529. Beyond the Run with Noor Abukaram, Founder of Let Noor Run

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Fitness, Sports, Running, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2022

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"I loved running. I had the best race of my life and I was so excited. That feeling! You know that feeling? And they took it away from me that day. Anyone should be able to excel at what they love without these roadblocks of discrimination."

In 2019, 17-year-old Noor Abukaram ran the best, fastest cross-country race of her life at a local meet in Ohio. But when she checked the results afterward, her name wasn't there. She learned that she had been disqualified before the race even started. For wearing a hijab.

Noor — who was raised in a Muslim family and started wearing a traditional head and neck covering as a teenager — shared her story from that day, of being disqualified for rules unbeknownst to her, and it quickly went viral. And so she turned her heartache into advocacy. She founded "Let Noor Run," a campaign to raise awareness about religious-based discrimination in sports and beyond. She successfully helped change the laws and legislation that protect the freedom of religious expression for athletes in Ohio. And at only 19 years old, she just starred in an ESPN film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

SPONSOR: New Balance — Go to newbalance.com/beyondtherun to learn more about how New Balance is supporting conversations around mental wellness in running. (And check out my current favorite pullover, crop top, half-zip top, quilted pullover, and jacket.)

What you'll get on this episode:

What Young Noor was like growing up (3:30)
How Noor became a runner (9:30)
What Noor's early high school experience was like (14:00)
Why wearing a hijab means so much to Noor (21:00)
On attending an Islamic school but playing sports at the local public high school (25:00)
The cross-country meet in Ohio that changed everything for Noor (30:50)
How "Let Noor Run" was born (37:00)
What it was like going viral (43:00)
On seeing an opportunity for change in a crappy situation (50:30)
Noor's willingness to be an advocate (53:30)
Noor gives us all the "SB 181 101" — what it means and what it does as a law (59:20)
How all of this has affected Noor's relationship with running (1:01:35)
Noor's dreams for the future (1:04:20)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by New Balance.
0:04.2	Go to newbalance.com slash Beyond the Run.
0:08.4	To learn more about how New Balance is supporting the conversation around running and mental wellness.
0:14.0	Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show.
0:20.7	I'm your host Alley Feller and this is Beyond the Run.
0:24.7	This series comes your way twice a month on The Alley on the Run Show
0:28.0	and my goal with these conversations is to talk about running and mental wellness
0:33.0	and the connection between the two. We do that by hearing from a mix of industry professionals,
0:38.4	professional athletes and everyday runners. My guest today is Nora Aboukaram.
0:44.8	Nora has such an inspiring story, a story that went viral back in 2019.
0:50.8	Nora was a 16-year-old high school student in cross-country runner and she and her team had just
0:56.1	competed at a local race in Ohio. Nora ran the fastest race of her life.
1:03.8	But when she checked the standings after the race, she scrolled and scrolled and didn't see
1:09.1	her name. There was nothing. It was a DNF did not finish. Nora later learned as she describes
1:16.9	in humiliating fashion that she was unknowingly disqualified for wearing a hijab.
1:22.8	Nora is a Muslim woman raised in a Muslim family and as his tradition she started wearing a hijab,
1:30.0	a neck and face covering as a teenager. It was a source of empowerment for her as you'll hear
1:35.9	in this conversation. But that day, that race, that disqualification, changed everything.
1:43.9	In this conversation, Nora reflects back on her childhood on that now famous cross-country race
1:49.8	in Ohio and on her commitment to activism and advocacy. In the wake of her disqualification,
1:56.6	Nora started the Let Nor Run campaign and she has helped successfully change the laws and
2:02.8	legislation that protect the freedom of religious expression for athletes in Ohio.
	...

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