Sisters Sara Tanza ’06 and Melissa McConville ’07 couldn’t find a fun and inclusive race, so they created one. This year, 9,000 people will run in their She.is.beautiful events

By Nora Drake

Growing up in Santa Cruz, sisters Melissa McConville and Sara Tanza found purpose in movement. They loved to be outside, exercising while connecting to nature. Mostly, they loved being together, a tradition they continue in their work as brand director and assistant director, respectively, and co-founders of She. is.beautiful, an inclusive and empowering foot race for more than 9,000 participants annually in two California locations.

The sisters have always made decisions as a team. They both attended UC Santa Barbara; they both majored in psychology and minored in exercise science; they both ran cross-country in high school and used running as a way to stay connected in college.

The initial idea for the race came from Melissa, who previously worked in marketing and events for running brands. She noticed that many of the races she attended looked identical: professional, serious, mostly male. She knew that women who loved to run (or maybe just wanted to try it without being intimidated) were an under-tapped market, and she wished there was a race that was fun, community-oriented and inclusive to all, no matter their level of fitness.

Where was a race that captured the feeling she got when she left home on a beautiful day to go for a run with her sister? She couldn’t find one that fit the bill, so she created it.

“We’ve always loved movement and used it as a way to center and ground ourselves through all the different chapters of our lives,” Melissa says. “Running has always been important and special to us. We know lots of other people love it, but there are also those who are intimidated by it, who don’t really consider themselves runners but want to try it. We know the motivation and momentum that physical movement can bring once you bring that into your life.”

Melissa launched She.is.beautiful in 2010 as a race for 500 women in Santa Cruz. The idea was to make it not just a competition — though there is prize money for the top finishers — but a motivational and joyous experience that anyone could participate in. Sara (who is older by 17 months) was still in graduate school at the time but came to help out, eventually becoming formally involved. The race continued to grow, year after year, expanding to include the sisters’ second hometown, Santa Barbara.

Today, She.is.beautiful organizes two major annual events — one in Santa Cruz and one in Santa Barbara. Races include a 5K and a 10K, as well as a 1K children’s race. “We wanted to create an event that was very welcoming to all levels and all abilities, from those who are racing for prize money to those who have never done a race before,” says Melissa.

When they say that everyone is welcome, they truly mean everyone. “We have participants from 5 years old to 105 years old,” says Melissa, reminiscing about one woman who signed up for her first race at the age of 86. They even have a stroller division for parents who want to run but need to bring their kids along. “We want to make our event as inclusive as possible,” says Sara. “We started our event thinking that women needed a safe space to run. We’ve taken that same ethos forward to include a nonbinary division in our race, as well as partnering with the Chumash people to encourage native runners and working with Black running groups around California.”

Sara and Melissa’s enthusiasm for the event, which has grown to encompass multiple days, is infectious. They want people who sign up to run the race to get access to a full slate of activities, including pre-race meetups and a post- race festival. They partner with local sponsors to provide entertainment, gifts and discounts. Dune Coffee and McConnell's ice cream, for instance, are among the favorite Santa Barbara spots that offer coupons to runners.

For the sisters, She.is.beautiful is about building relationships and encouraging people to move their bodies. And while they’re at it, they want to give back to the communities they love. In addition to boosting local economies with a destination event, they donate a portion of their profits to organizations that help women and families. So far they have donated to the Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center in Santa Cruz and Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara.

Motivated by the race and its diverse participants, the sisters continue to improve their offerings each year. “We want to keep learning and evolving as we continue to organize this race,” Melissa says. “Since day one, it’s been about, let’s just make this event as fun as possible. People then take that uplifting energy into the other parts of their lives.”

And it doesn’t hurt that they get to reconvene with some of their friends and classmates each year. “A lot of UCSB alumni come back to run the race,” Sara says, “so we get to stay connected. I think what the university means to us is a combination of an amazing community, incredible academics that gave us the foundation to build a business and a beautiful landscape surrounding us. Having those three things come together remains a part of our event today.”