Sports opened a whole new world of personal expression for her, and she dedicated much of her life to creating those same opportunities for other women and girls. As a PE teacher in rural Illinois, she helped start the girls’ sports program at her school and later served as a track and field coach.
 

She once told me the farthest she ever ran was 14 miles, “and that was before women were really doing that sort of thing.”
 

She called herself the Western Illinois Roadrunner.
 

She even had a bright blue roadrunner tattooed on her forearm—a bold statement for an otherwise modest woman. She told me she had gotten it to cover a scar.
 

A multitude of health challenges kept Shelley from reaching all of her own athletic goals, but they never stopped her from encouraging the next generation of female athletes. She was my biggest fan throughout my basketball career.
 

Roadrunner is dedicated to her, and to the women like her who faced enormous barriers simply for the opportunity to compete, move, and belong in sport.
 

At Roadrunner, our mission is to continue that work—not only by creating more opportunities for women and girls in sport, but by helping people build the strength, confidence, and physical capacity to keep doing the things they love for as long as possible.