Ultra-Runners Don’t Look Like That
That comment appeared on a recent photo I shared and at first I just laughed. Then I got annoyed. I replied, “wait I’m confused….what DO we look like?”
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.
Because guess what, ultra-runners do look like that. They look every which way you could possibly imagine. I’ve volunteered at countless races and have seen every kind of woman come through and inspire me. Ultra-runners look like that. That comment struck me due to the amount of women who have heard something similar and have been discouraged, embarrassed or have felt self-doubt to the point that they do not continue to try or do not feel like they belong, so they don’t attempt the sport or that activity. It struck me because this kind of commentary can play such a devastating role in the mindsets of females.
It shouldn’t matter if you’re thin or not. If you’re tall or not. If your thighs touch or don’t. If you’re white or Black or Native. It shouldn’t matter. What should matter is that you love the sport. That you’re out there moving your body. That you’re pushing yourself and growing and feeling good, no matter what that looks like. Now, I never claimed to be an elite or anyone who will be competitive, I am new to this sport in the grand scheme of things, but I love going out there and doing long miles. It brings me confidence and strength and grounding when I need it and to be bottled up into a stereotype, it sure can bring forward doubts.
I’d be lying if I said I never thought, “if I looked like xyz would I be faster?” or “if I was smaller, would I be better?” but I immediately shift my narrative to what I know to be true: I want to be me out there. I want to be strong. I love running in big mountains. I want to fuel my body so it can carry me long distances. I want to feel empowered and energized to do hard things. That includes having a well rested, well fed, balanced body. I won’t be able to ever fit the “runner body” stereotype without starving myself, not lifting and running many, many miles. To me, that isn’t sustainable or healthy.
I started reading about how prevalent body image issues are for runners. The more I read, the more I saw. It’s everywhere. Ashley Mateo shared, “As women, we have become conditioned to compare ourselves to impossible ideals, and our insecurities have become the norm. No one’s immune to it, not Olympians, not the pros, and definitely not the people—like me—who dish out fitness advice.” What’s even worse is when we are drug back into this ideals by others, reinforcing them even when we work hard to remove ourselves from those kinds of thought processes.
I read a lot on the pervasiveness of the “thin ideal” and that many find the source of pressure comes from coaches, which we’ve seen in the news frequently with more and more female athletes (runners) coming out and sharing about their experiences training with coaches and the pressures placed upon them. Mary Cain sharing about her experience with Nike is one of the most impactful to come to mind for me.
When reading an article by Ron A. Thompson, PhD. he states, “ while considerable weight and body image pressure stems from coaches, recent research suggests that weight and body image pressures from teammates may be greater (Anderson et al., 2011, 2012; Reel et al., 2010)” I’d even go beyond that and say, in the age of social media, we are exposed to constant streams of images of the fittest and fastest any time of the day. Reinforce that with negative commentary made on anyone’s body and you’re bound to feel the pressures and stigmas that you need to be something different than what you are.
When I think about running, and trail running even moreso, I think about how we get to a place where it is truly inclusive, welcoming and reflects the reality of who is out there running. These kinds of comments make me cringe because they could truly turn off a woman from trying a sport or activity. They can further isolate and exclude women from feeling like they are able, welcomed or accepted. These kinds of comments do not reflect the reality of the running field.
When I set out to write about this, I just wanted to say….we are all good enough how we are. Can we improve? Yes, always, we should strive for growth. But we should never have to feel bad or wish we were something else than what we are. We should feel proud and encouraged to build on our foundations and celebrate our personal growth. Any woman who is going out and challenging herself is winning. Any woman who is putting one foot in front of the other is a runner. Any woman who accomplishes more than 26.2 miles is an ultra-runner. If you doubt yourself or feel pressure to change yourself to fit a certain standard or ideal….give yourself a big squeeze.
You do not have to be or look any certain way to achieve these feats. You simply have to have the heart. The grit. And a body. Any body.