This May, GirlTrek is hosting “Mamathon 2023,” starting on May 1 and lasting through May 31.
The Mamathon is a walking challenge where women pledge to walk 52.4 miles (about 2.5 miles a day), during the month of May to honor their mother or a caregiver in their lives.
In the Mamathon women are encouraged to walk in their community or in locations around the Washington D.C. area. Information about going on group walks can be found in a Facebook group online.
The length of the Mamathon (52.4 miles) is determined by multiplying the length of the traditional marathon (26.2 miles) by two.
“Walk in honor of a woman in your life. Walk because you are a mom and want to honor your motherhood by doing something healthy for yourself. Invite your friends and family to participate with you. This is how we grow the movement and spread joy and healing to the Black women we love.” said T. Morgan Dixon, GirlTrek cofounder.
Once the women complete their 52.4 miles, they can claim GirlTrek’s coveted golden shoelaces online. The shoelaces are a golden ticket for all future GirlTrek events.
When the Mamathon concludes, a new season of GirlTrek’s walking podcast, Black History Bootcamp, will start June 1, 2023.
GirlTrek is a national nonprofit that was inspired by the statistics of 137 Black women dying from heart disease every day. Also, Black women are dying younger and at higher rates than any other group of women in the country: 82% of Black women are currently overweight, and 53% are morbidly obese (CDC, 2020).
