Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World

by Lauren Fleshman

The first women’s NCAA championships in track and field were held in 1982, three

In our home, Dad got the best chair, the first serving, and the last word. He told his daughters not to take shit from anyone, then turned around and treated my mom to large helpings of his own.

was instructed to close my eyes and simply “soak in the field”—no

Every race after that, I soaked in the field—at first with teammates, and eventually alone, on every track, in every uniform, in every country I raced in. No matter what the circumstances around me, it was a guaranteed way to return to myself.

The front page of the sports section is more likely to feature a male sports fan than a professional female athlete.

recent study showed that 87 percent of female distance runners don’t talk to their coaches about periods. Coaches, 80 percent of whom are male, report feeling ill-equipped for these discussions, which makes sense since there is no required education on female physiology,

In a 2020 study led by Emily Kraus that looked closely at female distance runners averaging age seventeen, three-fourths of them had disordered eating behaviors or eating disorders.

had no interest in babies, but I didn’t want amenorrhea, the total loss of periods that could lead to osteoporosis and stress fractures: the dreaded condition known as the “female athlete triad.”

research shows that decreased pain tolerance and compromised recovery are hallmark effects of menstrual dysfunction.

I ignored my hunger and called it discipline. I ignored my lost period and called it adaptation. I ignored my loneliness and called it independence.

that critical moment about two-thirds of the way through the race when you’re hurting more than you’ve ever hurt before, your job is simple: You say yes. You don’t worry if you can maintain it. You say yes and extend the game a little longer, and a little

This last mile would be full of decisions. Do I stay in this excruciating pain a little longer? The answer always needed to be yes. That was how you won the 5K.

The idea of all of this was that repeated thoughts become beliefs, beliefs inform actions, and actions repeated over time create an identity. To change your identity, you must start by changing your thoughts. More

“This isn’t the ending I dreamed of, sure. But when you realize failing doesn’t make you a failure, you give yourself permission to try all sorts of things.”