Imagine the only shirt size options at a race were women’s sizes. Imagine tights and shorts had no support for men’s genitalia, hydration packs and bottles were designed for the female figure and shoes were made for a women’s fit. Imagine 10 podium spots for women and three for men, with prize money for women but not for the men.
Now, flip the script and you’ll understand why most female ultrarunners of a certain age aren’t interested in keeping our sport old school. We’ve spent years cutting shirts down to size, jerry-rigging packs and treating blisters caused from poor-fitting shoes. It took courageous women like Rory Bosio, who boycotted UTMB after one of her wins, to convince race directors that if the top 10 men made the podium, then so should the top 10 women, not just the top five. They complied.
I entered this sport knowing it was hard, that it took hours of training every week to build up a base, that I needed to test gear and race plan in an environment as similar as possible to the one I was racing in. None of that has changed, and I don’t want it to. What has changed? Women – all of us – stopped accepting the oversized shirts and gear, even as we trimmed and sewed packs and vests to fit our female bodies. It took time and lots of conversations with manufacturers and race directors, but things are changing in our sport for the better. Here are some of my favorite improvements:
Race Shirts
I still have the “Unisex S” shirt from my first ultra. I was lucky – the race director only ordered a few smalls, but I’d arrived early and scored. Not every race over the next several years had my size, including the Boston Marathon which, as late as 2006, only provided men’s sizes. All the smalls were gone, so they handed me a medium. I still have that shirt, too. The sleeves dangle past my hands, and the tail is long enough to wear as a short dress. It works well as an after-workout shirt, especially in the winter when I want to shuck off all of my wet clothing and wrap myself in something warm and dry, but I’d wear it more often if it weren’t so big. Five stars to shirts that fit in all the right places.
Shoes
Once upon a time, Montrail was the only manufacturer to produce women’s trail shoes. Now, there is an entire line of shoes not just for women, but for the various terrains we traverse. Shoes are tools that help me perform at my best and will also help keep me running for the rest of my life.
Fuel
My wife has been in this sport since 1992 and used Coke and hard candies as her fuel for years. I added Tiger Bars and Powerbars to the mix. They melted into a gooey mess that looked like baby poop, were rock hard in winter and tasted like cardboard. We both applauded the arrival of the first gels, Gu and Hammer, relishing the small packets and easy caloric calculations.
Training Plans and Evidence-Based Research
Our training plan was simple: start with a big base of miles and keep adding. We paid little attention to speedwork or hill climbs (enough of those in the Columbia Gorge) and only lifted weights in the off-season. I don’t think we ever did mobility exercises. The Western States Foundation has funded a host of studies to answer questions on hydration, salt utilization, impact of ultra endurance on heart health and weight changes during a long race, to name a few. The results of these studies produced training innovations that help improve performance, reduce injury and extended our time in the sport. I give five starts to the scientific research that helps all of us perform at our highest levels.
Hydration Packs
My first running pack was a Gregory, the only pack small enough to fit my frame. It bounced a fair bit downhill, a fact my stomach protested as I trotted down the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River. I love having a hydration pack that fits. I’m enough of a gearhead that I have a vest for short runs, a smaller hydration pack for 2-4 hour runs and a larger pack for long adventures. Five stars to packs and poles sized for women.
Old School Things I Love
I’m still old school with my watch. I want it big and visible, to go with a touch of a button and carry a charge for 36 hours. I’ve worn Garmin watches as long as I can remember, long before I started running ultras. I’ve passed the old ones on to my niece, an aspiring cross-country runner.
I love the camaraderie that comes when you train and race. I love that we cheer each other on, even stop our own race to help another runner. I love knowing that in my sport, when the leaders get off course, and then get back on, they order themselves as they were before going off course and cross the finish line that way. I love knowing that people in the aid station and along the trail are there to help me, and that I, as I wait to crew my wife, Liz, often help other crews to support their runner. I love the smaller community races where the volunteer fire department is the start/finish and the event is a fundraiser for the high school cross-country team or the fire department.
I love seeing more women running, and more runners of various abilities and backgrounds toeing the start line, and I hope that as a sport we continue to grow and appeal to a wider variety of runners. In that vein, I also love knowing there are excellent coaches with plans, and even free training plans with some races, to help new runners train and compete. I love how we mentor each other along the trail, and even when someone does not listen and goes out too fast and then is slogging up the long hill before the finish, we cheer rather than jeer.
I even love our pithy sayings, “Aid station gonna come when the aid station gonna come,” “The lessons will be presented until they are learned,” and “What comes up must go down.”
I also want to acknowledge the changes at UltraRunning Magazine. I still have a stack of black-and-white issues from when the magazine started. The quality of information and the inspirational articles have all continued to improve and expand. This is a place where you can find inspiration, education, resources and race information. It is a community that’s continuing to grow and evolve. As we do, I hope we hang onto the best of the old school—camaraderie, mentoring and community—and embrace the new science and improved gear and training.