Dora Atim: “Bravery is going off piste”

Dora Atim moves through the world with an energy that blurs categories. A striking presence in underground run culture, she always looks as though she’s just stepped off the set of a photoshoot. She effortlessly mixes running performance with street style, activism with club culture, and binds it all with a heap of sass that never loses sight of the community that shaped her.

As the founder of Ultra Black Running, a collective for Black women and Black non-binary people to explore the outdoors on their own terms, she’s helped redefine who ​‘belongs’ in running and what visibility can really mean. Her work spans grassroots connection and the global influence of a Nike coach and ambassador – between the energy of a run club and the scrutiny of the boardroom, where questions of representation, control and authenticity are always top of her list.

Ahead of Huck’s panel discussion at Kendal Mountain Festival, exploring the balance between brand collaboration and community autonomy, Dora spoke with Phil Young from The Outsiders Project about creative control, surviving performative allyship, and what it takes to build your own table when progress falters.

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Dora, who are you?

Who am I? Yeah, a coach, a mentor, a space-maker, a vibe curator

“Vibe curator” feels like the most accurate one. You’ve become a genuine running influencer. As a Nike ambassador, you’re rubbing shoulders with Jay‑Z, Serena Williams, but how does that connect back to your grassroots work? Is it the same Dora, or are there different versions of you we should get to know?

It’s such a good question. I think there are different branches of Dora within Dora. There’s the Dora that puts on the corporate hat, the coach hat, and the influencer hat. When I’m in rooms with the likes of Serena Williams, Sha’Carri Richardson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, I’m looking at what these amazing people are doing and figuring out how to make that work for people who relate to me.

Within the community, when there’s a call saying, we need resources, we need this, we need a seat at the table – I now have one. So, what am I going to do with it? When I go on trips or attend workshops, I immediately think: ​“How can I bring this back home?”

Because without that, I’m not doing the work I intend to do. I feel fulfilled in my work, but I need to feel I’m making an impact. Otherwise, what’s the point? If people are calling out brands online, I ask myself: ​“How can I help change that? Maybe there’s someone I can speak to.” If I’m in brand meetings and people ask: ​“How do we reach certain groups?” I can say: ​“Well, here’s what the people who I’m around every day actually think.”

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You’ve been ​“doing the work” for a long time. How does that show up in your community?

“Doing the work” has changed over the years. It started with being active in the community, being online, being in the mix. Now, a lot of it happens offline: sourcing resources, finding out what people need, checking in, spotting opportunities. Sometimes that’s platforming someone whose story deserves to be seen, or connecting them with the right opportunity. That’s the work, it’s not always visible, but it’s real.

Has what you do always been this multi-faceted, or did that evolve over time?

I’ve evolved with it. I’m not quiet, and I don’t take any shit, so if something feels off, I’ll say it. I did a personal audit, and asked myself: ​“What do I enjoy doing?” Being out on runs, being at races, going to events, being in the club, all of it. Then I thought: ​“How can I make this sustainable?” 

People often say: ​“You make it look so easy.” But it’s not. Setting boundaries is hard when you’re fighting the algorithm. I ask: ​“What do I want for me?” And that means sometimes stepping back and falling into the boss that I think I am.

How have the challenges evolved since you started?

At first, the biggest barrier was resources. I didn’t even mean for Ultra Black Running to be a thing, I just wanted to run with my girls. But as it grew, more eyes meant more opportunities, more asks, more expectations. Back then, resources for People of Colour were limited. Then, after George Floyd, suddenly everyone wanted to support Black people. That was great, but now in 2025, that support has mostly disappeared. The struggle’s back. I’ll keep doing the work with or without brands, but it’s emotionally taxing. I even talk to my therapist about it now, and I never thought I’d be discussing work in therapy.

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Why do you think that support has been rolled back and how should that be challenged?

I think people don’t want to talk about race anymore. It feels too political, too uncomfortable. So we need to call it out. We see when things are performative, and we know when people are genuinely about it. Brands need to ask themselves: ​“Why are we supporting this organisation?” Is it part of your quarterly strategy, or do you actually want to make an impact?

Relationships disappear when staff change or budgets shift. So how do we keep doing the work when the resources dry up? For organisations, that means having systems in place for consistent, long-term support, not just PR bursts.

Ahead of our Kendal Mountain Festival panel, if a brand approaches a community like yours, what are the non-negotiables?

Creative control is number one. It comes back to your will, your morals, your values. People need support, financial, material but at what cost? Are you connecting to a brand that’s authentic or just performative? You’ve got to know from the start if the partnership feels right, emotionally and ethically. Does it make sense for both sides, and do both parties understand why they’re doing it?

Do you think bravery is part of that process and what does bravery look like for you?

Bravery is going off-piste. It might slow your journey down, but that’s OK. You can take time out, step away, come back in. You don’t have to be constantly visible. It’s easy to think you’ll be forgotten but you won’t. That’s what being brave looks like.

Dora Atim will be in conversation with Phil Young, Sam Haddad and Jonathan Weaver on November 20, 2025 at Kendal Mountain Festival, where they will be discussing the topic: ​‘Brands in the Community. Facilitation Not Exploitation.’ For more information and tickets, visit Kendal Mountain’s official website.

Phil Young is the founder of the Outsiders Project. Follow him on Instagram.

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