Running As Medicine with Verna Volker, April Boultbee and Melanie Boultbee: Tuesday February 15 2PM EST
Join Indigenous runners Verna Volker (Native Women Running), April Boultbee and Melanie Boultbee for Running As Medicine! We will be giving away swag from the Native Women Running store. This event will be streamed live on ocadu.ca/live
Verna Volker (She/her/hers, Mom, Wife, Founder of Native Women Running, Hoka Global Ambassador and Suunto Ambassador ). My name is Verna Volker and I am from the Navajo Nation. My clans are Tódích'íi'nii (Bitterwater) nishlíi, Hashtl'ishnii (Mud People) bashishchiin, Ta'neeszahnii (Tangle) dashicheii, and Tó' áheedlíinii (Water Flows Together) dashinalí. I grew up in the Dzilnaoodilii area of New Mexico, but currently live in Minneapolis, Minnesota with my husband and four children. In 2009, I started my running journey to lose weight, but it has turned into a quest to find out who I am internally. This journey has taken me from a newbie runner to a marathoner and to an ultra-marathoner. My desire is to use my running to inspire others. I am also the founder of Native Women Running. An organization I created four years ago to draw visibility to Native Women Runners. Not only are we drawing visibility but It has become a place for our women for inspiration, motivation and community in a virtual and in-person setting.
April Boultbee has been a runner for over 25 years. She competed in road races for many years before transitioning to trail and ultra running in 2011. She was the 2016 ACU 24hour road national champion, the 2017 ACU 6 hour national champion and represented Canada at the 2017 World 24 hour Championships. April has been a Registered Massage Therapist since 2003 and also loves and has been walking dogs part time for the past 9 years.
Melanie Boultbee has been running for over 25 years. She spent many years as a competitive road racer before finding her love of the trails. She enjoys training for ultra distance races from 50K to 100M. When she isn’t running, Melanie is an elementary school teacher in downtown Toronto and coaches the school’s cross-country and track teams.
This event is part of Indigenous OCAD U Wellness Week 2022 and is organized by the Indigenous Student Centre of OCAD U.