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Always Looking Up - Richard Whitehead MBE On Paving The Way For Inclusion In Sport...One Marathon At A Time
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Richard Whitehead MBE On Paving The Way For Inclusion In Sport...One Marathon At A Time

Always Looking Up

09/08/25

67m

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In this week’s episode I sat down with Richard Whitehead MBE. Richard is a Paralympic Gold Medallist, world record holder, professional athlete, marathon runner and a passionate diversity and inclusion champion. Richard is now currently the fastest amputee runner in the world and is undertaking an epic 20 marathon challenge around the world throughout 2025, to bring him to an incredible 100 marathons of his career, connecting with communities and sharing his mission of true inclusion. Launched in 2021, Richard is also the founder and president of The Richard Whitehead Foundation, a charity which enables disabled people's ambitions through sport and activity and removes barriers. We discuss how running has changed his perceptions about life, the perceptions and realities about the inclusivity of the Paralympics, wanting to leave a lasting legacy everywhere he runs and much, much more.

Follow Richard: Instagram: @richard_whitehead_mbe TikTok: @richard_whitehead_mbe Website: https://richardwhiteheadmbe.com

Learn More About The Richard Whitehead Foundation: https://www.whitehead.foundation

Follow Me: Instagram: ⁠@jill_ilana⁠ , ⁠@alwayslookingup.podcast⁠ TikTok: ⁠@jillian_ilana⁠ Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: ⁠alwayslookingup227@gmail.com⁠

Read With Me:

⁠Goodreads⁠

⁠The StoryGraph⁠

Support Immigrant Communities (all links came from ⁠@chnge⁠):

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (⁠@chirla_org⁠): https://www.chirla.org/donatenow/⁠

Immigrant Defenders Law Center (⁠@immdef_lawcenter⁠): https://www.immdef.org

Inland Coalition 4 Imm Justice (⁠@ic4ij⁠): https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jornaleros⁠

Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:

Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/⁠

United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/⁠

Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: ⁠https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf⁠

Previous Episode

In this week’s episode I sat down with Ashton McGrady. Ashton is a Charlotte-based creator sharing beauty, fashion, and lifestyle content through the lens of someone living with a disability. She is especially passionate about accessibility in the beauty space and loves spotlighting inclusive products and creative ways to make your routine work for you. Alongside her creator work, Ashton is the co-founder and an accessibility consultant at Wishing Well Collective, where she partners with brands to build more inclusive beauty and fashion experiences. We discuss fashion as an art form, the difference between celebration and incorporation and much, much more.

Follow Ashton: Instagram: @radiantlygolden TikTok: @radiantlygolden YouTube: AshtonMcGrady

Follow The Wishing Well Collective: Instagram: @the.wishingwellco Website: https://www.wishingwellco.com Email: contact@wishingwellco.com

Follow Me: Instagram: ⁠@jill_ilana⁠ , ⁠@alwayslookingup.podcast⁠ TikTok: ⁠@jillian_ilana⁠ Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: ⁠alwayslookingup227@gmail.com⁠

Read With Me:

⁠Goodreads⁠

⁠The StoryGraph⁠

Support Immigrant Communities (all links came from ⁠@chnge⁠):

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (⁠@chirla_org⁠): https://www.chirla.org/donatenow/⁠

Immigrant Defenders Law Center (⁠@immdef_lawcenter⁠): https://www.immdef.org

Inland Coalition 4 Imm Justice (⁠@ic4ij⁠): https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jornaleros⁠

Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:

Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/⁠

United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/⁠

Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: ⁠https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf⁠

Next Episode

In this week’s episode I sat down with Ariella Elm. Ariella is a queer, Jewish, disabled political influencer offering daily visibility into the stories of Democratic fighters and inspiring activism from a place of hope, rather than fear. We discuss how our community can speak up, speak out, make an impact and make a difference, even if our bodies do not always allow us to show up, even if that means we are working on the sidelines or behind the scenes.

Follow Ariella: Instagram: @ariella.elm TikTok: @ariella.elm YouTube: Ariella Elm Substack: https://ariellaelm.substack.com

Follow Me: Instagram: ⁠@jill_ilana⁠ , ⁠@alwayslookingup.podcast⁠ TikTok: ⁠@jillian_ilana⁠ Website: https://www.jillianilana.com Email: ⁠alwayslookingup227@gmail.com⁠

Read With Me:

⁠Goodreads⁠

⁠The StoryGraph⁠

Support Immigrant Communities (all links came from ⁠@chnge⁠):

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (⁠@chirla_org⁠): https://www.chirla.org/donatenow/⁠

Immigrant Defenders Law Center (⁠@immdef_lawcenter⁠): https://www.immdef.org

Inland Coalition 4 Imm Justice (⁠@ic4ij⁠): https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jornaleros⁠

Relief For Disabled People Impacted By The Los Angeles Fires:

Richard Devylder Disaster Relief Fund: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/rd-relief-fund/⁠

United Spinal Disaster Relief Grant: https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/⁠

Inevitable Foundation Emergency Relief Fund: ⁠https://www.inevitable.foundation/erf⁠

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