The mission of CivMix has been built on giving community voices and news a platform. From the daily “Rise and Shine” updates to our “CivMix Voices” blog, we want to make sure that you know not only what is happening in the #518 but also meet some of the individuals that are involved and invested in our great community. Contributor Alyssa Lotmore will be highlighting some of those individuals in our new “CivMixer Spotlight” series.
CivMixer Spotlight: Olivia Frempong
Olivia Frempong helped to start the Albany chapter of Black Girls Run. The nationwide organization was created in an effort to tackle the growing obesity epidemic in the African-American community and provide encouragement and resources to both new and veteran runners.
Q: You weren’t always a runner and when you started you were already balancing being a mom and a full-time social worker. When did you start and what was the reason?
A: I started running on Valentines Day 2013. It was a few months after having a great twin pregnancy with no complications. I had gone to my doctor for a annual physical exam and my doctor stated that my blood pressure was high. I applied my faith and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to start my fitness journey. I had never run before in my life, with the exception of during gym classes growing up in school, or to catch a train or bus in NYC. After about 2 months of staying committed to changing my lifestyle by becoming more active, my blood pressure returned to normal after a couple more follow up appointments. It has been normal ever since and my life has never been the same. I started my journey to help improve my health and it has been a bigger than anticipated. Today, I am a certified Run Coach with the RRCA (Road Runners Club of America), a licensed fitness instructor and personal trainer.
Q: Running changed your life, but you wanted to help other people get out there too. You played a big role in starting an Albany chapter of Black Girls Run. Tell us a little bit more about that organization and why you wanted to bring it to the area.
A: Black Girls Run (BGR) is an organization that was started in 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia after the founders, at the time, saw the need to help beat the health stats that showed that African American women are the #1 population that suffers from high blood pressure and heart disease. The mission of the group was to get women together for accountability to hit the pavement to run to chase those numbers down. After starting my run journey in 2013 in the later part of the year, I connected with the BGR NYC Chapter and I immediately joined as a member and became so in love with the organization’s motto of “No Woman Left Behind,” that I literally would go down to the city to do races with the ladies every month just to be in the midst of the amazing sisterhood and fellowship. BGR is truly a sisterhood of sisters that are on the mission to get fit, get active and stay moving with amazing accountability. I knew right away that I wanted to bring a local chapter to the Capital Region, and so I worked diligently to make all the necessary steps to do so. Finally in February 2016, I was blessed with the opportunity to start the BGR Albany chapter, and I have been the Ambassador of the chapter since! I wanted to make sure that the same experience I had with BGR NYC was what came to the Capital Region. Today we have over 700 women in our group on facebook, who myself, along with my wonderful 4 run coordinators, have the blessing to help encourage and inspire the ladies on a daily basis with daily motivation, tips and encouragement. It has been an amazing journey to say the least, and it’s been wonderful to see the ladies in the chapter doing spectacular things with their fitness journeys.
Q: For those who want to start running, what advice do you have for them?
A: YOU CAN DO THIS! One foot in front of the other, one step at a time. If I could do it, anyone can!!!! You can do anything you put your mind to.
Q: There is not a shortage of great community running events in the Capital Region. What are some of your favorite races and when do you plan on putting on your racing sneakers again?
A: My favorite local race is the Freihofer’s Run for Women, which is loading up on June 4th. It will always be near and dear to my heart, as it was my very first race ever, and the race that pushed me to start running and training and inevitably was the event that launched my running career. My sole sisters of Black Girls Run Albany and I will be there on June 4th to have some good fun, as it is our anniversary race! As far as putting my racing sneakers on again, they’ve never come off since November 23, 2017. I am currently doing a runstreak of running at least a mile a day, no matter what, since Thanksgiving 2017. I have run over 1640 days consecutively. I love doing the Freihofers Run, the Troy Turkey Trot, and I am currently preparing for my next marathon which will be my 7th.
Q: What are three of your favorite places to run around Albany and/or the Capital Region?
A: The capital Region has many amazing places to run. My ultimate favorites are along the Hudson River on the Corning Preserve, the Crossings Park in Colonie and honestly anywhere where I can take in the beauty of the Capital Region.
