Meet Our Marathoners: Point of Pride's 2026 LA Charity Team Athletes!

Steph is a trans, non-binary runner based in Colorado who is taking on the LA Marathon this year for Point of Pride. Running has long been a way for Steph to challenge themselves, but this race carries special meaning—it’s their first marathon run explicitly for and with their community. At a time when trans and non-binary people face escalating threats to safety, dignity, and access to care, Steph sees each mile as an act of visibility, resistance, and hope.

Training this cycle has felt different in the best way. Knowing that every run represents their queer family and helps fund life-saving gender-affirming care has brought Steph renewed motivation, joy, and purpose—even on cold, snowy mornings that once felt daunting. For Steph, being part of Point of Pride’s team is a powerful reminder that trans people are never alone. “You don’t have to be fearless or perfectly prepared,” they say. “Showing up as you are is enough.” Steph hopes their journey affirms for others—especially trans and queer youth—that being trans is not something to endure, but a source of strength, pride, and possibility.

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Noah is a lifelong runner for whom the sport has been a steady anchor through life’s changes, challenges, and joys. Running has always been how Noah shows up for himself—on good days and bad—and a reminder that, as long as he can keep moving forward, he can get through whatever comes next. After accessing gender-affirming care, including HRT and top surgery, Noah experienced a moment that changed everything: finally seeing himself in the mirror and feeling at home in his own body.

Now, Noah is running with Point of Pride to help make that same sense of possibility and freedom accessible to others. In a time when it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or powerless, running for this team gives Noah a way to turn purpose into action—one mile at a time. Training hasn’t always been easy, but pushing through hard moments has reinforced what he knows to be true: you don’t have to do this—you get to. For Noah, joining the Point of Pride marathon team brings together his love of running, his pride in being a trans man, and his belief in the power of community. He’s running so others can feel what he did—that life can get better, especially when you’re supported, seen, and never alone.

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Sal is a runner, farmer, and artist based in Albuquerque, NM, whose running journey began after accessing gender-affirming care. For Sal, running is deeply connected to feeling at home in their body, and joining Point of Pride’s charity team feels like a natural way to channel that joy and energy into something meaningful.

Alongside full-time farming, Sal has been training for endurance races—including their first marathon and a 50k—and is now preparing for their second marathon with excitement (especially the chance to train at high elevation before racing at sea level). Sal is passionate about building community through movement and is actively working to create a nonbinary running club in Albuquerque, as well as advocating for greater inclusion of nonbinary divisions in local races. In a time when access to care and basic rights feel increasingly uncertain, Sal sees running with Point of Pride as a way to build connection, celebrate becoming, and move together toward a more affirming future.

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Rafi is a runner and triathlete who’s thrilled to be taking on his first marathon with Point of Pride in a city he loves—Los Angeles. For Rafi, this race is a joyful opportunity to bring together his love of running, community, and showing up visibly as a trans person.

After years of competing in triathlons and half marathons, Rafi is embracing the challenge of marathon training with curiosity and excitement, leaning into new rhythms of longer runs, intervals, and tempo workouts. Being part of the Point of Pride team is about more than the miles—it’s about showing the world that trans and nonbinary people are here, thriving, and doing incredible things together. In challenging times, Rafi believes deeply in taking care of one another, and he’s proud to run in support of care, dignity, and community for as many people as possible.

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Donny is a runner and exercise physiologist who is taking on the marathon with Point of Pride as an act of care, presence, and responsibility. For Donny, running is a way to come back into their breath and body when the world feels heavy or unsafe—a practice that makes choosing to exist fully, take up space, and move forward with intention possible.

Deeply aware of the privilege that allows them to train and move through public space with relative safety, Donny runs with gratitude and purpose, offering their effort and visibility in service of trans communities who deserve care, dignity, and freedom. Their training approach centers health, sustainability, and self-trust, letting go of perfection in favor of listening closely to their body and honoring what it needs each day. As part of the Point of Pride team, Donny hopes to model a relationship with movement that is affirming, accessible, and rooted in resilience—showing up visibly so others feel empowered to do the same.

Donate to support Donny