{"id":13031,"date":"2019-05-03T13:54:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T17:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?p=13031"},"modified":"2022-06-23T09:34:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T13:34:44","slug":"plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On May 4th, women from all over the country will head to Atlanta, GA to participate in the second annual The Plus Strut\u2122<\/a>, the first-ever 5K for plus-size women and the first plus-size run or walk to be sanctioned by USA Track & Field. As a proud sponsor of The Plus Strut\u2122 5K 2019, we wanted to know everything about this pioneering event\u2014so we reached out to the founder, Joy Tribble, to discover how the idea was born.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As told by Joy Tribble (and edited and condensed for clarity and length)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years ago, my girlfriend was a personal trainer. She challenged me to a half-marathon, and, I thought, this is insane. I can\u2019t do 13.1 miles. But she challenged me to do it. We trained for it for months, and then, lo and behold, she forgot to register us. And I thought, this is some kind of sick joke. We didn\u2019t do it because we didn\u2019t register, but I did a 5K event instead. When I arrived, everybody was very nice, very kind, and even very welcoming. I just didn\u2019t see a lot of women who looked like me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though it\u2019s 3.1 miles and shorter than a half-marathon, I still got angsty about being a larger person and not being able to finish within whatever I thought the allotted time would be, so that I was the last person crossing the finish line. I feared not being able to hit the mark. So, I thought, there are other women who do these, I\u2019m certain. But there may be some women who have thought about this but are afraid, like I\u2019m afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I needed to do something about it. My thought was, let\u2019s create a space where women of size don\u2019t have to worry that they\u2019re going to get haggled at 5K running events. You\u2019re celebrated at The Plus Strut\u2122 5K. You\u2019re embraced. There\u2019s a community of women that\u2019s supporting you and cheering you on to the finish line. It\u2019s a celebratory space that dispels what other people might think about you, and some of the negative things<\/a> that have been said about plus-size women who partake in events like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a celebratory space that dispels…the negative things that have been said about plus-size women who partake in events like this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been a plus ambassador and a plus-size model over the years. While I believe that the community was moving in the right direction as it relates to modeling and fashion and beauty, and all of those things, I felt that there was a bit slower tick in wellness<\/a>. We were doing yoga<\/a> and things like that, which I thought were great. But I also thought, if you don\u2019t have any major physical ailments, everybody can walk. But not everybody wants to be a model<\/a>, per se, or not everybody wants to be a blogger, or a beauty adviser, or an influencer. But health and wellness are always on trend. And there was nothing like this in the plus community base, and so, hence The Plus Strut\u2122.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a plus-size coach last year, for our first event, who had done marathons and half-marathons. The reason why she connected with our event is that she\u2019s been in those spaces where she\u2019s gotten the looks. She was like 268, 280 pounds, and she was a badass. But she would get looks from other people like, \u201cWhat are you<\/em> doing here?\u201d Not everybody would say something all the time, but people had said things to her before. That wasn\u2019t my experience, because I\u2019m not a running<\/a> guru, but because she was in that community, she shared some of those experiences with us. And it just gave me more fuel as to why I thought that something like this needed to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, we had women who were 300, 400 pounds, who participated. Some women would never participate in a 5K outside of The Plus Strut\u2122, so that\u2019s how we knew that, yes, this is the place for women to come and just be, and wear your crop top, and not be concerned about what somebody\u2019s going to say about you. That\u2019s not to say we\u2019re worried about what other people say, but that\u2019s just the world we live in. How we\u2019re societally built. We do worry. Well, here at The Plus Strut\u2122, you don\u2019t have to. We celebrate every nook and cranny that you give us. Like people say on Instagram, \u201cThe summer is getting whatever body I give it.\u201d That\u2019s how we feel at The Plus Strut\u2122. This is where your body is welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like people say on Instagram, ‘The summer is getting whatever body I give it.’ That’s how we feel at The Plus Strut\u2122. This is where your body is welcome.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t be what you don\u2019t see. I think that\u2019s what The Plus Strut\u2122 is: We are being the change we want to see in the world. That was one of the first things I said when I was at the other event that I participated in, that I didn\u2019t see anybody who looked like me. It was upsetting\u2014it was a lonely experience because no one else was there to share that with me. I believe that in order to dispel societal norms, we have to show up. We have to do it. We have to dispel even our own negative self-talk, because that happens, too. I have women in my inbox who write, \u201cI\u2019ve been watching the journey of The Plus Strut\u2122, and I\u2019ve been wanting to do it, but I\u2019m afraid because I don\u2019t think I can do it.\u201d And I have to always help with turning the mental Titanic with the women. To say, \u201cListen, we created this event for that very thing you\u2019re saying that you\u2019re afraid of. You won\u2019t have to worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need a running buddy to escort you across the finish line, there will be pace walkers there with you. I\u2019ve had women say, \u201cI want to do it, but I don\u2019t have anybody to do it with.\u201d I think there\u2019s a community aspect that might be missing in the space. So, some of our core values are inclusion, diversity, community, and fun. And the community aspect is so important because, especially in our social media world, we\u2019re a little isolated. What The Plus Strut\u2122 does is it pulls back the layers and brings us together for this moment in time. It connects us with other women who look like us, feel like we feel, and can understand the accomplishment. Because to be a woman of size and to do something like this, it makes you feel like a hero. Women cry when they cross that finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s keep this real. I\u2019m not Superwoman. There are days when I don\u2019t want to deal with life. But I think what happened was that I wanted to live. I had decided that I felt like my battery light in life was blinking and I needed to connect again to myself. So, for the last maybe five or six years, I\u2019ve been going to therapy, and one of the things that my therapist spoke about was just living. I took a little offense to that, because I was like, \u201cWhat the hell do you mean? I\u2019m living every day.\u201d And she was like, if you were, though, would we have these kinds of conversations? She wasn\u2019t being a smartass\u2014she was being dead-on. She was being very honest. So I had to get honest and say, \u201cWait, maybe I\u2019m not living to my fullest potential. I\u2019m making excuses for it because I don\u2019t want to really face the music.\u201d Where can I show up differently? Where can I show up better, just for Joy? Maybe it isn\u2019t walking every day, but two or three times a week. So, it was really just about me. The Plus Strut\u2122, honestly, is me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Plus Strut\u2122 was born out of me and the things that I felt were missing from my life. So, I was like, I can\u2019t wait for somebody else to do it, because nobody knows what I\u2019m feeling. So I have to be responsible, not just for my life, but for my actions and how I\u2019m going to contribute to the greater world. I don\u2019t care what anybody else says\u2014there are other women who feel like I do. Sometimes it just takes one person to say, \u201cHi, my name is Joy, and this is how I feel.\u201d We give other people permission to say, \u201cThanks, Joy. Me too.\u201d So that\u2019s really what The Plus Strut\u2122 is. It\u2019s just me forcing honesty, me getting in the mirror, and me being kinder to myself. I don\u2019t walk every day. I don\u2019t. The Plus Strut\u2122 challenges me. I\u2019m the creator, and it challenges me. But that\u2019s a good thing, because if you\u2019re not challenged, then you won\u2019t change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be a woman of size and to do something like this, it makes you feel like a hero. Women cry when they cross that finish line.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My mom used to say, \u201cJoy, how do you drink the ocean? Just one swallow at a time.\u201d You can\u2019t chug it. You can\u2019t chug life all at once. What taking walks and running allow is just a new cadence in life. I think it gives it a metronome, a beat. My favorite Beyonce song has a good rhythm. It causes me to move a certain way. I think incorporating small elements of a wellness component in life brings you rhythm. It colors your life better and it causes recalibration. When we aren\u2019t calibrated, we\u2019re off. One of my favorite artists is India Arie, and she has a song that\u2019s called \u201cBack to the Middle.\u201d I don\u2019t think we live in the middle a lot. I think we are extreme sometimes. Being in the middle is really good because then you\u2019re balanced. I think that\u2019s what a wellness component does. It causes you to find balance, to be kind to yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think you have to start with a \u201cYes.\u201d Does that mean that I need to go buy new tennis shoes? Maybe. Does that mean that I need to call a friend to walk with me? Maybe. Does that mean I need to pack my bag the night before or put my tennis shoes out? Whatever the details are, I really believe it starts with a \u201cYes.\u201d People are like, \u201cOh God, three miles is so far\u201d\u2014and for some, it could be. You just have to flip it in your mind and go, \u201cYeah, I can do this!\u201d Now, I just have to figure out everything it\u2019s going to take me to get there. Listen, either your mind is going to agree with your \u201cNo,\u201d or it\u2019s going to agree with your \u201cYes.\u201d It just depends on which answer you give it, to be honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The negative self-talk can get so, so loud. We don\u2019t flip it, because it\u2019s easy to be negative to ourselves, right? But, how quickly can you flip that, and not sit in that moment? I think what a walking regimen does is it allows you to see that you\u2019re so much smaller than the big, big world we live in. When you get outside and you look at trees, and look at how big they are, and you see how wide the sky is, and birds floating by you, you\u2019re like, \u201cWait, I got this thing all wrong. I\u2019m only a small percentage of what the world at large is. Maybe my problems aren\u2019t that big.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to experience this amazing event for yourself? Registration will be open on-site starting May 4th<\/strong>, the morning of the event! For behind-the-scenes coverage, fo<\/strong>llow along as The Plus Strut<\/strong>\u2122 takes over our Instagram<\/a>, <\/strong>or<\/strong> keep an eye on the event hashtags <\/strong>(#theplusstrut<\/a>, #curviest5K<\/a>, #thisonesforus<\/a>, and #strutyourplus<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 4th, women from all over the country will head to Atlanta, GA to participate in the second annual The Plus Strut\u2122, the first-ever 5K for plus-size women and the first plus-size run or walk to be sanctioned by USA Track & Field. As a proud sponsor of The Plus Strut\u2122 5K 2019, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":13079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[184],"class_list":["post-13031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women - Dia & Co<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Plus Strut\u2122 founder, Joy Tribble, on what inspired her to launch "the curviest 5K on the planet."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women - Dia & Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Plus Strut\u2122 founder, Joy Tribble, on what inspired her to launch "the curviest 5K on the planet."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dia & Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/diaandco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-03T17:54:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-23T13:34:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"830\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marge Hudson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@diaandco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@diaandco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marge Hudson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/\",\"name\":\"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women - Dia & Co\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-03T17:54:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-23T13:34:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de\"},\"description\":\"The Plus Strut\u2122 founder, Joy Tribble, on what inspired her to launch \\\"the curviest 5K on the planet.\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg\",\"width\":830,\"height\":540},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dia & Co\",\"description\":\"Dia & Co is the premier personal styling service for plus-size women. Try on clothes at home, keep what you like, return the rest to us!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de\",\"name\":\"Marge Hudson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women - Dia & Co","description":"The Plus Strut\u2122 founder, Joy Tribble, on what inspired her to launch \"the curviest 5K on the planet.\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women - Dia & Co","og_description":"The Plus Strut\u2122 founder, Joy Tribble, on what inspired her to launch \"the curviest 5K on the planet.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/","og_site_name":"Dia & Co","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/diaandco\/","article_published_time":"2019-05-03T17:54:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-23T13:34:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":830,"height":540,"url":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marge Hudson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@diaandco","twitter_site":"@diaandco","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marge Hudson","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/","name":"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women - Dia & Co","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg","datePublished":"2019-05-03T17:54:12+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-23T13:34:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de"},"description":"The Plus Strut\u2122 founder, Joy Tribble, on what inspired her to launch \"the curviest 5K on the planet.\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3mnyo7e05c2kb.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/plus-strut-header.jpg","width":830,"height":540},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wellness\/plus-strut-5k-2019-joy-tribble\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why I Started The Plus Strut\u2122, the First 5K for Plus-Size Women"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/","name":"Dia & Co","description":"Dia & Co is the premier personal styling service for plus-size women. Try on clothes at home, keep what you like, return the rest to us!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12fa817987a28e5e481cfbdfaa4a81de","name":"Marge Hudson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}