Why one LA run club leader chose community over the Paris Olympics

A guest editorial from Zaakiyah Brisker of South Central Run Club in Los Angeles about why she turned down the opportunity to be flown to Paris for the Olympic Games.

Amazing people. That’s what I have always aimed to highlight with Running Sucks. South Central Run Club founder, Zaakiyah Brisker is one of them. I profiled Zaakiyah in my first post of 2024 - The run club fighting White Supremacy. This post is a slight departure from regular programming, but in line with that central tenet.

As runners, it’s expected that we’ve had our attention engulfed by the 2024 Olympic Games for the past few weeks. As humans, however, it’s also normal that we think about the politics that surround events of such magnitude. For all the bombast and glory, the Olympic Games brings problems with it wherever it goes.

For instance, NOlympics LA says, ”the Olympics always accelerate policing, evictions, inequality, exploitation, and the erosion of democracy in every host city. The LA 2028 games are no different.”

This op-ed from Zaakiyah explains her decision to turn down a free trip to Paris in favor staying with …