2022 Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run Will Embrace Diversity

Once again this year, the Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run® will celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride, solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community, and the ongoing movement toward equality, diversity, and inclusiveness.

First run in 1982, and set for Saturday, June 25 this year, the Pride Run is an enduring collaboration among Front Runners New York, NYRR, and the City of New York. This year’s race has a new logo and will include non-binary as a choice for gender, a feature added to all NYRR races beginning in 2021.

A New Race Logo

This year, the Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run® logo includes the colors of the Progress Pride Flag. With anti-trans violence and racial violence continuing to rise, Front Runners New York and NYRR felt it was important to center these communities for the 4-mile race.

The white, pink, and light blue stripes were added to the flag by transgender activist and veteran Monica Helms in 1999. Artist Daniel Quasar designed the Progress Pride Flag we use today, with brown and black stripes representing marginalized LBGT communities of color and community members lost to or currently living with HIV/AIDS.

Meet Two FRNY Race Entrants

Truth Bachman (pictured above) and Jordan Bailey Dinwiddie, both members of Front Runners New York (FRNY), will be running the Pride Run.

Truth, who uses they/she pronouns, is non-binary and trans femme. “I started running in high school as a way to find community in an all-boys school that I did not feel truly part of—in hindsight this makes a lot more sense!” said Truth.

Truth joined FRNY last October. “The FRNY core community has been super welcoming and helps make NYC a safer place to run,” they said. “I’m currently running the 9+1 races and am super excited to run the Pride Run this year!”

“Non-binary visibility in running is crucial to humanizing trans athletes and people,” Truth added. “[I feel] like I'm not competing with a gender. I'm just running my best race. And that's powerful.”

Truth urges members of the running community, and organizations like NYRR, to support and affirm the experience of non-binary and transgender runners.

“Keep listening,” they said. “My experience of the world as a trans non-binary runner is constantly changing. The more we create spaces to bravely embrace trans people in running, the more we create a culture that embraces diversity in the world.”

Jordan Bailey Dinwiddie (pictured above), a non-binary runner who uses she/they pronouns, grew up as a competitive figure skater, ran cross country in high school, and joined FRNY last summer.

“I’m naturally very competitive, so when my competitive skating career ended, I wanted to find something else that satisfied my competitive side,” said Jordan. “Front Runners absolutely provides such an amazing community, and a slew of resources to help me build some solid training habits.”

Like Truth, Jordan urges the running community and running organizations to support and affirm different gender identities. "We absolutely need to start with not forcing people to pick either 'male' or 'female' when signing up for clubs and races. NYRR does a really great job of allowing the different identifier categories to exist in their racing structure," Jordan said.

“What’s also going to be helpful going forward is promoting different organizations that actively show they have a safe space for different folks to exist as they are. When someone is misgendered, correct it immediately. If someone was assigned a wrong racing category, correct it immediately.”

2022 Beneficiary: Sylvia Rivera’s Place

Each year, FRNY makes a donation to an LGBT-related nonprofit organization. This year’s race beneficiary, MCCNY Homeless Youth Services: Sylvia’s Place, is the starting point for New York City’s LGBTQI youth in crisis. Integrating case management with mental health services while stressing the unique strengths and potential of each youth, MCCNY Homeless Youth Services has developed a proven method for serving LGBTQI youth in crisis.

Pride Week Panel

NYRR and Front Runners New York are hosting their annual LGBT Pride Run® Pride Week Panel on Wednesday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. This free event is virtual, and the topic is "Mental Health and the LGBTQ Running Community." Panelists will discuss their experiences with the impact and benefits that the running community can have on LGBTQ runners' mental health. RSVP here to attend.