Carolyn Su
Carolyn Su is the founder of Diverse We Run, a platform she launched to build racial representation through storytelling, advocacy, and community. For Carolyn, Diverse We Run exists to show that the running world is multifaceted and comprised of people of all backgrounds and cultures. Her hope is for the platform to offer community for those who have been under-represented and to provide insight on how a person’s race and culture impact their experience in the sport.
The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Carolyn grew up in Texas, where she felt conflicted about her cultural identity, struggling to find her place at her majority-white school while honoring her family and heritage at home. She discovered running in college and used it to help relieve stress and recover from an eating disorder. She later met and grew close to an older “auntie” who also ran. This experience of finding AAPI representation in running was a catalyst for Carolyn and led her to begin to weave the strands of her life together. In 2017, she founded Diverse We Run to help other BIPOC runners do the same.
Carolyn lives in the Boston area and has two young children. She is a host of the Making Strides podcast, an advocate for representation and inclusion on social media, and a sought-after public speaker. She joined NYRR’s Contributors Circle in July 2023 and is writing her first blog post to share her journey toward self-acceptance and becoming an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in running communities everywhere.