Black Girls Run: Facilitating a Connection for Black Women to the White Sport of Running

In the current study the researchers investigated the creation of an identity for Black female runners through their psychological and behavioral involvement in a national running organization for Black women. A repeated measures design was used with 756 members, surveying them twice over a 14-month period regarding their involvement both with the organization and with the activity of running. We found that members' psychological and behavioral involvement with running increased over time, and that this change was more salient for members who did not consider themselves runners before they joined the organization. These findings provide initial support for the facilitation of a running identity through membership in this running organization.