (4 hours round trip).
- What does it mean to you to be a woman Co-leader? What does it mean to your community? What does it mean to our global community?
Bailey: Having participated in co-ed athletics throughout my life as a teammate, captain, and in other roles, becoming a co-leader was not unnatural for me. Given our group started pledging and officially became NP during my time as a leader, I did not have an idea of what a leader should or should not be like. All I knew, was that the leaders have to set the precedent to just show up, and that I could do that, as my woman self. tend to assume that when members think of me, they put my fitness identity before my pronouns. “That’s the leader that runs a lot of marathons” (I’ve run 17). “Maybe this leader will make us run more than the other leaders do”. Our group was started by women with Mari leading the pack for 7 years. It’s an honor to co-lead with her and Hildegard. I feel our community appreciates our currently women led group, and know that we would be happy to have any humans of any identities step up to co-lead in the future.
Hildegard: As one of three women Co-leaders in my community it feels both empowering and also completely natural. I think women stepping up and occupying space in leadership roles are valuable locally and globally. I feel like I’m given permission to speak loudly and clearly and that people listen to what I’ve got to say which still blows my mind.
Mari: This one is hard for me to get my arms around. I mostly don’t think about being a woman in this role. I mostly think about what I’d like to see and embody, and then I attempt to do that. I don’t perceive the barriers to be gender based to the things I envision or would like to manifest in this space. I know they are there and that this is a reflection of the privilege I’ve enjoyed in my life. Bottom line is that there’s value to showing up and representation matters.
- How does being a woman influence your leadership? What was it like to be a woman in your community before you stepped into leadership?
Bailey: Being a competitive female athlete my entire life, I was drawn to the idea of continuing movement as an adult. I feel that fitness is for all, and I hope my presence as a woman allows others to feel more comfortable and welcome in an exercise based environment. I recognize that not all women have had opportunities to move and physically push themselves in a safe space, and I hope our space can be just that.
Prior to joining NP, I was steadily joining the running community here in Portland, Maine, after moving from Connecticut. Other than the run group/communities I met up with, I found myself in a grossly unfamiliar city. I did, and still do, find times where I feel I need to be vigilant as a woman I.e. walking to work in the dark at 4:30AM, running in the dark by myself, being alert in unfamiliar public environments. Otherwise, I have felt empowered as a woman in my community through the many opportunities to grow and step into leadership.
In my various communities, the hardest part of my gender identity and being a woman in my late 20s is the expectation that because I have a uterus I will soon, or ever, bear children. I hear assumptions that my leadership, career development, or general growth will soon be interrupted by having children. This assumption is quite unsettling to me, and I hope it soon dissipates as an acceptable inquisition.
Hildegard: I’ve always been surrounded and supported by incredible women in my community here in Portland, ME. Sometimes members in the group will get a little competitive amongst themselves, but I’ve never found them to be exclusionary and there is always enough of a mix for everyone to find the pace and effort that feels good for them.
Mari: Being a woman influences everything I do and how I perceive the world, so it’s difficult to tease out how it influences my leadership outside of who I am as a whole person.
- Did you have any apprehensions to lead this group? Did you experience imposter syndrome when you were asked to lead?
Bailey:Yes, I was apprehensive and experienced imposter syndrome. Co-leading NP is a commitment to oneself, the fellow co-leaders, and the community, so I was very careful to contemplate my short and long term plans to ensure it was a commitment I could make.
I was nervous about my ability to make workouts that are the right level of fitness and can be adaptive while also fun. When I first started leading, I experienced the somewhat expected awkwardness of using your voice loudly in the dark at 6:29AM. I felt that it took a few weeks to ease into the routine of leading before I could actually enjoy it and find my own creative style.
Hildegard: I want to say of course I had apprehensions, who wouldn’t? I was afraid that no one really wants to listen to me speak or follow my lead or ideas.
Mari: Yes to feeling apprehension, but we spent 6 years as a pledge group, and it wasn’t as though anyone had asked me to lead. I felt so strongly that we needed NP in our community, that I was willing to overcome my apprehension and step in front of the group. I didn’t perceive impostor syndrome, it felt more like a logical progression.
- How do you celebrate International Women’s Day? How can others celebrate you or celebrate with you this day? How can we celebrate you all year long?
Bailey:I celebrate International Women’s Day by taking a moment to feel gratitude for myself and the women in my life. I thank the supportive women in my life.
Others, and myself, can celebrate by recognizing remote, recent, and upcoming societal/political/economical changes that promote women’s rights.
I think the nature of inclusivity at NP allows for celebration of women all year long. Recognizing women leaders in their groups throughout the year would also be a great way to celebrate.
Hildegard: We really need to celebrate each other every day! Our differences are what makes us all amazing. We need to share joys and achievements and disappointments and we need to rage together. We need to elevate each other’s voices whenever we can.
Mari: By being my most authentic self, and elevating the women around me!
- What else do you want people reading this to know? About being a woman in leadership or anything else you’d like to share.
Bailey: Whether in leadership or not, women must know that they have autonomy, independence, a right to show up, use their voice, ask questions, make mistakes, learn, push themselves, not push themselves when they don’t want to, move their bodies, and have fun.
Hildegard: There’s a Zulu resistance song that translates to: “You strike a woman, you strike a rock”. This quote has always been a comfort to me and has given me strength and courage when I’ve felt beaten down and small.
