(Photo via Simran Chugani’s Instagram)
ORLANDO | Local athlete Simran Chugani, who is transgender, is preparing to run for Point of Pride at the upcoming 2025 NYC Marathon on Nov. 2.
“I think this is an opportunity both for myself and hopefully for a platform that’s bigger than myself to really say ‘this is who I am,'” Chugani explains. “When I put my mind to something, I know I am capable of doing some pretty incredible things and I get to define who I am on my own terms.”
As a nonbinary and transgender athlete, Chugani’s main goal through their running is to use their voice to improve gender-affirming care in Florida while showing trans youth that they should never question their place in sports.
“Being trans is such a gift, it’s a gift because it’s given me an amazing community of people who are brave, who are strong,” Chugani remarks. “It’s given me the gift of being proud of being able to live outside of society’s boxes and it’s given me the gift of having greater empathy for those around me.”
Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Minneapolis, Chugani moved to Orlando around three years ago. They advise that out of all of the places they’ve lived, Orlando feels most like home.
“I was never a long-distance runner growing up, I did a lot of sprinting through track and field,” Chugani says. “I played basketball growing up. It was really during COVID, everyone and their mom started running and I kind of joined in on that trend.”
Looking for a way to connect with the local queer community after moving to Orlando, Chugani started Riot Run, a run club to make friends. The group started out by running trails in Orlando on a regular basis, but due to scheduling the group now meets when it’s convenient for everyone together.
“I started the club a few years ago and really it was my way to just get connected with the Orlando community,” Chugani explains. “I really wanted to connect with other queer and trans athletes and so it was really just my way of doing that and trying to make those connections.”
Chugani is running on a national charity team with Point of Pride, a nonprofit that supports trans and nonbinary people. Together they are aiming to fundraise to help provide gender affirming health care such as prescriptions, binders and surgery to those in the community who are in need.
“We’ve got six members of our team, and these are teammates with incredible stories, incredible backgrounds from all over the United States, and collectively, we’re aiming to raise $25,000 for gender-affirming care,” Chugani says. “This money goes to providing direct supports, as well as additional funding for folks seeking gender affirming care.”
The team has been training for months following a 16-week training plan in preparation for the NYC Marathon. Chugani is focusing on representation and strength as their mantras while training and for inspiration during the run.
“I really want to run the race with the whole message that trans people get to define who we are, even in the hardest of circumstances,” Chugani shares. “If I am at mile 20, mile 22 and really fighting for my life, I want to prove to myself that I am capable of doing hard things and as a community, we are capable of overcoming some really difficult circumstances.”
Chugani is proud to represent Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community at one of the most anticipated marathons of the year. After participating in the Chicago and Tokyo marathons, they have a deeper understanding of the challenges that come with long distance running and how to overcome obstacles.
“There’s a sense of very deep gratification and very deep pride of showing up when you don’t want to show up, of crossing the finish line after overcoming such a huge challenge and proving to yourself that you’re capable of doing hard things,” Chugani says.
In addition to being a runner, Chugani is a passionate writer and has a published poetry book, “florida, i love you violent.” From now until Nov. 1, all proceeds from their book will go directly to Point of Pride. Chugani hosts poetry readings of their book around Orlando as another way of connecting with the local LGBTQ+ community.
“I want this to be a love letter to the trans queer immigrant communities, but I also love this place enough to demand change and to put my name out on the line to say, we need to change things for the better,” Chugani explains.
With trans rights at the forefront of their mind, and a passion for positively impacting those around them, Chugani is prepared to run the NYC marathon with the LGBTQ+ community in their heart.
“No matter what anyone else says I know who I am,” Chugani says. “I know that I am beautiful, I know that I am gritty, I know that I am tenacious, and I know that I can show up when it matters and that’s what I want to do both in the marathon and beyond the finish line.”
Follow along Simran’s journey on their Instagram & YouTube. Find their book “florida, i love you violent,” online at Bottlecap Press.
Point of Pride resources and fundraising efforts can be found at PointOfPride.org.
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