I need to get this off my chest as it has been eating
away at me all night. And now, I look at my Newsfeed on FB (no this is not a
political rant) and a topic for discussion on a well known and otherwise
inspirational women’s running group, Another Mother Runner, threw me over the edge.
I can’t fucking take it.
Last night I attended the Trail Running Film Festival in
Brooklyn. It was 12 short films (just about 3 hours worth) about all sorts of trail
running stories. This included poems about why we run trails and what we feel
when we are out there, stories of our 4 legged running partners, runners who
have overcome medical conditions, those chasing FKTs, and personal stories of average,
older and elite runners.
One thing stood out to me: the stories that included men
as the main focus were about drive, grit, determination, mental toughness, strength.
Their stories exposed the pain that we can experience out on the trails, both physical
and mental, and how the runner dug deep and pulled that shit out. The
inspirational poem was read (and written?) by a man and there was a man featured
running while the poem was being read. The FKT was being chased and support by
men. The story about overcoming a medical condition (heart transplant) was a
man. The oldest runner story was about a
man. The longest short story about pacing featured a man. The most inspirational
stories featured men.
The stories about women were inspirational, yes. I don’t want
to downplay any of the accomplishments by any of the women trail runners in the
films. The women were all beasts and nothing short of incredible. But the angle of the films differed so much.
There was the story about a women’s trail running
club, the Maroon Belles. I understand the struggles of the mother runner, balancing a full-time
job and being a mom and ultra runner. But where was the grit? Where was the
mental toughness? Where was the struggle? That raw vulnerability that only
trails can expose? And how being a part
of tribe can make a difference? No where. They were laughing, smiling, running
a long distance for the first time with what appeared to be no problems what so
ever. Perhaps that was not meant to be the story told. But I don’t think the
film captured the power of the female tribe. I don’t feel that those who are
not part of a female running tribe walked away with the full understanding of
its power.
As a co-leader of a women’s
running club, I 100% understand the power of the female running tribe. For
example, I was 6 miles in to a 20 mile training run for my first 100K. I was in
pain. I wanted to hang up my running shoes forever. Tears and doubt with every
step. My running partner gave me space when I needed it. Encouragement when I needed
it. She was my rock. I fucking finished that run because of her. And that's just one small sliver of the whole story. In my club,
women are accomplishing running feats that they never thought were possible or
that even existed. Whether it’s a 5K or ultra. In the past year, we have had 8 women complete
ultra marathons for the first time and several went on to complete more (one
woman did 2 in 3 weeks). One woman completed a 50K after DNFing a few months earlier.
The inspiration and encouragement, the tears and self doubt….that’s part of our group 24 hours a day. If you could follow our club for just one day and you will see all the potential
that was missed in this film. The film didn’t do the Belles justice. It didn’t
do the female tribe justice. It didn’t do the female trail runner justice.
Now let’s talk Jenn Shelton. She is fucking sick ass
runner, no doubt about that! Holy shit her times and finishes are just ridiculous. But come on! That
was just trail porn and not in a good way. If I had to look at her vagina one
more time I would have thrown up my beer and hot dog all over the guys in front
of me. Luckily I only puked a little in my mouth when she took her shirt off
and I had to look at her “milky white jugs.” That’s the female runner to
showcase? She certainly gave me and my girls a few good laughs. But where was
the balance? An anomaly in the ultra running community she is. She drinks, she
eats like shit, she lives out of her van, swears like a fucking sailor and
spits. And still manages to pull first place finishes out of her booty-short
wearing ass. Sure, she lives the life this 40 year old mom who sits at a desk
all day can only dream about (especially as I was still nursing a hangover on
Monday from drinking on Saturday). But where was the balance? Where was the
other female ultra runner? Like Van Phan, the 45 year old female ultra runner who
currently has 238 finishes on Ultrasignup. We got to follow her in the film
about Orcas 100. Now THAT woman I would have liked to hear more about. I would
have loved a film that got inside her head. I wanted
to know HER story.
So ladies, we may still be climbing the same mountains as
men. But it looks like the glass ceiling in ultra and trail running still
remains higher.
So what was the FB discussion thread that threw me over
the edge? Whether or not you wear makeup
when you run. Come on ladies, we can do better than that!
