NYRR Hope Pinsonault Native American Runner

TIME TO READ8 mins

BYNYRR Staff

DATENovember 5, 2025

Hope at the 2025 Boston Marathon.

To celebrate Native American History Month, we're continuing to highlight runners who've made an impact in the community and exemplify the transformative power of running. New York Road Runners staff member Hope Pinsonault is one such runner. She's not only the social media specialist at NYRR but also part of the leadership team at Native Women Run, a nonprofit dedicated to representing and empowering Native women across the United States and Canada.

We asked Hope what inspired her to start running in the first place and how she got involved with Native Women Run.

What inspired you to start running?

Growing up, I remember watching my dad run the New York City Marathon as we cheered him on in Central Park. My mom, sisters, and I also went to D.C. to cheer him on as he ran the Marine Corps Marathon, too. He always encouraged us to take on endurance running and said that we’d be good at it since we’re Native. Once I hit 5th grade and we had a cross country team at my school, I signed up and immediately fell in love with everything about the sport. I found it to be the perfect combination of hanging out with my friends, challenging myself to see how much faster I could get, spending time outside on trails, and discovering something that I was good at. It was super validating to me as a quiet middle schooler.

What does it mean to you to be a Native American runner?

I feel like as a Native American runner, I appreciate the lands I run on, I feel most myself when I can just get lost in nature doing what I love, and I also know how important it is to show up as myself. As a Jemez Pueblo woman, it’s hard to find other Native runners in this sport and space, but organizations like Native Women Run are changing that narrative by showing up and taking up space at global stages like the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

When did you first get involved with Native Women Run and what drew you to the organization?

In 2020 of my sophomore year of college, I quit my college cross country and track team and really faced a roadblock in my love for the sport. I no longer had the love for it that I once had since I was 10 years old, and my confidence was lower than it had ever been, and running was no longer my happy place. It became more of a source of anxiety and insecurity for me. Shortly after I quit, we were sent into lockdown for COVID-19 and the only way to get out of my house was to run. In looking for community and motivation, I stumbled upon the NWR Instagram page.

There were hundreds of posts sharing runs and accomplishments from Native women all across the United States and Canada, and I wanted to be a part of it. I remember signing up for a bunch of their virtual races, ran my first half marathon virtually with them, and ran 15 miles in honor of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women. I would post on my Instagram story my run, and NWR would reshare or comment or follow me back, and I was so excited. I remember showing my sisters my phone when I got the follow back. I’m grateful for finding NWR because it truly pulled me out of my running rut and helped me rediscover my love for the sport again while also teaching me more about my Jemez roots.

How has your involvement with NWR and NYRR shaped your running life?

I think my relationship with the two organizations has entirely changed my outlook on running. Growing up, it was always about pace, time, PRing, and if I didn’t run it would ruin the rest of my week. It was always super competitive, which I loved, but that largely intertwined with my self-worth. After quitting college track and rediscovering my love for it again with NWR and working at NYRR, I’ve grown to love the “why” behind running. I think I lost focus of that for a lot of my young adult life, but now I run purely because it’s something that I’ve grown up loving to do.

As a teenager, I always looked forward to hitting the trails with my dad and following the windy narrow dirt paths of the mountains as I chased him on his mountain bike. Working in social media for NYRR and NWR, I’ve also heard some of the most inspiring and beautiful stories about people and their running journeys. Hearing those stories and helping them come to life through digital media is something that has forever changed my outlook on running.

What are some of your favorite moments covering Native Women Run for NYRR?

The first one was at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, where we had our first-ever Native Women Run team. I interviewed the NWR team alongside my NYRR colleagues, Tanner Smith and Jon Phillips, and we asked them questions about what it meant to show up as yourself on a global stage like the TCS New York City Marathon. I edited the video and it meant so much to me to see how well it resonated not only with the NWR and NYRR communities, but also my Native family members and hearing that it made my older sister tear up. It meant everything to know my family was proud of me for helping elevate the stories of NWR, an organization I’d been passionate about for so long. Verna Volker, the founder of NWR, showed the video at the Running USA conference, as an example of how to foster inclusivity for Native organizations in the running industry. I feel like it was a turning point in my career.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by TCS New York City Marathon (@nycmarathon)

My other favorite memory was meeting the Tapahe sisters last year. NYRR highlighted Erin Tapahe and her jingle dress dancing, where she and her sister jingle dress dance at each marathon finish line to pray for the safety of runners. Jingle dress dancing is a healing dance, and the jingle dresses are lined with metal cones; each cone represents a prayer. After their dance, Erin, Dion, and their parents gifted me a red scarf that they wear as they dance, and they thanked me for sharing their story. The two of them reminded me of my sisters. I feel like this whole journey with the collaboration of NWR and NYRR has brought me such a strong sense of belonging and gratitude that I get to do this.

Hope and Erin Tapahe at the finish line of the TCS New York City Marathon.

What are some ways you think NYRR, and other organizations, can be more inclusive of the Native American community?

I think people should continue to learn. It’s important to know who’s land you’re on, and about observance days and the reasonings behind them like Orange Shirt Day and National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. People should support Native authors, podcasters, artists, content creators, etc. It doesn’t matter if you’re Native or not, there are always opportunities and spaces where you can learn more. Even as a Native woman myself I feel like I continue to learn more every day.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I thought I would share one more memory. I think this was in high school, but I remember once my dad saved me a copy from Outside magazine and on the cover was a photo of Verna talking about Native representation in running. He gave it to me, said how amazing it was to see a Native woman on the cover of a magazine sharing her story, and told my sisters and I all to read it and learn more about her. It’s just so funny to me to remember that and then fast forward to 2023, working with her to get the first NWR team to the TCS New York City Marathon. Young high school Hope never would’ve believed me.

Hope and Verna holding up a Native Women Run banner.

Hope with Verna NezBegay Volker.