Ultra-Runners Don’t Look Like That

Maybe, when you close your eyes and think of a runner, a specific image comes to mind. Tall, lean, long legs. I don’t fit that mold. My background is in gymnastics, bodybuilding and crossfit. I have quite a bit of muscle in comparison to what, I assume, this man thinks an ultra-runner does look like. Now, this translates into so many other things. Women who are bigger, women who have thighs that touch, who are pregnant or postpartum, who are shorter, who are older, women who have bigger busts or bigger butts, wide hips, stranger gaits, women who are Black, Indigenous, Asian, Indian….literally anything that doesn’t fit that preconceived notion of what a runner should look like.