WE RUN: Empowering Women in the Western Balkans

What happens when women are given a safe space to move, connect, and lead?

In this episode of In Fearless Conversation, Kim Chaffee sits down with Christina Mayer-Ritzer to discuss the exciting new WE RUN project, a collaborative initiative led by Club 261 Austria in partnership with 261 Club Albania, Opportunity Balance Overcoming, and the University of Prishtina. Co-funded by the European Union through an Erasmus+ Sport Capacity Building grant, WE RUN is creating opportunities for women in Albania and Kosovo to connect, grow, and discover their strength through running.

Christina shares how the project is helping establish safe, women-led spaces where women can build confidence, leadership skills, and community. Together, they explore the power of the 261 Fearless model, the importance of creating access and belonging, and how lessons learned in Albania will help pave the way for a future 261 Club in Kosovo.

From the project's kickoff gathering in Klagenfurt, Austria, to the vision of empowering women throughout the Western Balkans, this conversation highlights how running can be a catalyst for connection, courage, and lasting change.