These Women Are Running From NYC To D.C. To Raise Money For Planned Parenthood

If you're feeling disheartened by the current limbo that we're in regarding reproductive rights, allow these four women to inspire you. On January 16, four women will run from New York City to Washington, D.C., in order to raise money and awareness for Planned Parenthood and women's reproductive health. Alison Mariella Désir, running coach and founder of the Harlem Run running group, said that she got the idea after reflecting on the last election and what's to come in the next few years. "As I reflect on 2016 and plan for 2017, I find myself unable to reconcile the election and the impact of what a (he who shall not be named) presidency will mean for many Americans," she wrote on a GoFundMe page for the run. "Well, it's no secret that this incoming administration and Congress have a target on women's right to choose, and women’s health," she continued. "There will never come a time that I look back and wonder, 'What could I have done to protect that right?'" As she put it, she thought, "I'm from Harlem. I live to run. What can I do?" Désir and three other women are planning to begin running the 240-mile run from NYC to D.C. on the 16th, arriving in the capitol on January 20 just in time for Inauguration Day and then to join the Women's March the next day. She also wrote that they plan to split up the run by doing roughly two NYC marathons each day. Désir is hoping to raise $44,000 in honor of the 44th president, Barack Obama. At the time of publication, her GoFundMe page had raised over $8,000. "I can't do much, but I CAN do this," she wrote.