Outrun the Patriarchy is an intersectional feminist initiative empowering safer, more inclusive running spaces for female, queer, and BIPoC runners—through community tools, reporting platforms, workshops, and advocacy for lasting structural change in the outdoor movement.
1. What do you offer?
Outrun the Patriarchy is an intersectional feminist project born from the Berlin running community. We offer tools and structures to make running safer and more inclusive for female, queer, and BIPoC runners. Our initiatives include:
The Whistlerunner is an anonymous reporting platform to address harassment, discrimination, and abuse of power
Self-defense and resilience workshops for female/non-binary runners
Awareness training for crews and event organisers
A community toolbox with guidelines, response strategies, and resources
Collaborations with running crews and major events to embed safety structures directly into the sport
2. Why did you start your organization or initiative?
Being myself a running leader at DNA Running Collective, I started this initiative together with other running leaders because we believe running should be what it was always meant to be: free, safe, and empowering for everyone.
We wanted to turn silent experiences into visible realities and build real structures of solidarity, care, and protection. This was born out of a lived need — seeing too many stories go unheard and too many runners feeling unsafe in spaces that should be liberating.
3. What do you want to achieve with your organisation or idea?
Our goal is to make safety a standard, not an exception. We aspire to:
Break the silence around sexualised violence, discrimination, and abuse of power.
Empower communities to respond collectively, not individually.
Make Whistlerunner a trusted, widely used tool at major running events.
Build an outdoor-culture where accountability and care are embedded in every layer of the running community.
4. What does a more equitable outdoor scene mean to you?
It means being able to show up without fear: not as a guest, but as part of the community. A more equitable outdoor scene is one where marginalised groups are centred, protected, and celebrated. It’s about shared ownership of space, fair access to resources, and real safety for everyone.
5. Why do we need to make nature more accessible to BIPoC?
Because BIPoC communities often face invisible barriers: racism, discrimination, lack of representation, and the absence of safe spaces. Nature should not be a privilege. When BIPoC feel safe and empowered outdoors, everyone benefits.
We build stronger communities, healthier spaces, and a culture of respect and solidarity.
6. What specifically do you want from the outdoor community and society to enable genuine participation and safe spaces for BIPoC?
Active support for BIPoC-led initiatives like ours
Access to funding, platforms, and visibility to make impact sustainable
Integration of clear codes of conduct and reporting tools
Real commitment beyond slogans : to dismantling structures of exclusion.
7. Which (outdoor) role models or movements have inspired you?
I’m inspired by grassroots movements led by women, queer, and BIPoC communities — in Berlin and around the world — who create space where there was none. Travelling a lot with my team to run marathons, some of the most inspiring movements / people I’ve encountered are:
Katharina Hoffmann (@katharinahoffmanm) – One of the co-founder of Outrun the Patriarchy. Katharina is a well-known running leader in the Berlin scene for her activism and her meaningful running events. She built & led running communities for over a decade, from Run Pack Berlin to adidas Runners.
Alison M. Désir (@alisonmdesir) – Author of Running While Black and co-founder of Harlem Run club
Verna Nez Begay Volke (@hozhorunner4) – Founder of @native_women_run, ultra-trail runner raising awareness about the experience of Native American communities and their fight to reclaim space and visibility in the outdoors.
Our Streets Now (@ourstreetsnow) – UK-based campaign to end public sexual harassment and reclaim safe public spaces.
Bethan Taylor-Swaine(@bethantaylorswaine) – ambassador for Our Streets Now, PhD candidate studying women in ultra running,
Ultra Black Running (@ultrablackrunning) – UK collective creating safe spaces and visibility for Black runners, challenging stereotypes in the outdoor world.
Xcrossinglinesx (@xcrossinglinesx) – grassroots collective advancing representation & BIPoC participation in ultra-running.
Nightstrideco (@nightstrideco) by Michelle – initiative reclaiming nighttime running spaces and fostering community safety and empowerment.
8. What are your hopes for the OUTO Changemaker Program?
I hope to build strong alliances with other changemakers and expand our impact beyond Berlin. We aim to identify sustainable financial pathways to grow our initiative — we’ve already secured a grant from the Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and participated in the HOKA contest to promote an inclusive project. This program is a unique opportunity to exchange strategies, share resources, and learn from each other to create lasting cultural change in outdoor spaces.
9. What motivates you most about participating in the OUTO Changemaker Program?
I’m motivated by the chance to elevate our work to a broader scale — to collaborate, grow, and strengthen the safety infrastructure in running.
One of my ideas for OUTO is to create a follow-up structure to support my fellow changemakers beyond the program. I’ve grown very fond of them — I met Bilge (Tennis for Us) and Ndona (Onéla) in Berlin, and they spontaneously invited me to spend time with them when I wasn’t feeling well. I’m also in touch with Oumou and Mirae, who are part of the DNA Running Collective friends & family.
I would love to help OUTO with future coaching sessions, as I have experience in building and leading communities. I can support new changemakers in setting the right foundations from the start — with clear codes of conduct, awareness teams, and healthy community structures.
Leading a community is challenging, and many are not prepared for it. That’s why Outrun the Patriarchy exists: to connect leaders facing similar struggles and share solutions. I believe in creating long-term support, not just one-time training. A 6–8 month OUTO follow-up could make a real difference, so no one is left alone after launching their activity.
10. What advice would you give to others who want to promote a more inclusive outdoor scene?
Start with listening. Then act intentionally. Inclusion is not a trend — it’s a responsibility. Support marginalised communities not only with words but with concrete actions: resources, accountability, and shared power. Change doesn’t have to be perfect; it has to be real.
11. Complete the sentence: Nature means to me...
Nature means freedom: a space where I can exist fully, safely, and unapologetically. A space that belongs to all of us.
Contact:
Personal account: @petite.pic
Running Team account : @dedicationnattitude
OUTO Project account : @outrunthepatriarchy
Website: www.outrunthepatriarchy.com WhistleRunner platform: whistleblowersoftware.com/secure/outrunthepatriarchy
