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Susie Stephen

@longrunergy

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runner of many hats
coach & yoga guide @longruncollective
advocate @rising_hearts
📍Tohono O’odham & Yaqui lands

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Every Child Matters. 🧡

Today, I'm wearing orange in remembrance of the Indigenous children who were forcibly taken from their families and sent to Boarding and Residential Schools. For the children who never made it home, the survivors who did, their families, and the generations who continue to carry this history today.

Earlier this month, I got to join relatives here in Tucson for the 6th Annual @rising_hearts Every Child Matters Remembrance 5K. 🍃

Praying with our feet. Running for those who cannot. Sharing the good medicine that comes from running, remembering, and being in community together.

And today, we wear orange. 🧡

If you feel called to honor the work being done for this day, please consider purchasing an Every Child Matters shirt and/or donating through @rising_hearts. Their shirts are available year-round, with profits from the Bonfire campaign supporting the @nabshc

I'm rocking a plain ol' orange shirt today, but swipe through to see the Rising Hearts shirt I'll be ordering, including the beautiful words from echohawkd3 on the back. 🪶

And just for a little perspective, y'all... this isn't some distant history from hundreds of years ago. There are relatives alive TODAY who survived these schools and remember what happened to them.

So get a shirt. Donate if you can. Learn the history. Educate yourself. Listen to survivors and their families. Support the Indigenous-led organizations already doing this work.

And please... be a good relative. 🧡

For the children who never made it home. For those who did. For their families. For every child.

Chiokoe uttesia, and God Bless y'all. 🧡

#everychildmatters #orangeshirtday #indigenous #blessed #godbless by @longrunergy

Every Child Matters Remembrance 5k 🧡

Thank you everyone who joined us for our group run as part of the 6th Annual event organized by @rising_hearts ✨

It was a beautiful, cool morning to run together, be in community outside, and honor the memory of all Indigenous children forced into Boarding and Residential schools. This is a history we must never forget.

You can still run in support and/ or donate at the link in my bio. And, wear orange on September 30th, Orange Shirt Day - created by Phyllis Webstad in Canada - which is now also a National Day of Truth & Reconciliation.

Great to see everyone this morning! Thanks for the group pics @lou_bedonie @shaniahmorningstar

#everychildmatters #orangeshirtday #risinghearts by @longrunergy

August highlights ⛈️🌼🌵It’s been amazing, as always, to watch the Sonoran desert come alive thanks to the monsoons. Even with the extra humidity, running still provides a grounding experience to remember there is beauty in the madness.

I am trying to run and write each day, which is tricky - so much new found respect for people who manage running streaks, aka the one and only @stretchmurphy

Looking forward to a few events this September, including our @rising_hearts Every Child Matters group run for Orange Shirt Day in Tucson on Sunday, Sept 27th. Meeting at 7:30am for a 5k run/walk on the Santa Cruz river path. More details coming soon 👀 Join us.

#runningwithpurpose #monsoonseason #sonorandesertrunning by @longrunergy

Thanks July ✨⛈️🌵🌱🦗

#summertime by @longrunergy

A few highlights from an amazing 4 days in the Weminuche Wilderness a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks to the friends who prodded us to join them and go on our first family backpacking trip. It was a lot of effort (and a lot of snacks were consumed/ needed on the big day 1 hike in - see Exhibit A, Jelly Babies from the UK - thanks Mum 😄) but worthwhile for the experiences we all shared.

We talked about a lot of things, as you do on long days out in the open, especially with kids when all sorts of questions come up. But isn't that why we go and do these things - to be in new environments that nudge us out of the norm and beg us to be curious, to deepen our connections with this world, and ourselves. We did also talk a lot about Legend of Zelda... whatever it takes to keep nine year olds motivated, at altitude🧝🏼‍♀️🪄

The wild flowers were popping, the mountain goats were very... goaty, and the rugged landscape awe inspiring. Smoke from the Ouray and other wild fires only settled in the valley for one morning, but luckily it dissipated with little effect.

The Native Lands that we spent time in are the ancestral and traditional homelands of the Weeminuche Band, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Jicarilla Apache, Diné, Hopi, and the Pueblos of New Mexico. Thankful for the opportunity to have been immersed in such a beautiful place.

#backpackingwithkids #familyhike #weminuchewilderness #nativelands by @longrunergy

A brief highlight of the last few weeks in the UK. Not in any particular order, not featuring everyone who made it another special visit. As ever, we had a wonderful time with a few fun day trips and dips in the river or sea to stay cool. But best of all was simply catching up with people over cups of tea with biscuits or cake, or in some cases even the classic crisp 😅🥔🧂

#thankssummer #overtoosoon #seasidedreaming by @longrunergy

Still can't believe this was over two weeks ago! I wrote a few reflections and they're up on Substack - link in bio if you'd like to hear about the power of volcanoes, shrines and noodles... 🗻⛩️🍜🤗

#trailrunning #runningwithpurpose #kai70k by @longrunergy

Mount Fuji magic 🥹 Wow, the Kai 70k! An amazing, challenging race in a beautiful country 😍 Still on a high, with very sore legs, and a full heart 💞

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to my @rising_hearts fundraiser! I thought of you all out there and ran each kilometer for the names on the dedication board 💓 There is still time to support the work of Rising Hearts who do so much work to raise voices and tell stories, bringing people together through the power of running! See the link in my bio - postcards from Japan will be leaving soon 👀

A quick race recap of some highs and lows:
🗻 2pm start was a new twist on preparations.
🗻 Volcano-views give you wings.
🗻 Steep climbs often led to a shrine.
🗻 Valley crossings through small farms & villages.
🗻 Quiet forest trails with soft, almost peaty trails.
🗻 Rock scramble with ropes at mile 26.
🗻 Yamanashi udon at the last aid station was a life saver.
🗻 Contact lenses & downhill running did not mix well.
🗻 Caffeine gels FTW.
🗻 Volunteers out at night on a course are heroes.
🗻 Friends who run 20miles to cheer you on! Thanks so much @cosmic.sprinkles
🗻 Cedar wood prizes made from fallen branches collected at the gateway shrine to Mount Fuji 🥹

Thanks @ultra_damo for the 'fun' (😆) training plan and coaching, and @longruncollective for all the support 🤗

More to come soon - still soaking up the reality that this trail runner's dream came true. Might retire now 😅

#mountfujithewonderful #trailrunningdreams #runjapan #runningwithpurpose #kai70k by @longrunergy

Wow this spring has flown by and it's nearly go time 😃 Final count down to Japan is here!! Thank you to everyone for the donations to @rising_hearts 🤗

This training block wouldn't have happened without wild & wonder-full inspiration from the desert, the support of family and friends, and a great plan from @ultra_damo

But first, time to cheer for everyone running the Boston Marathon on Monday and then I'll do a(nother) gear check.
Ganbatte!

#runningwithpurpose #trailrunning #sonorandesert #initforthelongrun #risinghearts by @longrunergy

Two weeks to go until the Kai 70k in Japan and all the final pieces are coming together. Thank you to everyone who has donated to my fundraiser for @rising_hearts 💗 Still time to make a donation and receive a postcard 🇯🇵📝🤗

Training through spring in the Sonoran Desert has been such a joy & privilege: full of life, Mother Nature's surprises and reminders not to take anything for granted.

Happy April everyone!

#runningwithpurpose #trailrunning #risinghearts #initforthelongrun by @longrunergy

70 kilometers = 70 stories. And so far, 30 of the 70 kilometers have been dedicated to friends, family, fellow runners and more. 40 spaces still left to claim... See link in my bio for more information on how to donate and choose km. Every donation also gains an entry into a prize draw, and receives a postcard from Japan. All in support of @rising_hearts and the work they do. Thank you 🤗✨

#runningwithpurpose #trailrunning #trailrunners #kai70k by @longrunergy

Running on Native Lands in 2026!
There is still time to sign up, run and support @rising_hearts and acknowledge the Indigenous lands where you live. See the link in my bio for more info.
What a privilege it is to run! And whilst everything is not fine, I'm trying to remember that many things can be true at once, we must keep looking for the beauty in every day, and that even the smallest of gestures can still make a difference.
📍 Tohono O'odham & Pasqua Yaqui traditional homelands.

#runningonnativelands #legsforlandback #runningwithpurpose #initforthelongrun #trailrunning by @longrunergy