Women's Running May 2021

It is only through rest that we get stronger. As runners, our rest days are equally as important as our training days, and as human beings, we need decent rest to fully recover from our daily lives or from illness, and to be able to function at our best. It is this fundamental truth that underpins our feature on running after Covid on page 32. This past year, the wider impact of the pandemic on our daily lives, our mental health, our families and friends, and our livelihoods has been devastating. But what about the other, more direct impact? What if we actually get Covid? What will happen to our bodies? And how will it affect our running? As runners, an illness that affects the function of our lungs will stop us…

Fiona Bugler Fiona lives and breathes an endurance lifestyle through running, triathlon and writing. She’s done 17 marathons (five sub-3.15s after the age of 40) and last year she completed an Ironman. She’s a running coach and founder of endurancewomen.com where she celebrates ordinary women being extraordinary. Fiona had Covid and this issue she looks at the long-term effects of the virus on runners on page 32. Laura Hilton Laura is a nutritionist, personal trainer and mum of three. She runs in the countryside with her dog every week, and loves taking on an obstacle event. Laura is passionate about helping people become the healthiest, happiest versions of themselves. This issue, Laura uncovers the sometimes confusing world of nutritional supplements and tells us exactly what we should be taking (and what we can…

HEADLINES The people, campaigns, research and updates making an impact in our running community this month New research from Women in Sport, funded by Comic Relief, highlights concerning stats on the level of teenage girls’ activity, as well as their mental health and confidence. The research showed that lockdown has led girls to recognise the value of exercise for physical and mental health, with 52 per cent of girls agreeing that keeping fit and doing physical activity was more important than ever. Perhaps most crucially, 82 per cent of girls say they will put more effort into being active when life returns to normal. Less positive, however, is the revelation that half of the girls (51 per cent) surveyed were concerned that they were losing their fitness and 45 per cent worried that…

The #WEWILL collective, including This Mum Runs and Women’s Running, is launching a campaign to raise awareness of the sexual harassment of women runners. #WEWILL is a campaign focused on the positive actions men and women can take to enable women to run free from fear and to feel and be safe in every area of their lives. A nationwide survey conducted by WR found that 69 per cent of women do not feel safe, or adjust their behaviours to feel safe, when they run; 79 per cent have been shouted at while running; and 31 per cent have thought about stopping running because of safety concerns. Most harassments go unreported, either because women don’t know they can report it, or don’t think they will be taken seriously (and often aren’t).…

The ongoing battle to secure equal pay, equal racing opportunities and ground-breaking maternity policy for female athletes in our sport came to another climax in the US on Mother’s Day. Nike released a video in mid-March (Mother’s Day in the UK), to launch a new maternity line. It got millions of views but also led to some of Nike’s leading female athletes criticising the brand for ongoing unequal treatment. Olympic gold medallist and world champion Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix) responded to the ad by saying on Twitter: “…watch this ad, so that you will hold Nike accountable for it… it celebrates all the right things but seems to ignore the struggle it took to get to this point.” “It celebrates all the right things but seems to ignore the struggle it took to…

The only woman at the British Olympic marathon trials to finish inside the Tokyo Olympics qualifying time, Steph Davis from Clapham Chasers not only secured her place on the Team GB squad, but confirmed her place in the all-time top 10 for British women at the 26.2 mile event. Davis, a Scot based in London, set a PB of 2:27:16 despite being a relative newcomer to elite running. Compared to many marathon runners she does low mileage, relying on cross-training to deepen her fitness and reduce injury risk.…