Part of the Limitless Series

Sponsored by Under Armour | Presented by OUTSIDE

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What does a runner look like? Traditional portraits of athletes tend to feature the same people, the same bodies, the same narratives. But in this documentary series, a partnership between Under Armour and Outside, our team was asked to tell one of the last great untold stories of sports: the runners who look just like you. The runners who blow past barriers. The runners who are limitless.

 

Meet Jocelyn RIvas, the youngest Latina to run 100 marathons. Born in El Salvador, with a broken back, legs, and feet, Rivas came into the world with physical disadvantages—at least that’s what her family believed. Despite making a full recovery as a baby, Rivas internalized those birth defects for much of the early part of her life. “I always thought I was limited,” she says. Jocelyn immigrated to the United States with her sister at the age of 6, she was told she wouldn’t have access to the same opportunities as her peers—or a pathway to citizenship.

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Rivas’s world opened up with the announcement of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as undocumented children to attend college and obtain work permits. “I remember watching the T.V. when Obama made the announcement about DACA,” says Rivas. Even as a teen, she understood the program had the power to change the trajectory of her life. “I spent most of my childhood thinking I wouldn’t be able to go to college or get a good job or dream of a better future. DACA made it possible for me to do those things and to have big goals.”

 

 “I want to show girls like me—other Latinas—that they can be like me and do what I do,” Rivas says. But mostly, Rivas continues to run to get the most out of life—the life she once scarcely imagined having. “I run because I know there are people out there who don’t have the opportunity to run or can’t run,” she says. “I realized I’m living. I’m a living human being, and I really want to maximize my life the most I can. I find I can do that through running.”

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Jocelyn is now a 3 time world record holder and has no intention of slowing down. Her dedication, kindness, & humor is a powerful combination. We are elated to share her story.

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Read the article on OUTSIDE Magazine>>

Director/DP: Sashwa Burrous

Special Ops/Audio: Timothy Real
Producer: Samantha Harmon
Story Producer: Jordan Marie Daniel
Outside Producer: Meghan Miranda
AC: Leeann Leonard 

PA: April Brown

Photographer: Bryan Garcia
Editor: Collin Kriner