On Thursday, October 10, seven of the world’s best freeride mountain bikers lined up to compete in the first-ever women’s Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, Utah. Since 2001, freeride’s biggest competition has only ever featured male riders. After years of advocating for women’s inclusion in Rampage, attempting to qualify for the event, and hosting their own events, the community of top women riders finally got their chance.

Robin Goomes, of New Zealand, was the first rider on the venue. Her run—punctuated by two flawless backflips, several huge drops, and steep, technical riding—set the tone. The panel of judges, which critiques riders on their style, jumps, and line choice, awarded her 85 points.

The women that followed demonstrated a keen understanding of how to ride dry, loose terrain, and how to manage their speed to clear consequential gaps, make tight corners, and land large drops. They were stylish, powerful, and confident in puckering terrain, and every rider who made it onto the course came out with a scoring line. (Riders who crash are given three minutes to complete their line if they still want to receive a score.)

Casey Brown and Vaea Verbeeck stood out for their aggressive line choices. Brown neatly rode a feature nicknamed the Laundry Chute for its verticality and tightness, and Verbeeck laced together a triple drop with three separate, consecutive airs. Canadian Georgia Astle, who took second, approached her line with remarkable speed and fluidity—almost making it look easy.

But ultimately none of the other women topped Goomes’ first run, and she took the victory.

I watched the two-hour event replay with a few other women mountain bikers at home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and was surprised when I found myself tearing up. I’ve been a mountain athlete for my entire life, and have been riding mountain bikes since my early twenties. Seeing women like Goomes, Brown (who has held a torch for women’s inclusion in Rampage for nearly a decade), and Vinny Armstrong—at 25, the youngest woman in the competition—step up to that terrain and succeed, with the support of the industry, was really powerful. Many of the participants had fought for years to convince the event organizers that they belong at Rampage. They were finally given a chance to prove themselves, and they did so in a major way.

• Check out of the women’s Red Bull Rampage
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• What means for bike media

I’ve followed the conversation over women’s inclusion at Rampage in comments sections and online forums, and I’ve seen plenty of support from men who want women riders to get their opportunities to shine. I’ve also seen chatter to the contrary, including a frequently-repeated refrain that women would be getting in over their heads, and that someone was going to end up seriously injured (or worse).

At Rampage, the women demonstrated that these fears were, at best, overblown. The seven competitors put down clean lines. Just one rider, American Chelsea Kimball, crashed (and was still able to ride out her line and head up to the start gate for a second run). In practice, Argentinian Cami Nogueira did take a heavy slam that resulted in a concussion and broken nose, and doctors advised her not to keep riding while she recovered.

But some level of carnage is typical amongst the men that compete at Rampage, too. The reigning champion, Cam Zink, was evacuated by helicopter  with broken ribs and a punctured lung after crashing during the men’s competition on Saturday. Which is all to say—Rampage is dangerous, period, and the women proved that they’re more than capable of their own risk management.

The women’s competition produced a dramatic finish. Each athlete had the opportunity to ride their line twice, but with winds picking up, just Kimball opted to give it a second go. With one final opportunity to descend her line, Kimball hit a drop that had given her trouble in the first round. But she skidded out in the same spot as she did on her initial run and lost control of her bike. Cameras waited for Kimball to raise her arms and signal she was OK. Then, the TV crew showed Goomes, whose victory was secure.

The men’s competition, held on Saturday, came down to a similar scenario: after an impressive first round, just one of the 17 riders—Brandon Semenuk, who won his first Rampage in 2008 and has taken first four times since—braved the wind to head back up for a second attempt. His solitary second lap won him first place: After a long wait for the wind to die down, he landed a flip whip on a step-down jump that he had crashed on in his first lap (among a dizzying number of other technical slopestyle moves). Semenuk and Goomes each took home a $100,000 prize purse.

The event was a profound step for women’s freeride, and the camaraderie and excitement beamed through the livestream. Brown greeted many of the riders with a massive hug at the bottom. Verbeeck wore a kit decorated with art from young mountain bike fans, in an effort to make them feel like a part of the event. Riders autographed hats, posters, and apparel for excited young fans in the finish corral.

Despite my own excitement as I watched the event replay, I also found it a little surreal—like I was watching a broadcast from a different time, of something that should have happened a long time ago. The fact that it took until 2024 to create a women’s division is still a little hard to believe. And yet, biking events across the globe have been slow to give adequate opportunities to women athletes—take, for instance, the fact that there wasn’t a true Tour de France Femmes until 2022 (and it’s still only eight stages, to the men’s 21).

Many of the arguments against women’s professional sports—nobody watches, athletes aren’t capable, events lose money—are being proven wrong. Instead, more fans are waking up to the chicken-or-egg reality in women’s competitions. Nobody will watch a sport if it isn’t televised. Athletes won’t improve if their teams or leagues lack funding.

That’s why I was incredibly heartened to see Red Bull and the Rampage organizers make the right call this year. Hopefully, this event will provide the scaffolding that women freeriders need to continue building their sport.

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For a while during my pregnancies, I got by with wearing regular running shorts and leggings with forgiving elastic waists and loose-fitting tops. But eventually, the bump took over, and I needed exercise pieces that would accommodate my growing belly and support the muscles and ligaments around it. Fortunately, we no longer have to buy oversized clothes or borrow ill-fitting pieces from our partners—now there’s no shortage of maternity workout gear made for pregnant women who continue to exercise as their bump grows.

When I searched for supportive and comfortable maternity activewear, I found many of the best products came from smaller, women-founded companies. After all, who better to make high-functioning maternity gear than women who also navigated exercise during their pregnancies? Here are five businesses founded by women with the best performance gear to help you stay active during pregnancy.

At a Glance

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Michelle Boyer started when she was pregnant with her second child and had recently moved to Maine. She wanted a base layer that would keep her warm and wick sweat away from her body. It also needed to fit around her bump while providing support. She didn’t like the options she found, so she created this line of technical, high-performing maternity wear in 2018.

Arctic Lynx’s maternity line is unfussy: It offers three tops (one short sleeve, one long sleeve, and one tunic) and two pairs of bottoms (a pair for pregnancy and one for postpartum), all made from black, sweat-wicking, stretchy material. These pieces work well as base layers, or just as well on their own.

The material is thick in a way that lets you know it’s high quality, and the wicking ability is fantastic. I used the ($78) during my second pregnancy, and it was my go-to exercise piece because of its versatility. It performed just as well on its own for late-summer hikes as a base layer for southern Vermont cross-country skiing in mid-winter.

If you’re looking for budget-friendly workout gear, look no further than . Founded by two athletic sisters who wanted to create activewear at an attainable price point, Senita has a strong maternity line among its offerings—all with prices below $50.

You’ll find leggings and shorts that have bump coverage and provide light core support, as well as an array of bump-friendly tops and bathing suits. From paddle boarding in the heat to hiking in the chill of the fall, there are enough options here to cover you regardless of the season of your pregnancy.

I liked the thicker material of the ($48) because it provided additional bump support during the third trimester. The ($35) were the most comfortable pair of maternity shorts I found. I wore them around the house as much as for workouts. All of Senita’s shorts and leggings have deep, easy-access phone pockets, which I found comforting when exercising alone in the woods while pregnant.

Deeanne Akerson, an avid runner and backpacker, co-founded with her husband after wanting a set of pajamas that made breastfeeding in the middle of the night easier—because anything that makes the middle of the night with a baby easier is life-changing. She started with those pajamas and now has an extensive line of clothing for both pre- and post-birth.

My ribcage and cup size increased during both of my pregnancies, which happens to a lot of pregnant people. Instead of buying larger bras to fit during my pregnancy and then buying another set of nursing bras when baby arrived, I bought nursing bras that fit during my pregnancy, then used them throughout breastfeeding.

If you choose to breastfeed, I suggest you do the same, and start with Kindred Bravely’s ($48). I wore this all the time because it was so comfortable. The stretchy material and non-constricting fit is the perfect balance of support without ever feeling tight. It doesn’t have enough support for running, but it’s great for lower-impact activities, from cross-country skiing to hiking to yoga.

If you decide to breastfeed, Kindred Bravely also has nursing tops designed to fit during pregnancy and after. I wore them for exercising during my pregnancy and then when I hiked with my baby. I didn’t realize the value of nursing-specific workout tops until I was trying to breastfeed trailside, and this top was a game changer for me.

When a women’s health physical therapist and Pilates Instructor creates a maternity line, you know it’s worth checking out. Suzanne Koval founded when she realized that her pregnant and postpartum clients needed better gear for their prenatal and postpartum sessions.

Often, the compression provided by maternity leggings isn’t enough support for your bump late in your pregnancy or during high-impact activities. That’s where ($65) comes in. It’s tighter than regular high-rise leggings and goes all the way around your trunk to relieve stress on your back and hips. It can make activities as simple as walking more comfortable.

Bao Bei’s bralettes are a piece of gear that seamlessly transition from pregnancy to postpartum. It’s super stretchy, so it will stretch with your body as it continues to change during pregnancy, and offers  great coverage for low-impact activities. The stretchy neckline also accommodates nursing.

I found it to be a helpful piece after breastfeeding, too. Too much compression can be uncomfortable when you’re breastfeeding and weaning. This was a bra I always felt comfy in and continue to wear now that I’m neither pregnant nor breastfeeding because it held its elasticity, so it still fits me. When you’re forced to buy pregnancy-specific gear, it’s nice to have a piece that stays in your wardrobe beyond pregnancy and breastfeeding. The brand’s color and pattern options are a fun bonus, too.

Founder and former Division I lacrosse player Marguerite Adzick started while she was six months pregnant with the goal of making polished activewear options for women. Adzick is now a mom of four, and in 2024 launched a maternity activewear line. I’ve tested many of their pieces, and not only are they cozy, but they hold up to many wears and washes.

The line is geared toward country club sports like golf and tennis, but the brand’s ($108) are great for hiking, running, and yoga. Available in navy and black, this classic, high-quality legging completely covers your bump and provides light support. The fabric is a blend of spandex and nylon, resulting in a stretchy pair of leggings that you’ll reach for again and again. Their versatility will easily take you from exercise to errands to lounging on the couch.

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Across the 429 parks, monuments and historic sites managed by the National Park Service, , or otherwise center women’s history. This is a problem, because women have—and this should be obvious—played vital roles not only in the preservation and study of nature, and our nation’s history, but also because women are essential to the operation of the parks themselves. Last week, President Biden signed an executive order that will again to address that disparity.

will increase representation at sites managed by the National Park Service, and honor the history of women in America.

“By highlighting the role that women and girls have played in shaping the American story, we will tell a more complete account of American history and help create a more equal future,” states the White House.

The executive order directs the Department of the Interior (of which NPS is a bureau) to begin by conducting a study aimed at assessing which existing sites are significant to women’s history, identifying new sites, and developing recommendations about how women’s history could better be included across the park system.

An additional study will be the first ever comprehensive review of women’s history ever conducted by NPS. Its aim will be to identify women who have played significant roles in American history, especially during the American revolution, abolition and suffrage movements, the world wars, and civil rights and women’s rights movements. The study will seek to include women from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the full breadth of, “race, ethnicity, religion, age, geography, income, socioeconomic status, and other factors” in the American experience. Those results will then be used to determine which women may be recognized in new or existing historic sites.

The Executive Order also directs DOI to ask the NPS advisory board to develop recommendations from historians and other experts on opportunities to improve representation of women across NPS sites, materials and programs.

The action adds to the administration’s ongoing efforts to advance equality and representation across the country. Those efforts include the designation last year of both the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois, and the Baaj Nwaavjo I’Tah Kukveni National Monument near the Grand Canyon, as well as naming Camp Amache—a site where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II—a National Historic Site. The administration has, to-date, invested $19 million in parks commemorating women.

“President Biden’s Executive Order directs our team to think beyond the stories we currently tell to seek out the new and often untold stories of the women who have blazed a path for all of us,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “Doing this work means telling our country’s full and honest story, learning about the women across generations who have strengthened our nation and building a future where everyone can thrive.”

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Agnes Tirop was a 25-year-old rising professional distance runner who represented Kenya at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 5,000-meters. One month after she competed in her first Olympic Games, Tirop set a world record for 10K. Just as her promising career began to bud on the world stage, her life came to an abrupt end on October 13, 2021.

Tirop was found stabbed to death by her husband Ibrahim Rotich at their home in Iten, in the Rift Valley of Kenya, a training hub for many of the world’s top professional distance runners. Rotich, then 41, attempted to flee the country, but he was arrested and charged with murder.

RELATED: Iten, Kenya, Is Where Running Champions Are Made

Tirop was a victim of gender-based violence (GBV), one of the most widespread human rights issues in the world. GBV, as , can include publicly or privately inflicted physical or sexual harm as well as economic suppression, threats of violence, manipulation, and coercion through various ways, including intimate partner violence and child marriage. According to the United Nations, while men and boys also suffer from GBV, women and girls are most at risk worldwide.

±·ČčŸ±°ùŽÇČúŸ±â€™s , founded in 2001, states that the country’s women and girls make up a disproportionately higher statistic. More than 40 percent of Kenyan women experience GBV in their lifetime, and one in three women in Kenya has experienced sexual violence before the age of 18. In the U.S., 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner, according to the , and more than 10 million adults experience domestic violence each year. about domestic violence show that one in three women have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.

Female runners are among those numbers. Many Kenyan professional runners can fall into marriages or partnerships that take away their autonomy. Some of these women—powerful, driven, and successful in their careers—remain under the watch and control of their partners. Most women in GBV situations don’t know how to escape, or fear the repercussions of doing so.

Tirop’s tragic death made international headlines and served as a wake-up call about the dangers elite female athletes can face during their careers.

The Courage to Stand Up

In the aftermath of Tirop’s death, 34-year-old Kenyan professional marathoner Mary Ngugi took a stance.

“With my platform as an athlete, I have a voice that I can use to change,” says Ngugi, who has raced professionally for more than a decade and twice finished on the podium at the Boston Marathon. “I can’t change the whole of Kenya in one minute, but I can make a change in athletics with girls.”

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Ngugi established in Nyahururu Town, Kenya, in October 2022. Through the club, located 100 miles north of the country’s capital Nairobi, Ngugi aims to shelter and support young girls as they simultaneously pursue their education and ambitions of becoming elite champion runners.

“The best thing is to mentor them when they’re young, to empower them so they know that they deserve better, [and] to know that they have a choice,” Ngugi says.

Ngugi, who is based in Leeds, England, with her husband, British sports photographer Chris Cooper, says that traveling the world to compete over the years exposed her to fairer treatment of women and girls compared to what she witnessed and experienced firsthand while living in Kenya.

“There are some things that have always frustrated me,” Ngugi says. “When I was 17, there were young girls in [training] camps who were abused by their coaches. Some [girls] are married at a tender age because of money.”

Ngugi says it’s not uncommon for young female runners to be afraid of their male coaches. Her idea for a girls-only running camp has been years in the making, initially as a way to give back to the community. Not until after the death of Tirop, whom she knew as an acquaintance, did Ngugi move her mission forward.

“It took a lot of courage to start,” she says.

Ngugi funded the camp entirely when it opened, covering the costs of housing, school fees, food, training gear, and other basic supplies for eight girls. Unlike most traditional training camps for runners in Kenya, which typically consist of small single-room apartments, the girls at Nala Track Club live together in a home under the supervision of a matron, who cares for and cooks for them. Ngugi stipulates that each member of the club must attend school if they want to remain a part of Nala.

“We don’t want to be just another running camp. We have loads of those in Kenya. Education makes a difference,” Ngugi says. “As much as I want all of my girls to make it, I know some won’t. That’s the reality of things. But I would like for them to come out of the camp with an education so that they can do something with their lives, pursue a cause or a degree.”

Should any of the girls become successful in their athletic careers, Ngugi’s mission is also to ensure they are equipped to make informed decisions, especially financially, that are in their best interests.

“These athletes could potentially earn millions of shillings,” Ngugi says. “How are you going to invest? How are you going to sign a contract? How are you going to carry yourself with the press when you get an interview? We want them to be able to handle themselves.”

Women Coaching Women

In a year since founding Nala Track Club, Kenya’s first all-girls running camp, its members have doubled to 16 girls and women between the ages of 14 and 22. Ngugi says the camp is now fully supported by Nike, her sponsor since 2006. She works closely with teachers and schools throughout Kenya to recruit national-caliber talent and prospects.

Ngugi splits her time training in the UK and Kenya. When she’s not on the ground in her home country, she helps oversee Nala from afar under the guidance of a few certified running coaches that help craft the training program, which is shared with Lilian Mugo, a local woman whom Ngugi is helping to mentor into a running coach.

Ngugi wants to develop female coaches in Kenya. To her knowledge, few, if any, women are currently coaching female runners in Kenya. “That’s one big reason why we started Nala,” Ngugi says.

Ngugi has never been coached by a woman at any point in her career. It’s a role she envisions transitioning into full time in the future, after she retires from competitive running. After a successful track career that included becoming a two-time world half marathon medalist, Ngugi transitioned to road marathons in 2019. She was runner-up at the 2021 Boston Marathon and finished third in 2022. Ngugi placed fifth at this year’s New York City Marathon.

Achieving that level of success as an elite athlete is a dream, though not the lone goal, for the girls of the camp. At the very least, Ngugi wants to develop members of the track club to compete on the international level feeling empowered. The name of the camp, Nala, is a Swahili word in reference to lioness and also connotes the idea of a successful African woman.

“I want them to be more than just athletes. I want the girls to know their worth and to be role models to others,” Ngugi says. “I always tell my girls, ‘remember what Nala stands for: Powerful. Confidence.’ That is what we want our girls to be.”

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When Ariane Hendrix, 35, ran her first marathon in Bismarck, North Dakota, in 2012, she started off on a similar trajectory as many new recreational runners. She had one goal, which was to complete the race without walking, and ended up finishing in 3:57:51.

From there, she spent much of the next few years chipping away at her times while conquering other milestones like qualifying for the Boston Marathon (on her second marathon in Los Angeles in 2013) and breaking three hours, which she accomplished with a 2:57:00 finish at the 2018 Ventura Marathon in southern California, near her hometown of Oxnard.

In new territory as a sub-elite athlete, Hendrix set her sights on qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon, held in Atlanta on February 29. She aimed to do so at the 2020 Houston Marathon, which took place on the final day to qualify, and while she didn’t hit the women’s standard of 2:45, she ran a new personal best of 2:54:25. Shortly thereafter, Hendrix, like many runners, had to put her racing goals on hold as the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. She never lost motivation, however, going on to run a 2:44:33 virtual marathon that April.

“It was obviously too late to qualify for the Trials, which were in February, but I wanted the boost of confidence and to prove to myself that I could run that time, especially after trying twice to hit the standard and not getting it,” Hendrix says.

Not only did Hendrix manage to stay in it, but she continued to bring down her race times, going on to run a new personal best of 2:42:51 at the 2022 Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, Michigan. By then, however, the Trials standard had been tightened to 2:37 for women for 2024, which only added fuel to her fire.

Hendrix did a shorter speed segment in the summer of 2022 in preparation for the California International Marathon (CIM) in December, spending more time on track work that was 5K- and 10K-focused. She also brought her overall volume down from the 100-mile weeks she had been doing before, which she believes contributed to three stress fractures (one in her tibia and two in her sacrum) in the previous two years.

“The goal was to try to make my marathon pace feel more comfortable when I would eventually start the CIM block,” Hendrix explains. “I think that change and really figuring out that [lower but consistent] weekly mileage in the 80s worked best for me was key.”

Making the List

The adjustment paid off. Hendrix ran her current PR of 2:35:13 at CIM, not only punching her ticket to the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando on February 3, but also becoming the second-fastest American-born Black woman in history.

While Hendrix was somewhat familiar with of Black women who have run under three hours in the marathon (which is maintained by historian Gary Corbitt, son of Olympian and founding NYRR president Ted Corbitt) since she first went sub-three herself, it’s only been in the last few years that she’s become invested in what it means in terms of representation.

“I know in the last two years especially, the List has become more prominent and more people know about it. I’m really honored and proud to be a representative of not just African American women, but also of the LGBTQIA community,” Hendrix says. “For a long time, I felt like I was trying to prove to myself and the running community that I belonged, that I was fast enough to be around. I’m so excited to be someone who people like me can see themselves in and say ‘Hey, I can do that, too,’ or, ‘I belong there, too.’”

RELATED: New Study Highlights Critical Steps Toward Equity in the Running Industry

Looking ahead to the Orlando Trials, Hendrix, who lives in Portland, Oregon, with her fiancĂ©e, Veronica, has earned the support of women’s apparel brand Oiselle. In September she was named to the brand’s “Year of the Underbird” sponsorship roster, along with Carrie Verdon, Molly Bookmyer, Elena Hayday, and Briana Boehmer. The program serves to support athletes in their build-up to the Trials by providing a monthly $2,000 health and training stipend and $1,000 stipend for Oiselle apparel and gear, as well as covering their travel and lodging expenses in Orlando. Applying for this sponsorship was a no-brainer for Hendrix (who also works as a test analyst for HOKA) not only because she’d been a fan of the brand’s apparel for many years, but because of the conscious efforts she’d seen .

“Qualifying for the Olympic Trials is the biggest thing that I’ve done in my athletic career, and having a brand like Oiselle supporting me like this is just amazing,” Hendrix says. “I check a lot of boxes in that I’m African American and I’m gay, and I’ve seen a lot in terms of community, diversity, and representation from Oiselle, and this is important to me when it comes to who I want to associate myself with and partner with.”

Since running her marathon PR at CIM last year, Hendrix has also brought her half marathon and 5K PRs down to 1:15:50 and 17:20, respectively. She also moved down to number three on the List, which is currently made up of only 31 women, after professional runner debuted at the distance in 2:33:57 at this year’s Boston Marathon. But Hendrix is not only seeking to improve her PR yet again in Orlando—hopefully breaking the 2:30 barrier in the process—she’s hoping to make her way to the top of the List.

“My family has not seen me race a marathon since I first broke three hours, so I’m really excited for them, as well as my three young nieces, to see me running in the Olympic Trials,” she says. “Having them all there cheering for me as I chase these goals is going to be something really special.”

As far as what’s next both before and after the Trials, Hendrix, who is currently self-coached, plans to run some shorter-distance races including two half marathons and a 10K as part of her preparation. Beyond the Trials, she hopes to try her hand at ultra distances and eventually run in the elite field at the Boston Marathon.

“Boston is one of my favorite races, so being in the elite field and having my name on my bib would be really special,” she says.

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Lucy Charles-Barclay waited approximately zero seconds before making her move at the 2023 Hawaii Ironman World Championship on October 14, 2023. Powering through the choppy waters of Kailua Bay with her characteristic snappy glide, the 30-year-old British triathlete gapped the field by nearly 350 meters—almost four football field lengths

Charles-Barclay lead off the front for the next 140.2 miles of swimming, biking, and running, breaking the tape in a record-setting 8:26:18 for her first world title.

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A four-time runner-up in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022—the victory was a long time coming.

“If there was any way I wanted to win this race, it would have been like that,” Charles-Barclay . “There were many times when I thought I would always be the bridesmaid in Kona. It’s nice to finally be the bride.”

Her win is just the start of jaw-dropping moments from the inaugural women’s-only Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. (The inaugural men’s-only Ironman World Championship was held on September 9 in Nice, France.) From a run course record set by only fueling with protein to a series of historic firsts, here are our top 10 takeaways from one of the most important races in endurance sport.

1. Charles-Barclay Vanquishes Bridesmaid Curse

By earning the crown on Saturday afternoon, Charles-Barclay solidified her name on the list of Kona legends and broke a series of records—including the women’s course record previously held by Switzerland’s Daniella Ryf when she clocked 8:26:18 for the win in 2018.

No woman has led the wire-to-wire since Lyn Lemaire, the first woman to ever win the race in 1979. Charles-Barclay broke that 44-year streak after coming out of the water with a four-minute advantage. She also etched her name in history as only the second person ever to win the Hawaii Ironman World Championship after winning an amateur age group title here, which she claimed in the 18-to-24-year-old division in 2015.

Decked in a mermaid race kit that extended from the blue and grey scales painted on her Red Bull helmet to her , Charles-Barclay raced like someone who not only wanted to win, but even more so did not want to lose. She blitzed the 112-mile bike in 4:32:29, averaging over 24.7 miles per hour to further extend her lead over the competition.

In past years, Charles-Barclay’s blistering early pace has come back to haunt her on the run. Not on Saturday. She held on for respectable 2:57:38 marathon and a hefty three-minute lead. But it wasn’t until the finish chute loomed into sight on Ali’i Drive that Charles-Barclay allowed herself to comprehend what was happening.

“I really tried not to put not wanting to be second again in the back of my mind,” she said. “I was still looking over my shoulder when I turned onto Ali’i. I didn’t believe I would get the win until I broke the tape.”

As always, there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Charles-Barclay’s seemingly assured success obscures the obstacles she had to overcome this year just to get to the start line.

2. Charles-Barclay Breaks Foot and Breaks Records

In May, Charles-Barclay felt something in her foot while running into the water at the start of Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau in Germany. She thought little of it. She powered a slew of bike issues and mounting pain on the run to take second in that half-distance Ironman race. An X-ray the next day confirmed she’d snapped the third metatarsal in her foot, a zig-zag fracture all the way through the bone.

For better and for worse, she was no stranger to that type of news.

“It’s been a really tough couple of years,” Charles-Barclay said. “When I turned 28, I felt like my body didn’t want to do this anymore.”

Charles-Barclay retreated to her “pain cave” gym at her home in Chingford, Essex, where she cranked up the music, visualized the helicopters circling overhead in Kona, and nearly hit the 2024 Great Britain Olympic qualification mark on the indoor rower while wearing a “moon boot” cast.

Out on the Queen K Highway on Saturday, Charles-Barclay channeled those endless hours of monotony in the pain-cave. She credits that mental toughness training as well as the efficiency of riding the bike trainer indoors (no coasting on the downhills!) to her success, as well as her satisfaction.

“All I ever wanted was to win this race,” Charles-Barclay said. “I don’t feel like I need anything else anymore. That is the biggest prize, and a credit to the work we’ve all put in as a team. And they’ve all put up with me these last few months as I’ve been very tired and very grumpy, and all my friends and family putting up with that, and that means so much to me during this crazy endeavor to win this race.”

3. Anne Haug’s No-Carb Fueling Leads to Fastest Run Split Ever

With one of the deepest pro fields ever—particularly on the running front—we knew that if the conditions aligned, we could witness a run for the ages. Sure enough, as soon as she hopped off the bike and slipped into her Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% super shoes, Germany’s Anne Haug was on a mission. The runner-assassin started the marathon in seventh place overall, 12 minutes back from the lead. But Haug remained composed and got to doing what she does best: passing people on the Queen K.

Haug clicked into her characteristically high cadence, butter-smooth stride, ticking sub-6:20 miles early in the marathon to reel in the field. At mile 18, deep in the heart of the lifeless Energy Lab, Haug decisively passed American dark-horse rookie Taylor Knibb to move into second.

The lead Charles-Barley carved on the swim and the run proved too large to surmount, with Haug ultimately running out of real estate to claim another world title. But in that attempt, she smashed Miranda Carfrae’s run course record of 2:50:38 set 2013 when the Australian won the race. Haug clocked in at 2:48:33, averaging 6:25 per mile through the oppressively thick, still air and road temperatures soaring above 100 degrees.

“The run always means a lot to me, and I always aim for a fast run,” said Haug, who owns a 2:36:13 open marathon personal best. “I’m absolutely happy. I couldn’t have done any better. Lucy was unbeatable today.”

The 40-year-old’s performance is even more remarkable this year in the face of the health and nutrition obstacles she’sovercome. Over the past several years, her body has grown intolerant to absorbing carbohydrates while racing. Rigorous testing and experimentation with her team in Germany led to the realization that she could only fuel adequately with the right types of proteins and amino acids.

Haug overhauled her entire nutrition strategy, saying she was careful to consume enough on the bike and fueled almost exclusively on protein during the run—a feat nearly unheard of in elite marathoning.

4. Rookie Taylor Knibb Shows America’s Future is Bright

Leading up to Saturday, all eyes were on U.S. Olympian Taylor Knibb. The 25-year-old based in Boulder, Colorado, has been on fire this year, winning the hotly contested PTO U.S. Open to the tune of $100,000 in prize money, defending her Ironman 70.3 world title in Lahti, Finland, and earning bragging rights as one of the world’s best short course, draft-legal and long-course triathletes. That range puts Michael Phelps to shame.

But Kona hits different, and despite watching her mom race here five times previously, Knibb had never toed the line herself. In fact, she’d never run above 19 miles. Ever. Would she be able to hang in the heat and humidity over the 140.3 distance?

“What challenges arise and how I overcome them will be the measure of success for me,” Knibb said in the days before the race.

That attitude proved prescient.

Knibb swam strong with the front chase pack, but she lost three nutrition bottles on the bike—the third caught by race officials and resulting in a one-minute penalty. Yet Knibb remained composed, chatting and laughing with the motorcycle film crew, thanking volunteers at aid stations, and taking her time at the turn-around aid to dismount from her bike, riffle through her special needs bag, and grab more fuel for the road. Even with the penalty, Knibb had the second-fastest bike split of the day in 4:34:00.

Ultimately, Knibb cracked under the run distance, slowing to a walk intermittently over the final seven kilometers. Her 3:05:13 marathon wound up as the 10th fastest among the pro women in the race. But her final time of 8:35:56 was good enough for an astonishing fourth place—just one minute off the podium and a time that would have been fast enough for the win in all but three other years.

Knibb will return her attention to short-course racing for a bit (the Paris Olympics loom just 10 months away), but watch out the next time the women race here in 2025. She’ll be armed with experience and a kind, quippy vengeance—Taylor’s version.

5. Americans Shine with Five in Top 10

Germany crowded the podium, with Haug taking second and her compatriot Laura Philip racing tenaciously for third. After those three first steps, the show belonged to the United States.

Along Knibb in fourth, the U.S. took five of the top 10 spots. Last year’s champion Chelsea Sodaro recovered from a disappointing first two-thirds of the race, in which 19 women out-biked her, to run a solid 2:53:02 marathon that moved her up to sixth. Compatriot Skye Moench finished just a minute later in 8:43:34.

Full-time graduate student Sarah True spent much of the week leading up to the race working on a research paper. She ended up asking for an extension on Friday—a choice which seemed to pay off with her best-ever eighth-place finish in 8:47:06 as she “played triathlete” for the day. An exceptionally strong bike from Jocelyn McCauley was enough for her to hang on during the run for 10th in 8:50:39—the fifth American and third American mom in the race, along with Sodaro and True.

6. Sixteen Women Break Elusive Nine-Hour Mark

It wasn’t until 2009 that four–time Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington of Great Britain broke the nine-hour mark on this notoriously hot, humid, and all-around hellish course. Until 2018, you didn’t always have to crack nine hours to earn a podium spot. We have officially said goodbye to those days.

Forget the podium, or even the top 10, with a nine-hour time. An unprecedented 16 women dipped under that elusive nine-hour mark this year. Women at the top of the race attribute the fast times to a combination of technology improvements—aerodynamic helmets, bikes, and race kits; wind-tunnel testing; supershoes—and steel sharpening steel.

“We push each other, and we always try to get better,” said four-time Ironman World Champion Ryf, who took fifth on Saturday. “The technology has also helped. We’ve gotten more aero, and materials play a role. But so does pushing each other. I’ve learned so much from my competitors like Miranda Carfrae.”

7. Forget Bikes. It’s All About Shoes.

Don’t get us wrong, at 112 miles long and taking up about 50 percent of the race, the bike leg remains indisputably paramount. But the impact of rapid fast shoe technology advancement over the past several years cannot be discounted here—both for racing and recovery at the Ironman distance.

All of the top 10 women elected to wear carbon-plated supershoes, including two prototypes on the feet of Ryf (sponsored by Hoka) and Sodaro (who runs for On).

Charles-Barclay held on for her best Kona run ever in the ASICS Metaspeed Sky+. She attributes the advent of supershoes to helping her whittle down her race times, as well as bounce back from injury.

“I guess obviously when I first started racing in Kona, we weren’t running in carbon-plated shoes,” she said. “But over the years that technology has developed, and I’m super happy in the shoe that I run in. They’ve helped me through the injuries that I’ve had, and yeah, I guess hopefully, like Anne has shown, we are just gonna keep running faster and the technology will help us to do that.”

8. All-Women’s Field Yields Historic Finisher Rate

Despite Ironman moving to an all-women’s field and giving out more entry spots this year, we already knew that the caliber of the field was as competitive as ever. On Saturday, the women proved they are also grittier than ever. Every single athlete who entered the swim completed the 2.4 miles straight out and back into the Kailua Bay chop. It’s potentially a first in the history of the event.

Of the 2,097 starters, 2,039 crossed the finish line in under the 17-hour cutoff. That’s an astonishing 97.23 percent finishing rate at one of the most physically and psychologically grueling race courses on Earth—up from the typical 93 to 97 percent finish rate here.

9. Autistic Athletes Make History

By each completing the race in twelve hours and change, Lisa Cloutier, Marylne Stutzman, and Adrienne Bunn, of the U.S., became the first three openly autistic athletes to cross the finish line at the Hawaii Ironman World Championship.

At 18 years old, the minimum age for entering the race, Bunn also earned the title of youngest finisher this year. Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age four, Bunn started running in school to occupy her thoughts and calm her mind. She started racing triathlons two years ago through a Special Olympics pilot program and earlier this year finished her first Ironman 70.3 race to earn her spot in Kona.

“Running totally transformed her,” Bunn’s mother, June, said. “It just calmed her—it took away her anxiousness.”

On the road to the finish line, Bunn balanced up to 20 hours of training a week with her studies as a high school senior.

“Adrienne got a lot of no’s—no way, it’s not going to happen,” June said. “We never put a ceiling on her. You say it’s not going to happen, she’s going to prove you wrong.”

10. ‘We Never Give Up’

Athletes represented 73 countries at the Ironman World Championships this year, including twelve finishers from wartorn Israel and four from Ukraine.

In addition to the psychological stress these athletes faced, many surmounted logistical nightmares to just make it to the Kailua Pier. Ukraine athlete Yuliya Azzopardi drove 1,000 miles from her home in Kyiv to the border of Poland while abiding by country’s midnight-to-5 P.M. curfew, passed through two border controls, and took two flights to make it to the Big Island. As athletes checked into their return flights after the race on Sunday, several major airlines informed passengers that flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, were suspended in the face of the ongoing conflict with Palestine so alternative flight paths had to be arranged.

Somehow, athletes from these countries channeled their stress into strength.

“I raced especially for Israel,” Sharon Zupnik, who crossed the line in 11:17:46, said. “I wanted to show that we are so strong and we can be here.”

“It means we can keep fighting,” Ukraine’s Kateryna Fedorova said moments after she finished in 11:44:57. “It means we are brave. That we stand for all the rights for freedom. And I want to show the example to everyone that we never give up.”

(Bonus) 11. More People Tuned into the Women’s Race

Not everyone was happy when Ironman decided to split the men’s and women’s world championships into separate venues this year. (The men’s Ironman World Championship was held September 9 in Nice, France.) And while the aloha magic, unrivaled history, and unique brutality of the Kailua-Kona course cannot be replicated, one thing is for certain—a women’s-only race leads to an unparalleled level of inspired racing.

In Ironman races with both men’s and women’s fields, elite and amateur women contend with men interfering with their race, whether that’s getting kicked on the swim, or inadvertently earning a penalty for drafting on the bike.  (And of course, these same nuisances apply to men when women are in their races.) A two-gender race also means that each gender receives less TV coverage, with the women historically receiving less than half of airtime as they battle for contention behind the men.

Giving the women a day of unfettered, fully-celebrated racing allowed the day to play out on its own terms.

“It was very nice to not have men interfering with the race,” Knibb said. “And it was nice to know they weren’t. It was one less worry, one less thing to think about. There’s a lot of things to think about out there.”

And guess what? People tuned in—a lot of people. Over 769,000 fans tuned into the 2023 women’s race, up from the 599,000 who watched the men’s race in Nice last month, enjoying an interrupted view as the race unfolded.

“Cameras were everywhere this year,” Haug said. “Usually they’re just on the first women. We put on a show today and we showed it’s worth covering the whole race.”

A field of 2,000-plus women also imbibed the day with a special type of comradery and grit.

“All of the pro women were cheering me on,” Charles-Barclay said. “And to have their support even when we’re all out there suffering just shows how amazing this sport is.”

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I’ve been wearing running shoes for 30-plus years, and still, when I lace up a new pair that fits me just right, it makes me want to take them for a spin right then and there—but finding perfectly fitting running shoes can be a challenge, even for someone like me who has access to innumerable pairs as a running shoe reviewer.

Because I test shoes, people always ask me, “What’s the best running shoe?” And while my male counterpart, Cory Smith, and I vet, test, and write up all the best shoes on the market each season for the șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Gear Guides and other roundups throughout the year, I always respond with some version of: “There are a lot of great ones out there, but what’s most important is that those great shoes fit your specific feet.”

Much of the running experience depends on comfort, and so much about comfort depends on how well a running shoe fits the individual person’s foot. Yes, other factors differentiate running shoes from each other—midsole compounds, traction, upper materials, lacing systems—and all of them matter in creating a comfortable and effective ride for individual runners and their technique and preferences. But none of it matters if the shoe rubs, bites, or binds your feet uncomfortably. Fit should never be overlooked, and it is linked to the shape of your foot, which is tied to your gender.

So how big a role does gender play in finding your ideal running shoe? Most brands offer men’s and women’s sizes and colorways in each of their shoe models, with both size ranges based on the same last, or, the shape/mold around which the interior of the shoe is built. Some shoes come in men’s sizes only (usually shoes from smaller brands and “niche” models, like weatherized mountain running shoes). Women buy those shoes, but the fit isn’t always right. Many of them have a higher-cut heel cup than women’s models, which can put pressure on a woman’s Achilles. And most often, a men’s shoe fits wider than a women’s.

A handful of brands (Altra, Asics, Hoka, New Balance, Saucony) offer some of their shoe models in widths for both men and women, which offer a broader range of choices. But a select few brands (Altra, Adidas, Hoka, Under Armour) offer all or some of their models in truly gender-specific fits—shoes molded off of gender-specific feet to create gender-specific lasts. And a few brands have come to market with models meant just for women: Lululemon’s Blissfeel and Blissfeel Trail, ±áŸ±±ôłŸČč’s road-to-trail shoe, UnderArmour’s Flow Synchronicity road shoe, and Puma’s road shoe are some examples.

Check out our picks for the best road-running shoes of 2023. 

Brian Beckstead, co-founder of shoe company Altra—a brand that’s offered men’s and women’s-specific fits in all of their models since the brand launched in 2011—explains how the differences between men’s and women’s-specific lasts are found around three main places in the foot. One: Women’s lasts are generally narrower in the heel than men’s or gender-neutral lasts, because women tend to have narrower heels. Two: Women’s lasts generally have more support around the midfoot, or arch, because ladies generally have higher arches than men. And three: Because men and women tend to have different “Q-angles”—the angle drawn between the hip, the patella, and the upper shin, which differs genetically for the purpose of child-bearing, the National Library of Medicine—most women’s lasts are built up slightly around the interior of the heel or calcaneus bone, with more room on the lateral side of that bone.

But gendered fits aren’t always black and white. “I know women who like to buy the men’s fit [of Altras] and I know men who like to buy the women’s shoes just because they have a really narrow heel,” says Beckstead. “It’s a matter of having options. It’s just a matter of having more variations for a dialed-in fit.”

Regardless of brand preferences and gender designations, some women have wide feet and flat or fallen arches, and some men have narrow feet and high arches. Not all women have more pronounced Q-angles than men. (Personally, I have narrow feet with fallen arches, and appreciate a little space in the toe box, but a secure midfoot wrap.)

And what if you don’t identify as either male or female? That’s a question the running shoe development team at has been asking lately, as they’ve relaunched a handful of their trail running shoe models as “unisex,” with what aims to be inclusive color palettes (though the fit is based off a men’s last).

It’s a trend we may see continuing throughout the footwear space.

What really matters, regardless of your gender or how you identify, is that you find a running shoe that fits your particular foot. Ill-fitting shoes can create blisters and discomfort, which can make you alter your gait and lead to injury. Great fitting shoes, on the other hand, can excite you to head out for a run and make that experience as enjoyable as possible.

So head to a local running shop with good reviews where you can get to know your feet with some professional help and assess the options available to you. The perfect shoe for you is out there.

The post Do Women Need Gender-Specific Running Shoes? appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

The spring marathon season has come and gone, and it didn’t disappoint, producing sensational races and world headlines. This was particularly true in Boston and London. However, you might have heard little or nothing about two of the best marathon performances in those events.

The big media coverage went to seemingly-unbeatable Eliud Kipchoge, who finished sixth at Boston, where Evans Chebet gained his third straight World Marathon Major victory in 12 months. At the London Marathon, Kelvin Kiptum ran 59:45 for the second half, en route to a course record 2:01:27, and Sifan Hassan demonstrated that she can win in the marathon as she has at multiple shorter distances.

But 75-year-old Jeannie Rice and 59-year-old Jenny Hitchings outran them all, on an Age-Gender performance basis, both setting new world records for their age groups. Rice’s 3:33:15 in Boston won’t count, since the Boston course is considered ineligible due to its significant downhill slope and point to point layout, which allows for a tailwind boost. Still, she beat the fastest 75-79 age-group male runner by more than 20 minutes, which has likely never happened before in a global marathon. And five weeks before Boston, at age 74, she ran 3:31:22 in the Tokyo Marathon.

A week after Boston, Hitchings ran 2:45:27 in London—a marathon world record for women in the 55-59 age division. Remarkably, she’s at the high end of that age range, as she’ll turn 60 in early July. Not only that, but it was her personal best marathon in 40 years of running.

Many Paths to Marathon Success

Rice was born in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. in her mid-30s. A retired real estate agent, she now divides her time between south Florida and Cleveland. Hitchings is a longtime resident of Sacramento, California, where she works as a middle-school cross-country coach and a private running coach.

Rice and Hitchings live on opposite coasts, but they have much in common. They’ve both been running for decades, both are extremely consistent in their training, and both log multiple 20-milers in their marathon buildups. Surprisingly, neither makes a particular effort to include hill training, a staple among other top marathon runners. Both are small and lean. Rice stands 5-foot-2 and weighs 96 pounds; Hitchings is 5-foot-4 and 100 pounds.

But Rice and Hitchings also present some stark contrasts. These differences carry an important message: There are many paths to marathon success, and the best senior runners understand this. Through their experience and wisdom, they’ve learned to focus on the positives and jettison the junk.

Here’s a look at some of the major contrasts between master marathon greats Jeannie Rice and Jenny Hitchings.

1. Select the Best Course for Your Goals

Both Rice and Hitchings had previously won age-group titles at Boston. Rice chose to return there in April for emotional reasons, as Boston marked her 40th anniversary of marathon running and her 130th marathon. Hitchings selected London for technical reasons. In 2021, she ran 2:45:32 at Boston. It would have been a record except for the point-to-point course prohibition. So this spring she opted for London’s record-eligible course.

Rice: “Boston has always been a special marathon for me,” said Rice. “My preparation wasn’t the best, as I ran the Tokyo Marathon in early March, and then did some traveling. But I wanted to have my Boston celebration, and I had quite a few running friends there with me.”

Hitchings: “London was on my marathon ‘bucket list’ anyway, and it gave me a great opportunity to set an age-group world record,” said Hitchings. “Since my 2:45 at Boston didn’t count, I figured I should take a crack at London while I was still in the age group.” [She will turn 60 in early July.]

2. To Be Coached, or Go It Alone?

Rice has always been self-coached. Hitchings, a running coach herself, has had a longterm coach-athlete relationship with Chicago-based Jenny Spangler. Spangler won the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in 1996 and ran a 2:32:39 marathon in 2003, after turning 40.

Rice: “I’ve been approached by people who wanted to coach me, but they seemed expensive and had other demands I didn’t like. I listen to what my friends do and what others are doing in training. I try to run 50 miles most weeks, and a bit more before my marathons. But I don’t actually follow a schedule. Mostly I just train the way I feel. I’m still running strong and beating records, so I must be doing something right.

“I know it’s possible that a coach could help me the way ’s coach helped him, but it’s also possible that things could go wrong. I like to decide my training according to how I feel each day.”

Hitchings: “I coach other runners, and I could certainly coach myself, but you know what they say about doctors who treat themselves: They have a fool for a patient. I think that can also apply to athletes who coach themselves. It’s just smarter to have someone looking over your shoulder, and adding some perspective.

“I’m one of those who’s often guilty of running too fast on my easy days, or getting excited and going too hard when I’m training with friends. Jenny [her coach] holds me accountable for those kinds of things. She has a great personal performance record that I respect a lot, and has been coaching for many years.

“It’s also important to me that she’s a female coach of my own age. She understands what I’m going through and dealing with in terms of female physiology.”

3. Make Rituals of Your Training Day

Both runners say they enjoy a relaxed morning cup of coffee before launching into their days. But Rice is up earlier, and often out the door quicker. Hitchings needs more time to be ready for a solid run.

Rice: “I like to get my run done early, so I have the whole day in front of me when I get back home at 7:30 A.M. or so. I’m usually running by 6 A.M. In Florida, where I spend my winters, that can be important for the cooler weather.

“But on days when I’m going 20 to 23 miles, I’ll get up at 3:30 A.M.  and begin running at 4:30 A.M.  I’ll go two hours on my own, and then join a local training group for their morning loop, which gives me another hour or so.”

Hitchings: “I coach a number of people who can roll right out of bed and start running. I’m not one of those. My favorite time to run is about 8 A.M. or 8:30 A.M. in the morning. I like my coffee first, and the morning newspaper, and I always make sure to get a light breakfast in my stomach. Since my favorite place to run is the American River Parkway, that gives me another 15 minutes of drive time before I get going.

“There have been times when I had to be a noontime runner, and that was OK, too. But 4 P.M. or 5 P.M.? That’s not going to happen. By that time of day, I’m too tired or depleted.”

4. How to Avoid Injury

This one is easy for Rice, who has never been injured except for a fall (and banged-up knee) in 2021 that cost her several weeks of running. Hitchings also considers herself relatively injury-free, but she has encountered an assortment of typical runner injuries through the years: Achilles tendinitis, piriformis pain, and surgery for Haglund’s deformity (a bony growth at the back of the heel resulting from mostly genetic causes).

Rice: “I go to the gym three times a week for a light strength workout, some pushups, and some stretching. But it’s not a serious session at all. I also golf for fun; I really enjoy golfing.”

Hitchings: “I try to do light weight work as much as I can, and I ride my bike 20-30 miles a week outdoors, and do Peloton indoors. Recently, I added Pilates once a week to improve my strength and mobility.

“Also, Jenny and I have agreed to take one hard running day out of my weekly schedule. I used to do speed work of some kind on Tuesday and Thursday, and a long weekend run. Now I’m down to speed on Wednesday, and a weekend long run that often has some tempo-pace segments.”

5. Of Sweets and Supplements

While both are clearly fit, Rice and Hitchings say they enjoy a wide variety of foods, and have no particular restrictions in their diets. Both enjoy wine drinking. Hitchings admits to a sweet tooth, too, but desserts are not a problem for Rice.

Rice: “Breakfast is usually oatmeal with fruit and nuts. At lunch and dinner, I enjoy a green salad with some sort of seafood or fish on top. I’ve never liked sweets and don’t crave them, but I love cheese and nuts. That’s my big downfall—cheese and nuts. The only supplements I take are calcium with vitamin D, B-12, and magnesium.”

Hitchings: “I eat  ‘clean,’ a well-balanced diet with an emphasis on carbs. I simply don’t feel good if I eat heavy, creamy, or fried foods. I get most of my vitamins and minerals from real foods, though recently I’ve added Athletic Greens to my routine.

“When I’m in heavy marathon training, I find it hard to maintain my weight, so I’ll have some protein shakes and maybe one chocolate bar, muffin, or pastry per day. I’ve got a drawer full of vitamins, calcium, collagen, and iron supplements, but I never seem to stick with any for long. It’s just too much.”

What’s Down the Road?

While realistic about their futures, neither Rice nor Hitchings sound the least bit intimidated by the unwritten future. Despite aging, both are driven to perform. They hope to keep running hard and fast, and chasing age-group records. Both plan to run the Chicago Marathon on October 8, as it will be the site of this year’s

Rice: “Getting faster at 75 is almost impossible, but this year I’m going to run a few road miles to work on my speed. I’ve won my age group in every World Marathon Major but London, so I want to get back to London in the next several years. I want to run the Sydney Marathon, the Ho Chi Minh City Marathon, and, of course, I must run the Seoul Marathon in the country where I was born.”

Hitchings: “I’m running faster at 60 than I’ve ever run in my life. My time in London was literally my lifetime best, and I’ve been running a long time. Sometimes I get asked, ‘When are you going to stop running?’ My answer is always: ‘Why would I stop?’ I’m still getting faster, and I’m still enjoying it.”

Rice, though 15 years older, feels the same. It’s fun winning major marathons, of course, especially when she beats most men her age. In local and regional races, she challenges herself to finish as high as possible in the masters division against females three decades younger (and sometimes wins outright).

“I love competition,” she says. “I’m motivated to train hard, and I’m excited about setting more records as long as I can. Maybe into my 80s.”

Running is about finish times, sure, but it’s even more about attitude. Find the goal that’s right for you, and go after it. This is the approach both Rice and Hitchings have followed successfully, and neither plans to change course now, no matter how many candles adorn their next birthday cake.

Both are on a shared mission, and they’d like others to join them. As Hitchings says: “I think if we keep a positive attitude and motivation, we can go out there and do much more than people think. It’s important to show others that we can defy the way aging has been defined for us for so long.”

RELATED: The Surprisingly Simple Training of the World’s Fastest Marathoner

The post Training Advice from the Greatest Women Masters Marathoners Alive appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Tori Bowie died from complications related to childbirth by the office of the medical examiner in Orange County, Florida, where Bowie was residing. Bowie was eight months pregnant at the time of her death, and her child, a daughter, was reported as stillborn.

Just four years removed from competing in the world championships in 2017, Bowie’s death sent shockwaves throughout the sport. Although she had only raced once since 2021, she had been a world-class sprinter and long jumper for almost a decade, won three medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and won the 100-meter dash at the world championships in London.

On the track, Bowie was a world-class talent who won two U.S. championships, six global medals, and was once among the fastest women in the world. Off the track, she regularly visited foster children’s homes and gave them holiday gifts, pushed for the elevation of Black women athletes, and was interested in a career in fashion and often modeled avant garde outfits. But those who knew her said she also struggled with anxiety, paranoia, and other mental and emotional challenges throughout her career.

“The track has saved my life. I would probably be dead right now,” said Bowie in an  Bowie expressed her gratitude for the sport that gave her meaning and direction in life. “I was going on the wrong path, heading for destruction,” Bowie said. “I was in the streets, you know, and wrong friends and just things like that my entire life.”

Track did end up saving Bowie. On April 23, Frentorish Bowie, who went by Tori, died at the age of 32. She was found at home in Winter Garden, Florida, when Orange County Sheriff’s deputies were called to perform a wellness check because no one had heard from her for several days.

Friends and Family Remember Tori Bowie

“It didn’t matter how much money was on the line,” said her longtime agent Kimberly N. Holland. “It didn’t matter how big the opportunity was. She really had those issues within herself that we couldn’t help with. But we were there to walk her through or help her do whatever she needed to do.” It’s unknown whether Bowie received treatment for these mental health challenges.

Sarah Strong, ultrarunner and licensed clinical social worker with Fireweed Counseling in Colorado, said many elite athletes do not seek treatment. “There’s still a really big stigma about accessing that support,” she said. “Some people think it’s just part of it, ‘this is just what it means to be an athlete, you have to have this kind of anxiety.’ And so then they don’t think it’s something that needs to be treated.”

Athletes can also think it’s a sign of weakness to seek help, Strong said. “Olympians are notorious for trying to fight our way out of our things and try not to show any vulnerability. And we downplay a lot of things,” said two-time Olympic Lolo Jones, who recalled getting to know Bowie while filming a television show for the Olympic Channel.

“Off-camera she was telling me bits of what she was going thru,” Jones wrote in . “She had just gone thru a ton of Olympic success but had a lot going on personally, and it was hard for her to run. She made it seem like she just needed a little break and time to figure some things out. She didn’t share any details of what but just runner to runner things. Like trying to find a new place to train, trying to find motivation, trying to finance her athletic career, I listened to her and tried to encourage her as much as I could from going thru the same issues on an Olympic cycle.”

Bowie’s Early Life

Bowie came from a challenging childhood in Sand Hill, Mississippi. Her mother gave her up to the foster care system when she was two, along with her three-year-old sister Tamara. Bowie never knew why, exactly, she told , when she graced the cover of the magazine.

“I never asked her about it,” Bowie said of her mother at the time. “But she was going through her own issues.”

Nine months later, the sisters were allowed to move in with their grandmother, which brought stability. “My grandmother’s number one rule was that once you start something, you don’t quit,” “From a young age, she never let me give up on anything.”

While she loved basketball and helped Pisgah High School reach the state championships, Bowie found her calling in track and field. As a senior, she won state titles in the 100- and 200-meter long jump, and anchored the winning 4×100-meter relay team.

That earned her a scholarship to the University of Southern Mississippi, where she excelled in a wide range of sprints, as well as the long jump and triple jump. By her junior year, she was named the Conference USA athlete of the year and emerged as a national star, winning the long jump at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships.

Holland met Bowie in 2012 near the end of her college career, after a coach referred her. At the time, Bowie was set on being a long jumper, and Holland wasn’t sure about representing her.

“She convinced me with her sweet, soft voice and just wanting to work with me,” Holland recalls. They formed a bond from their very first phone call and from then on, Bowie called her “Ms. Kim.”

“When we initially talked, we talked about mostly everything besides track,” Holland said. “So there was a kindred spirit there from the very beginning. We talked for hours. I felt instantly a nurturing feeling towards her, like I wanted to help protect her. She just appeared so innocent.”

In her first year as a pro in 2013, Bowie failed to make the finals of the 100-meter at the U.S. championships, but she took fourth in the long jump and competed well in overseas meets. It was about that time that Bowie sent Holland a video of her sprinting highlights and doing speed work for the long jump, and Holland was blown away.

“I just immediately jumped up,” she said. “I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the most horrible race that I’ve ever seen in 100 meters.’ But she ran so fast, and I just got excited. If she can run a horrible race like this and run that fast, imagine what she could do if she actually trained for the sprint.’ So I immediately called her and I was like, ‘Tori, it looked like you were running from a Rottweiler, like you were running for your life.’”

Holland called Bowie, who was just 22 at the time, and asked if she’d thought about sprinting professionally.

“In her Southern accent she said, ‘No, ma’am, I just want to break the world record in the long jump,’” Holland recalled. “I said, ‘Tori, OK, I get that we can have fun with the long jump, but we can make some real moves in this 100 meters. I see all the potential. Like, you could really be the next one.’”

Holland was right. But it still took work to convince Bowie—as well as coaches and sponsors—that she had what it took. Holland secured a spot for Bowie in the 200 at the , but only after a cancellation from another runner. Because of her slower seed time, Bowie drew lane one—a difficult lane to compete in, especially for a young, inexperienced sprinter—and wanted to back out.

“She was like, ‘No, Ms. Kim, I can’t do that, I don’t even know how to set my starting block,’” Holland said. “I said, ‘No, you are going to run this 200. What I had to go through to get you in this 200, you are going to run.’”

Bowie ended up winning the race with a world-leading time of 22.18 seconds, beating Nigerian Blessing Okagbare and Olympic champion Allyson Felix. Her career as a sprinter was secured.

“She ran like her life depended on it,” Holland said. “After the race, all of these big athletes, they were all looking like, Who is that girl? Do you know that girl? No one knew who this girl was.”

As she soared as a sprinter, she suffered as a long jumper. Despite being one of the top-ranked competitors heading into the 2014 indoor world championships, she finished last in the preliminary rounds.

On Top of The World

With the help of Holland and Adidas coach Lance Brauman, Bowie reluctantly put long jumping aside and worked hard at becoming the best sprinter she could be. By 2015, she emerged as one of the world’s best as she not only won the 100 at the the U.S. championships but also earned the  bronze medal in the world championships in Beijing, China.

The next year was even brighter, as she won 16 of the 19 individual sprint races. She finished third in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 and earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, lowering her personal best time to 10.78. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she won both of her preliminary races and ran a stellar race in the finals to earn the silver medal behind Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson.

Bowie also earned a bronze in the 200 in Rio and helped the U.S. win gold in the 4×100 relay, anchoring the team of Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, and English Gardner. By 2017, she was the best sprinter in the world. She won the 100 at the world championships in London in dramatic fashion–leaning forward through the finish line to clinch first place before falling to the ground. She also anchored the U.S. relay team to another gold medal.

 

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“Every single competition we had to prep her to run, it just didn’t come natural,” Holland said. “She really had that kind of anxiety that she wouldn’t get on the track. So we had to pray with her before every single meet. We had to really motivate her, to convince her, you got this, you can do this. So that was another job in itself that we’ve never had to do with anyone. But whatever works, right?”

Holland had helped Bowie earn a lucrative contract with Adidas, and after Bowie’s success at the 2016 Olympics, her career fortunes expanded with modeling gigs for Valentino and Stella McCartney, as well as an opportunity to be photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue. But, Holland said, Bowie continued to struggle.

In 2018, Bowie allegedly got into a physical altercation with a training partner, and then a serious injury curtailed her season before the U.S. championships. In early 2019, she was removed from the U.S. Olympic Training Center because of a dispute over a $6,000 unpaid debt—a that she said left her disappointed and disillusioned and in search of a new place to train.

After changing coaches and training groups, she went back to her first love of long jumping, and her physical talent and work ethic helped her shine once again. After a five-year hiatus from the discipline, she finished fourth at the 2019 world championships in Doha, missing the bronze medal by less than four inches.

“Tori was a very private, introverted person. Her circle was her management team or her family,” Holland said. “And that wasn’t because she was mean. She was afraid to trust because she really felt that a lot of people didn’t mean well by her. That’s just part of the mental health issues that she had to deal with. And that’s why we had to do the things that we did to get her to run every single race. It was work every single race, every single competition.”

Strong said anxiety is very prevalent among runners. Most recent research suggests that about 35 percent of elite athletes have either anxiety, depression, and/or eating disorders. And it’s a chicken-and-egg question of whether anxious people are drawn to running or if running causes anxiety, she said.

“Many people seek out running because it helps with mental health, and people who are endurance runners are high performers. So people who maybe did have anxiety in other places in their life will start running. They love it and it makes them feel happy,” she said. “And then once it becomes a competition and they’re doing it, suddenly it’s not about the running itself. It’s more about their identity, and they have this pressure to perform. I think elite athletes are more likely to have some of those things going on, comparing themselves with others that need to perform, that need to impress people.”

Strong said that more elite athletes are opening up about their own mental health challenges—for example, Amelia Boone and —and that decreases the stigma and brings more awareness for everyone. “Acknowledging that mental health is a thing and we can talk about it, and you can talk about it with your friends on your runs and we should normalize it,” Strong said. “Not everybody must try to deal with it on their own.”

“What I like to tell runners is, if your body can do the things that it’s doing when we’re treating our brains and bodies poorly, imagine what we could do if we treat that well,” she said. “Sure, you’re showing that you can push yourself and do this, but imagine what you could do if you were taking care of yourself and your body was functioning optimally. You could be so much more successful.”

A Track Season Derailed By COVID

Bowie didn’t compete in 2020 as COVID-19 canceled most of the track season. In 2021, at age 30, she posted modest results in the 100 and 200 and didn’t compete in the long jump at all. She opted not to participate in the COVID-delayed U.S. Olympic Trials later that year, either, which meant that just five years after being a top star in the previous Olympics, she wasn’t even a contender to make the U.S. team bound for Tokyo.

Bowie was still training in early 2022, but she was no longer a world-class sprinter. In her only race, she placed fifth in a low-key 200 in Florida in 23.60—a time that didn’t crack the top 400 in the world that year. By the fall, she was enrolled in Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

Holland said the last time she spoke to Bowie was two weeks before she died, and that phone call felt like it was with “the old Tori,” with the innocence and enthusiasm Holland had heard in their very first phone call. “We laughed and talked about old times, and I was just like, ‘I just miss you so much, I really miss seeing you on the track,’” Holland said.

In that phone call, Holland said Bowie told her she was pregnant. Holland said she could tell the pregnancy was making Bowie happy, that she felt her baby would be a new beginning for her.

“You could feel the vibe, the rays over the phone,” she said. “I welcomed it, whatever was going to make her happy. And so when I got the news two weeks later, I didn’t understand.” Now Holland views that final phone call as a gift from God, one last chance to hear Bowie sound happy. “I hadn’t heard her sound that happy in a long time,” she said.

Bowie’s time at the top of the sport was brief but legendary. Her legacy as a world-class athlete won’t be forgotten, but few ever really knew the internal demons she battled. Dozens of track athletes, coaches, and friends attended , including Holland.

Holland says she and Bowie had talked about reuniting after the baby was born–Holland says she offered to help take care of the baby. Now that won’t happen, and the news that Bowie died due to complications from childbirth has sent ripples through the running world. It’s also drawn more attention to maternal mortality rates, especially for Black women.

“So heartbreaking. We need to take better care of our women, athletes, mothers. So many systems let her down,” wrote elite runner Molly Huddle on Instagram. “Not even Olympic champions can feel safe giving birth in this country. We gotta do better.”

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Last November at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Cross Country State Championship meet, the coach Sharon Moreno Hernandez brought her team to the fourth place in Girls’ Division IV, with the top runner placing 10th overall at her school, Bishop Amat Memorial High School in the San Gabrielle Valley area, in Los Angeles. It was her fourth  year as an assistant cross country and track and field coach.

“We were a fairly new team, and building trust can take years, so I’m very pleased with our results,” said Moreno Hernandez.

As proud as she was, she couldn’t help but notice the lack of female coaches at CIF every year. “I’ve been coaching for almost 20 years in running, and I have been a runner all my life, but I haven’t seen many female coaches at all. Throughout my running from middle school to college, I’ve only had one female coach in high school for cross country.”

In a report released by the Aspen Institute Project Play, only 25 percent of youth sports coaches were female in 2020. According to Tucker Center for Research on , women of color make up only 16 percent of Division I head coaches. Data on BIPOC female coaches in youth sport is sparse, too, but that doesn’t surprise Sharon Moreno Hernandez. She has been noticing her lack of company since the day she started running.

Toughness, Redefined

Moreno Hernandez first started running at age seven in Colombia, her home country. Shortly after she ran a three-mile race, her parents decided to move to the U.S.

“I didn’t want to move here because I thought there was no running in America.” Yet once she did discover running in America, her high school running career was dominated by male teammates and coaches.

“It was my brother who first recruited me to be on our high school cross-country team,” said Moreno Hernandez. “I had no idea what cross-country meant. I just knew that my brother’s soccer coach was the running coach. I joined because I loved running.”

The more female coaches we have in running, the more our girls would feel empowered to grow.

During her first high school cross-country season, Moreno Hernandez was the only female runner on the team. She recruited another friend so she wouldn’t be alone. But often, she ended up running with the boys to not get lost. “The boys didn’t reject me,” she said. “Many of them were on the same soccer team as my brother, so they were protective of me. But that’s not always the case with other teams. It was hard to find a sense of belonging.”

Yet Moreno Hernandez learned how to race and be part of the team. “My high school coaches were great at instilling the idea of being tough,” she said. “Tough as in, »ćŽÇ-·ÉłóČčłÙ-·É±đ’r±đ-łÙŽÇ±ô»ć. No negotiation. It was about embracing all the hard parts about training.” She enjoyed the training and the competition. When she didn’t have a full cross-country team, due to lack of other female runners, she embraced track competition to test herself.

Toughness was an idea Moreno Hernandez learned to be a better runner. “We’ve been taught to respect our teachers, coaches, and elders in our culture. So when my running coach told me to be tough, I interpreted it as obeying instructions and not bringing up my emotions.”

Even though Moreno Hernandez was the top runner in her high school, she ended up getting sick with bronchitis right before CIF meets. In college, she was a walk-on at University of California Irvine (UCI) from 1994 to 1998. She then ran another cross-country season at Santa Ana College.

“When we first met in college in 1994, Sharon came to a long and hard workout on the track. Because it was the first training session of the year, lots of people dropped out. We were the only two standing at the end,” said , UCI All American, Hall of Famer and former teammate. College was where Moreno Hernandez had the opportunity to train with other female athletes. “It was hard and lonely to train with the boys in high school. In college, we had so much comradery with each other,” said Moreno Hernandez.

This wass when Moreno Hernandez started to rethink the idea of “toughness.” She still saw the importance of hard work and competing for place and time, but the team dynamic and female athletes supporting each other gave her meaning.

From Athlete to Coach

She eventually decided to pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. She also started coaching other athletes around her and decided that her running talent could be channeled toward others. Studying psychology also allowed her to up her own and her athletes’ mental games.

“Many kids in my [Hispanic] community did not know running as a sport existed. I wanted to introduce them to the sport, especially girls,” said Moreno Hernandez. “Girls have certain emotional needs, and as a coach, I want to meet their needs; I want to show them that dedication, passion, and teamwork are what make you a tough runner, not just results, or hiding away your emotions.”

RELATED: Meet the Runner Determined to Get More Women of Color Coaching

Green, now a civil engineer and a mom of three daughters, acknowledged the importance of having more female coaches in running and in sports. “Sometimes I hear my daughters’ soccer coach telling them not to cry. But crying doesn’t make us weak. It’s how many female athletes process our emotions. It’s good to have female coaches who understand this. I see how effective Sharon has been at building up her athletes’ mental games.”

Janelle Santos, a freshman at Azusa Pacific University, acknowledged the important role Coach Moreno Hernandez played in her athletic career. “Coach Moreno [Hernandez] took me under her wings since day one and always helped me through my ups and downs in my high school running. I made it to CIF twice and got recruited to run in college, all thanks to her.”

With her coaching accomplishments, Moreno Hernandez redefines toughness as pursuing personal growth relentlessly in her team. “For me, coaching is never just about winning titles or championships. It is not about external validation. It’s about growing as a person. Anyone can use running to be a stronger and tougher person.”

A Quiet Intensity

Moreno Hernandez is never afraid to practice what she preaches. Despite being diagnosed with asthma in her early 30s, she kept up with her own training as a middle-distance runner. She recently raced at the inaugural . At age 46, she ran a time of 5:47. “My Personal Record (PR) days might be over, but I wanted to show my athletes there’s personal growth in different ways, such as longevity and competing with other master’s athletes.”

RELATED: American Running Needs More Female Coaches

Moreno Hernandez’s post-collegiate coach, , said the same thing about her. “Sharon’s quiet intensity always makes her a great runner. But her biggest impact on our sport is from her coaching and being a role model to many women like her. She is both tough and loving. As a female coach, she brings a unique perspective that’s much needed in our sport.”

Just like Moreno Hernandez tries to redefine toughness through commitment to personal growth, she is hoping the coaching profession will welcome more female coaches like her for the growth of the sport overall. “We bring different perspectives, besides emotional adaptability, and higher fluency of girls’ developmental stages. The more female coaches we have in running, the more our girls would feel empowered to grow. The more different role models we have, the more possibilities everyone in our sport would believe in.”

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