Growing up in New Jersey, Vanessa Peralta-Mitchell was active in sports, playing soccer, basketball, and softball throughout high school. While in college, she came home during a school break and watched a women’s sports documentary, “Dare to Compete: The Struggle of Women in Sports,” that inspired her. The film focused on the history of athletes who overcame inequities to participate in sports, including running. “I was really moved by what I was seeing,” Peralta-Mitchell said. “The fact that they fought so hard to give us those equal rights, I wanted to pay homage to these women in some way.”
Outside magazine, January 26, 2023
Peralta-Mitchell experienced another breakthrough when she was working on earning her Coaching Certification. She looked around the room of aspiring coaches and realized she was the only woman of color. This inspired her to launch Game Changers in 2020, with the goal of bringing more Women of Color into the sport of running as Certified Run Coaches.
Read her story here.
Changing the game in the Piedmont
Local groups encourage girls and women of color in our community to experience the joy of running and the multiple benefits it brings.
Girls on the Run Greater Piedmont, now expanding into Greensboro, inspires girls to build their confidence, kindness and decision-making skills through the vehicle of running.
Black Girls RUN!, with communities in both Winston-Salem and Greensboro, encourages African American women to make fitness and healthy living a priority.