Hi everyone,
My name is Matthew Huerta. I’ve been a member of Club Northwest here in Seattle for five years now. And for those of you who don’t already know, I’m gay — and am so proud to be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
During the month of June — which has come to be widely known as Pride Month — we celebrate our thriving and vibrant LGBTQIA+ community each year with parades, rainbows, festivals, and more. In Seattle and other cities around the world, the displaying of rainbow pride flags provides a beautiful visual reminder of the important of always promoting acceptance, inclusion, and celebration.
However, even with the goodness that Pride Month has come to represent, it is also very important to remember that the key themes that are most often promoted during the month of June — such as inclusivity, acceptance, diversity, and self-identity (amongst others) — can and should be promoted and lived by year-round. Furthermore, I would also argue that as runners who are members of Club Northwest — an athletics club whose mission is to support and develop athletes in pursuit of their goals, while also engaging the local running community — we are very well positioned to promote these values in our daily lives year-round. Here are three examples of how we members of Club Northwest can continue to promote key values emphasized during Pride Month on a year-round daily basis.
1. Embrace the Pain — Training and racing hard isn’t easy. Whether you’re toeing the line for a marathon, doing a shakeout, on the last rep of a long track workout, or trail running to the top of a beautiful mountain pass, the pain is always there. Will the weather cooperate? Am I fit enough to actually run the time I have been training to run? What will people think if I don’t hit my goals? Or alternatively spoken — I want to come out to my friends and family, but will they accept me? What will they think? Will they still love me for who I am? In both of these examples, pain manifests itself on fear of the unknown, and a desire for the most positive outcome. Yes, pain is scary, but also pain nothing more than a passing sensation — and important feedback as to how we as individuals respond to pushing new limits — whether we are finishing a well-run PR race, or coming out to friends and family. Pain is data that shows progress that YOU yourself have taken initiative to make, and that is absolutely something to embrace and celebrate!
2. Be Kind to Yourself — We all want that elusive “perfect” day, but so often, that is not the case. Your body suffers a major cramp at 20 miles into your first marathon, causing you to fall behind pace and finish slower than you had originally anticipated. Or coming out to your parents goes sideways when one parent shows zero empathy for a subject that’s such an important part of your identity. You yearn for what could have been, and obsess over how you could’ve gotten it right in the moment to get that goal time you so badly wanted down on paper. Or you yearn to be like those perfect people whose parents were immediately openly accepting of their LGBTQIA+ identity. But the fact is, these big and bold experiences — like one’s first marathon, or coming out to your immediate family — almost NEVER go accordingly to plan. But even as easy as it is to obsess over what didn’t go well, it is crucial to focus first and foremost on the pieces of the experience that actually went well. Focus on and cherish those good things — like statistically still running an absolutely killer first marathon time against the broader population, despite falling behind goal pace — or realizing you have one very supportive parent who will be there for you no matter what. Being kind to yourself means first and foremost embracing and celebrating the good parts of the experience, and doing so will make those rare perfect days be all the more perfect.
3. Celebrate and Support Your Teammates — Being able to successfully pull off the above two points means promoting a positive and inclusive team atmosphere for everyone, no matter their background. Whether an individual is the fastest person in the entire club, finishes DFL in a race, previously ran in high school and college, or just recently discovered their love for running, celebrate them for who they are and nothing else. The best part is, to do so is extremely simple. The act of positively supporting a teammate can be as simple as asking someone how their day is going, or as big as dropping everything from your schedule to be with them to make sure they are ok after falling ill after a hard fought race. But the important thing to recognize is that no matter how small or large these acts of celebration and support for your teammates are, they cumulatively add up. And when they add up, they can help to produce results, including but not limited to a good workout, a breakthrough race, or the courage needed for a successful coming out to extended family and friends. Every little bit counts!
Pride Month is all about embracing and celebrating everyone for who they are, yet it is also important to remember that the key themes can be promoted and applied all year long. I hope that this piece has illustrated how we as runners can better do that in our day-to-day lives within CNW, as we are very well positioned to do so. Happy Pride!
-MH