38. Sara Zapata: Advocacy, Autism, & Running in Solidarity & Non-Complicity

Sara Zapata (she/her) is a mom, partner, runner and advocate. She was born and raised in Yanaguana, also known as San Antonio, Texas. Sara uses her social media platform to intersect her love for running and advocacy for causes that are important to her, including the Black Lives Matter movement, equality for our LGBTQIA+ community, Land back initiatives, MMIWG2S awareness, migrant rights, Autism Awareness & Acceptance, and normalizing breastfeeding. She strives to always listen and learn from these communities. Her learning is continuous, which is why she is proud to be a part of three amazing run groups that support her advocacy efforts. These include the Rising Hearts Running With Purpose team, the ReNew Earth Running team, and the Dirtbags Run team. Sara’s hope is to show her kids that it's okay to speak up about the things that are important to you, even when it seems like you're the only one.<br/><br/>Sara talks about the importance of speaking up and not being complicit. She speaks about how she wanted to find runners of color and join communities of runners who run for advocacy like @rising_hearts, @renew_earth_running and @dirtbagsrun. She leans into discomfort and uses her voice and movement as part of collective action. Sara talks about breaking running down into doable chunks and how she leans into trying things because she sees other people doing them and believing she can do those things, too. Her younger son is on the autism spectrum and she talks about how important it is to accept people as they are and not trying to fit people into boxes.<br/>"The moment we're in is not forever" - Sara<br/><br/>Sara lives on Jumanos, Coahuiltecan, Ndé Kónitsąąíí Gokíyaa, and Tonkawa land.<br/><br/>Book recommendation:<br/>Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill<br/><br/>Check out Sara on IG @sara_zzzz<br/><br/>When in San Antonio, check out her sister's plant business @greenthumb galSupport the showYou are a big deal.<br/>Your story matters.<br/>Keep showing up.<br/><br/>Subscribe: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2051242/support<br/>Follow Becca Jay on IG @beccajay.getuptraining