Race Director Gabriela Gallegos gets, stuff, done! She puts on a multitude of races in Texas as well as Arizona and is on the Board of Directors for USAT. She trained for her first triathlon as an adult and found the finish line experience totally transformative. From then on, she was hooked.
Gabriela strives to share that experience with many others in her community, particularly women of color via her Mighty Mujer Race Series. She has undoubtedly made some tough choices throughout the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic but is continuously looking at ways to adapt and guarantee her racers are able to return to what they love most.
Stand-out Quotes
- “It was really meant to be a race that is empowering and giving the idea of womanhood as powerful and strong and willing to take on challenges…it’s not the ‘shrink it and pink it’ mentality.”
- “Now we’re trying to find ways to stay motivated, even though we’re not traveling to a specific location to do your goal with other people. Having that personal goal has been really fundamental.”
- “Initially thinking of that as a virtual date on the calendar, didn’t feel real. And now that does feel real, right? As we’ve shifted a lot of how we’re doing business.”
- “There’s a certain element of the pressure & intimidation factor that are just lifted, right? If you don’t have to go and you don’t feel like you look the part, or you don’t have the outfit, or you don’t know what to expect, signing up for a virtual race is very low risk.”
- “I think people are outside and riding bikes and running more than we’ve ever seen before. It is people who maybe [were] feeling stuck for a few weeks and then realized, ‘I just need to go outside. I just need to go for a walk. I have had this bike for years and I haven’t been on it and I am going to go get it tuned up.’”
Resources
Race El Paso Instagram
Mighty Mujer Triathlon Instagram
Race El Paso Facebook
Mighty Mujer Triathlon Facebook
Race El Paso Website
Mighty Mujer Triathlon Website
