Take the Lead Conference New York Recap

This blog post is by Emilia Benton, a freelance health and wellness journalist based in Denver.

The Take the Lead retreat marked its fourth iteration in New York City, hosted by longtime sponsor New York Road Runners at its Midtown Manhattan Headquarters from Sunday, September 14 through Tuesday, September 16. The event serves as a networking, community-building, and career development opportunity for women and femme of color in the running industry.

As a journalist who is especially passionate about elevating and amplifying diverse and underrepresented voices—whether that's professional athletes, everyday runners, or expert sources—Take the Lead (TTL) has served as a valuable resource for me to make those connections and foster existing ones. This was my third year attending the retreat.

The Retreat's Roots

Founded in 2022 by activist and “Running While Black” author Alison Mariella Désir and storyteller and brand strategist Martha M. Garcia, the event is the first-ever running and outdoor industry retreat centering the experience of women and femme of color with the mission to validate, support, and lead the change they want to see in the running industry. The two brainstormed their vision for the event after meeting at a running industry event in 2021, in which they were the only women of color in attendance.

"Having TTL in my former home base meant everything—New York will always be home to me, and to get to showcase why New York City is such an incredible place for the outdoor and running industry to a group of women from all over the country was an honor," Alison said. "NYRR has also been a big part of my journey as a person—it's been a place that has allowed me to grow as a runner and leader, it's full of people who have served as mentors and supporters, and it's also been a partner that has allowed me to push back and help them work toward continued meaningful growth for the organization."

Day One of the Retreat

The event kicked off with a Sunday reception at On's SoHo headquarters, where Alison and Martha welcomed attendees and shared how the event has grown over the last four years, and keynote speaker LaCheryl Ameer-Bey, also a repeat attendee, shared some words of wisdom about what the 60 attendees could expect throughout the retreat, specifically highlighting how they can navigate difficult conversations in the workplace by identifying their own communication styles and recognizing others' with confidence and skill.

New to TTL programming this year was the introduction of breakout tracks, which included the following:

Track 1: "Know Your Worth, Own Your Growth," led by LOTKA&Co director of talent Jeniffer Hernandez, which focused on accelerating participants' career trajectories

Track 2: "Building Community - Developing Trust, Convening a Shared Purpose, and Leveraging Connections to Drive Revenue," led by Sheila Gordon, director of community programs at NYRR and co-founder of We Run Brownsville, on how community engagement is key to building strong relationships with an audience and how it can be leveraged to drive revenue and sustain an organization. This track was also especially useful for me because storytelling is a key component of successful community engagement and relationships.

Track 3: "Owning the Story: Content & Brand Strategy Workshop," led by Strava brand and global social director Maya Holley-Peretz, on how brands and creatives can tap into their communities for inspiration to shape a content strategy to strengthen their identity.

Track 4: "The Entrepreneur's Edge: Storytelling and AI," led by Portia Blunt, CEO and founder of Bee Blunt, on how AI tools can be a useful for growing a business and telling an entrepreneur's story.

Track 5: "Shaping the Future of Running," led by Wendy Wheless, head of partnership development at BibRave, which was a hands-on workshop for marketers, community leaders, product designers, and culture-makers seeking to build a more innovative and inclusive future.

NYRR marketing strategist Kristina Lopez reflected on what attending the event meant to her. "I had heard about the retreat when I first started working at NYRR and was excited for it to finally be held in New York City. I hadn’t realized how much I had been missing being in a space filled with women of color," she said. "It was intriguing to meet with women from other organizations who also had larger cohorts attending, and it gave me better insight to see how issues women of color face at work are not happening in a silo, but are part of the systemic issues women face in society."

Kristina added, "One of my key takeaways from the retreat was to embrace my quirks as a leader because they are what make me unique," she said. "I hope to attend again in the future, as it’s invaluable being able to connect with other women of color making impactful strides in the running industry."

Day Two of the Retreat

Tuesday kicked off with another run in Central Park led by Brooks Running, Fleet Feet, and Game Changers, a coaching platform for women of color led by Vanessa Peralta-Mitchell, which has recently partnered with NYRR by providing resources for six New York City-based women of color to be RRCA-certified and coach for the NYRR Group Training program.

"Year after year, we’ve had more and more Game Changers attend Take the Lead and having eight of us show up as coaches and leaders with support from Brooks and Fleet Feet was a special way to shine a light on our New York City coaches, especially with our recent partnership with New York Road Runners for a New York City-specific Game Changers co-hort," Vanessa said. She has attended the retreat every year since its inception. "The more coaches who attend TTL, the more tools and knowledge we can bring back to the larger Team Game Changers network and in our own communities in how we show up."

Back at NYRR's headquarters, the event continued with a panel on how women in sport are shaping what's next, moderated by brand and content strategist Siraad Dirshe and featuring panelists Mary Wittenberg, who was the first female CEO and president at NYRR; Tracksmith New York City community and marketing manager Erica Stanley-Dottin; and NYRR Chief Legal Officer Samira Shah.

The panel was immediately followed by a live recording of Alison's new trail running podcast, EARTHMOVERS (which she regularly cohosts with professional ultrarunner Stefanie Flippin and Verna NezBegay-Volker, founder of Native Women Running), featuring Alysia Montaño, Olympic bronze medalist and founder of For All Mothers+, a nonprofit dedicated to removing obstacles limiting mothers' success in pursuing health, career, and personal goals.

The retreat ended with a panel on using mentorship as a map and not a mirror led by Ameer-Bey, featuring panelists Crystal Howard, NYRR chief communications and community officer; Deandra Hamer, senior recruiter at Brooks; Paulette Barba, senior public relations manager at Teva/Deckers Brands; and Mayuko Suzuki, talent business partner at On.

Attendees who were still in town were invited to later participate in a guided walk with Black Gotham Experience in partnership with NYRR, which was created for NYRR to celebrate and investigate the legacy of Black bodies building community in Central Park.

An Event for New and Familiar Faces

For Mireille Siné, a Los Angeles-based running coach, this was her first time attending a TTL retreat. "I decided to come because I felt I needed a sense of community in the industry," she said. "Being a solopreneur can be very heads-down and coming at it alone, I wanted to connect with folks, feel more seen, and have genuine connections with people in this sphere."

Nicole Hawker, founder and executive director at Heart & Soul Fitness said, "My mind is overflowing with ideas: reconnecting with everyone, rewriting my mission statement, adding another chapter to my book, and reimagining my website." She added, "This retreat opened a new door, releasing old beliefs that once limited what I thought was possible as a coach, business leader, and writer."

Martha said her favorite part has been witnessing the community they’ve built. “From women who have attended all four years to those experiencing Take the Lead for the first time—and seeing the collaboration, idea-sharing, and validation of each other’s professional and personal stories," she said. "What stood out to me this year was the multigenerational wisdom that flowed through our conversations. Four years in, it’s powerful to see how the retreat has grown into a brave space that Alison and I envisioned from the start."

Alison added that her favorite thing was to hear the many ways that TTL has impacted people's lives.”The testimony from past attendees about the ways that their careers, lives, and identities have shifted because of attending TTL is unbelievable," Alison added. "To know that this event and community is making such a big impact, with countless ripples across the running and outdoor industry, is profound."

Emilia Benton is a freelance health and wellness journalist based in Denver, Colorado. Her work has appeared in Runner's World, Outside RUN, and SELF, among other publications. She is also a 14-time marathoner, USATF Level 1-certified run coach and an avid traveler.