Episode 11 - Women's Running Across the Generations with Kathrine Switzer, Patti Catalano Dillon, & Weini Kelati

Grounded with Dinée Dorame

This recording is from a live panel on "Women’s Running Across the Generations" that took place on March 20th, 2021 as part of the “Creating Community Through Movement” event hosted by the Native Health Initiative (NHI). Panelists include:

Kathrine Switzer is an icon in running, an author, and an Emmy award-winning television commentator. She was the first woman to officially run Boston as a registered competitor in 1967 and New York City Marathon champion. She has been widely recognized for her achievements in the sport and for her advocacy work beyond running. She is part of the USA National Women’s Hall of Fame and is the Founder of 261 Fearless, a foundation that encourages healthy living and fosters a supportive global community for women.

Patti Catalano Dillon is a Mi’kmaq runner who dominated the American Road Racing scene in the 1970-80s. She is known for being first Native and American woman to sign a pro contract. She is also the first Native and American woman to run a sub-2:30 in the marathon distance. Patti is a former world record and American record holder in several distances, including the marathon, 20K and 30K. She was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2006.

Weini Kelati is an Eritrean runner who is currently training with Under Armour’s Dark Sky Professional Distance Team and formerly competed for the University of New Mexico, where she was the 2019 NCAA Division I Individual Cross-Country Champion. At UNM, Weini became the most decorated All-American in program history with 13 All-American honors. She was also crowned the 2019-20 Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year and made the 2020 Academic All-Mountain West Team.

In this conversation, you’ll hear our panelists discuss the evolution of women’s professional running (specifically in the marathon distance), who they cite as their support systems, their current goals, and how they all hope to use their running as a form of social change.

Thank you again to Native Health Initiative, Running Medicine, Wings of America, and the many other organizations involved in organizing this event and inviting me to moderate.

In this Episode:

• Native Health Initiative
• Running Medicine
• Wings of America
• Weini Kelati on the Citius Mag Podcast with Chris Chavez
• 261 Fearless (Kathrine Switzer’s organization)

Follow the Panelists:

• Kathrine Switzer (Instagram): @kathrineswitzer
• Patti Dillon (Instagram): @pattispeaks227
• Weini Kelati (Instagram): @weini_kelati

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Music by Jacob Shije (Santa Clara Pueblo, NM).

This podcast was made possible through the Tracksmith Fellowship Program.