Under Armour Diversity Series: Ultra Black creates space for Black wellness

Under Armour has teamed up with Canadian Running to produce the Under Armour Diversity Series — an exclusive feature content series designed to highlight and promote individuals and organizations who have demonstrated a commitment to grow the sport of running, support those who are underrepresented and help others. The series features stories and podcasts highlighting these extraordinary Canadians who are making a difference in their communities and on the national running scene.

Ultra Black started as a group of friends that shared an interest in running, but has become something much more. The Toronto-based collective launched with a simple goal—run together and invite other Black runners in—and has grown exponentially in scope and size as more people found a love of movement. But how has the crew managed to have such impressive growth, while maintaining authentic connection? We talked to their newly formed board’s president, Diana Anyim, and board chair Eghosa Idahosa, to figure out just how they built it.

In 2021, Team Ultra Black was born when three of its founding members connected at another run club, Me Vs Me (MVM), Anyim explains. “At the time, we just started exploring different activities, like boxing, hiking and skiing together,” she says. “There are a lot of sport spaces that don’t have much diversity. Eventually, we wanted to expand our friendship into a community for other Black people in the Greater Toronto Area. Since running is what brought us together, we decided to do an ultramarathon relay race from Toronto to Montreal, to demonstrate that power of community and the importance of wellness, and to show that you don’t need to be an athlete to prioritize your fitness.”

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That initial goal was simple, though far from easy. Create an all-Black team to compete in the ultra-distance relay from Toronto to Montreal, covering 650 km. “All of us only started running during COVID, so running was new,” says Idahosa. “None of us were people who grew up running, and we all started at seven or eight minutes per km. But that was part of it: we wanted to show people that yes, we’re running to Montreal, but we’re not doing that because we’re all Olympic runners. It’s just a hobby that we were consistent with, and in being consistent, we got better at it. We also wanted to show that running allowed us to meet each other and come together to take on a big goal like that.”

The small crew of runners completed the run, and realized they’d inspired many other Black runners–people who didn’t always see themselves reflected in their local running groups. People wanted to know what they were doing next and how they could join. And they had a lot of fun doing it. “After the ultra relay ended, we decided to offer workouts, programs and events to our community to encourage people to prioritize their fitness, wellness and also be in community with each other,” Anyim adds.

Fast-forward four years later, and Ultra Black has become a non-profit, complete with a board of directors. It’s running regular group runs in several locations, hosting youth programs, wellness activities and group fitness classes at various Toronto locations. Their mission has shifted from simply putting in miles to focusing on fitness, wellness and community on a larger scale—though also still putting in a lot of miles. As team member Promise Chawanya puts it, Ultra Black is now a team of Black athletes and advocates who are part of a larger group that “encourages each other and our peers to prioritize wellness, both individually and collectively, with a mission to act as ambassadors for positive change.”

And they’re making it happen. Scroll through their Instagram, and comments like “Let’s go! Can’t run to save my life but I want to start ❤️‍🔥” from people who have felt left out of the running space on nearly every post.

Ultra Black has also become about more than running, though running still is the core offering. They realized early on that runners need more than just a weekly run. They need wellness practices to back it up. Enter the Black in Balance Series—monthly events that include various wellness sessions and talks–from physiotherapy to yoga, sound bowl meditation and community socials. Thinking holistically about what runners need has been a big part of their growth; after all, every runner suffers a setback at some point, and rather than needing to exit the group, they can now access healing modalities and inspiration to stay fit.

And those who aren’t quite ready to test their legs on a run can come to a group fitness class and be a part of something bigger. It’s a win-win, explains Anyim, since these sessions are also a way for fitness studios, run shops and physical therapists to introduce themselves to Ultra Black’s community. They’ve also expanded their sport offerings: there’s an Ultra Black football league, Ultra Black FC, and a volleyball team now, as well!

“Running is the vehicle that brought us together and connected us, and encouraged us to start our own personal development journeys, so running is the thing that we want to show people that anyone can do it,” says Anyim. “Running is very accessible. But we saw the importance of doing other types of workouts, because not everyone is a runner. We want to show our community other ways they can be active–that maybe running isn’t for you, but you can still be part of this community through doing these other events or sports, and finding a habit that works for you.”

Despite the new additions, they have stayed true to the original goal, running from Toronto to Montreal. This year, there are two teams training for the race. There are also three weekly run club options (one in Toronto, one in Mississauga and one in Hamilton).

The question that often comes up when run clubs focus specifically on one race, gender, ethnicity or religion, is “Why does X group need their own space?” (Having hosted women’s runs at run shops, I can unfortunately attest to rude Instagram comments in which men complain about being left out of the conversation.) But without groups like this, access to running while feeling safe, comfortable and encouraged is difficult for many marginalized communities.

“Not everyone has the access to do all these different things,” says Idahosa. “Not everyone knows where to go. Not everyone feels comfortable to go and try something new. So what we’re trying to do is create an option for our community to access.”

“There are a lot of spaces that we went to, where we were kind of known as the token group, or we were the only Black people who were there,” says Anyim. “It was really about us expanding to our friends and our peers. And I know when I was at other run clubs, there were multiple times I invited my friends to come run, and they would say no, that they weren’t comfortable trying. So Ultra Black was really just a place for our friends and our families to have a space where they could try. And now, because we are partnering with gyms and other groups, we’re able to show that there are spaces they can go and feel comfortable. Contributing to the diversity in Toronto is another reason why we created Ultra Black—we see our community trying one of our Pilates classes or one of our boxing classes, and then maybe continuing at those studios, which expands the diversity in their spaces.”

“Some people want the option to go somewhere and just be themselves, not the minority of the group,” Idahosa adds.

Ultra Black’s long-term goal seems to be in line with their current trajectory: “We want to be a well-known organization in Canada, as a place where Black people are able to explore new activities, make new friends, challenge themselves and prioritize themselves, physically and mentally,” says Anyim. “We want to be a community that cares. So we want to continue to create programs that inspire mothers, fathers, young adults and seniors to take care of themselves, but also each other.”

You can learn more and support Ultra Black here.

As part of the Under Armour Diversity Series, Under Armour Canada made a $5,000 product donation to Ultra Black to continue their mission and help others get into running.