Women's Running Stories

In this special collaboration with Hear Her Sports, we talk to Jae Gruenke, a Feldenkrais practitioner and running form expert, and founder of The Balance Runner.   Both Cherie Turner (host of Women’s Running Stories, WRS) and Elizabeth Emery (host of Hear Her Sports) have experience working with Jae, especially in her online running form camp. But Feldenkrais and Jae’s approach to running form work is different and feels almost mysterious. Elizabeth and Cherie wanted to learn more, and get a greater understanding of what makes this work so powerful and also challenging, especially for runners and others who focus on working harder and putting in more effort to get results.  Jae is also featured in the WRS episode "Olympian Sonia Samuels with Movement Expert Jae Gruenke: Recovering Skillful, Pain-Free Running": https://womensrunningstories.com/olympian-sonia-samuels-with-movement-expert-jae-gruenke-recovering-skillful-pain-free-running About Jae Gruenke Jae Gruenke is known as “the wise woman of running” and has helped runners from beginner to Olympian relieve pain and improve their performance; she specializes in helping runners whose problems have persisted despite medical treatment. Jae’s interest in running technique was sparked when, as a professional dancer, she was asked to perform choreography that included sustained running in large, outdoor environments. Frustrated by how difficult and uncomfortable running felt, she began to study running technique and use the Feldenkrais Professional Training Program she was enrolled in as a laboratory to discover how to coordinate her movements so that running felt comfortable, easy, and enjoyable. Eventually, realizing she’d come to prefer running to dancing, and also that the changes in movement that had made the difference to her running were not being taught, discussed, or researched elsewhere, she retired from dancing and launched The Balanced Runner. Jae has been a member of the Feldenkrais Guild of North America since 1999 and the United Kingdom since 2011, and was an ACE-certified personal trainer from 1999-2012.  She graduated from Williams College in 1992 where she majored in literary studies and cross-enrolled at Bennington College to study modern dance. Working as a professional dancer from 1992-2003, she performed with a number of New York City-based companies, and at the time of her retirement from dance in 2003 she was a senior company member of Sarah Skaggs Dance. Ways to Keep Up With Jae Gruenke and The Balanced Runner Online Website: https://balancedrunner.com The Balanced Runner on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/balancedrunner/featured Online Running Form Camp (mentioned in the episode): https://www.balancedrunner.com/online-training-camps Ways to Keep Up With Hear Her Sports Join Hear Her Sports on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hearhersports Find all episodes: http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social media @hearhersports Ways to Keep Up With Keeping Track Find all episodes: https://keeping-track.com/ Ways to Keep Up With Women’s Running Stories  Find all episodes: https://womensrunningstories.com/ Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @WomenRunStories

Erika Kemp will be racing 26.2 miles for the first time ever at the 2023 Boston Marathon on April 17. As one of the top professional distance road racers in the United States today, Erika has had a lot of success. But she's also gone through some significant challenges. Through it all she's gained wisdom, which she brings to her training, racing, and career choices. Erika began racing in high school and found early success. But she wasn't completely sold on the sport until she reached her college years. Racing for North Carolina State University, Erika had great teammates, great coaches, great success, and probably most importantly, she had a great time and discovered a deep drive to explore her ultimate potential in the sport. Erika turned pro right out of college, becoming a member of the Boston Athletic Association professional team in 2018. In her time as a pro, she has upped her racing distances and earned two national titles; she also won the 2021 USATF Running Circuit over title. But, she has also had her fair share of defeats and frustrations. Through it all, Erika has absorbed the wisdom of her experiences. And she'll be taking all of that to the start line of her first marathon on April 17, where she'll be representing her new team, Brooks Running. Erika shares the story of her entire running journey, as she prepares for her next great challenge, the marathon. Along the way, we get to celebrate her wins, learn from her difficulties, and get excited to cheer her on at Boston. Keep Up with Erika Kemp Online Erika is on Instagram: @imtinyrik

Lauren Hagans (formerly Paquette), a professional distance runner and member of the HOKA NAZ Elite team, takes us inside the 2023 USATF Half Marathon National Championships. Her bold decision and gutsy racing earned Hagans a close second place, her first podium finish at a national championship. Hagans has a long racing career and has been a top competitor at many distances. The half-marathon is the longest distance she's raced, yet. In addition to letting us know what went down in the race, Hagans shares why she had to take most of 2022 off racing, where's she at now, and what she's looking forward to. Keep Up With Lauren Hagans Instagram: @haagendazs_86 Twitter: @HotPaquettes HOKA NAZ Elite Team Profile: https://nazelite.com/athletes/lauren-paquette/

Sara Mae Berman started running and paving the way for other women's distance runners in the 1960s and 1970s. She is best known these days for winning the Boston Marathon three times: 1969, 1970, 1971. In those years, women weren't officially allowed to run marathons in the United States. However, there was that six year period between 1966 and 1971 when women ran Boston unofficially. It all started with Bobbi Gibb, when she popped out from behind the bushes to run the 1966 Boston Marathon. Bobbi went on to win again in '67 and '68, and then Sara picked up the torch and won the next three years. The rules changed for the following year and women were officially allowed to run marathons beginning in 1972. In addition to work that supported other women runners and helped change the rules that limited women's participation in running, Sara Mae was one of the fastest marathon runners in the world on record during her peak. The strides she and other women of her generation made helped set the bar and lay the foundation for the future of women's distance running in the United States. Mentioned in this episode: Starting Line 1928 podcast: an oral history project featuring interviews with pioneering women runners: https://www.startingline1928.com/ Bobbi Gibb: The First Woman of the Boston Marathon: https://womensrunningstories.com/bobbi-gibb-the-first-woman-of-the-boston-marathon Evergreen Podcast Network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Women's Running Stories on the Evergreen Podcast Network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/womens-running-stories Hear Her Sports podcast: http://www.hearhersports.com/ Keeping Track podcast: https://keeping-track.com/

Lindsey Cortes is a runner and dietician who specializes in helping women athletes overcome the challenges of disordered eating and negative body image through her business Rise Up Nutrition. She brings both professional knowledge and her own personal experiences with body image and nutritional challenges to her business practice. Here, Lindsey shares the personal details of how she's navigated her own unhealthy eating habits and body image challenges, to arrive at a place of peace and wellness on both fronts. Lindsey talks about how intuitive eating has led her to be able to nourish her body to perform its best–as an athlete, mom, and business owner. She also talks about body acceptance, moving toward appreciating the shape her body takes when it's healthiest and performs its best. Lindsey also recognizes that this journey is a process with ups and downs, and the tools we develop can be used for a lifetime. Discover more about Lindsey online Rise Up Nutrition website: www.riseupnutritionrun.com Female Athlete Nutrition podcast: www.riseupnutritionrun.com/podcast Instagram: instagram.com/female.athlete.nutrition Mentioned in this episode Hear Her Sports podcast: http://www.hearhersports.com/ Cherie Turner + Comrades Marathon: A Hear Her Sports Special Collaboration: https://womensrunningstories.com/cherie-turner-comrades-marathon-a-hear-her-sports-special-collaboration Cathy Hopkins + Comrades Marathon: Discovering Community: https://womensrunningstories.com/0105-cathy-hopkins-comrades-marathon-discovering-community Ways to keep up with Women's Running Stories Our website: womensrunningstories.com Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @womenrunstories Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/

We're excited to bring you a something a little different and let you know about another women-hosted podcast that features women runners. Please enjoy this episode from the podcast Starting Line 1928, which features in-depth interviews with women running pioneers. The episode we chose features ultra legend Bjorg Austrheim-Smith, who is best known for winning the historic Western States 100-mile Endurance Race three times: 1981, 1982, 1983. She began running when she was 35 and a mother of two (she would eventually have three children). Following an interest to be healthy and just get outside and move, she found a talent and passion that culminated in her becoming a champion and a trailblazer. Starting Line 1928 is an oral history project documenting the lived experiences of women distance running pioneers. A team of freelance historians interviews women who are trailblazers in the sport—with a special emphasis on women of color and others whose voices haven’t been heard as often. The project spans the 20th century, chronicling the individuals who paved the way for a post-Title IX world. Guests have included Olympians, steeplechase pioneers, ultrarunning champions, coaches, and those who fought hard for women to have new opportunities in the sport. The show is a proud recipient of a 2022 Tracksmith Fellowship. Learn More about Starting Line 1928 StartingLine1928.com Instagram @startingline1928 Twitter @startline1928 Learn More about Women's Running Stories Our website: womensrunningstories.com Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @womenrunstories

Professional runner Maegan Krifchin wanted to make the 2022 NYC Marathon an epic day. A native of Long Island, the Atlanta Track Club runner visualized bettering her 2:30 PR (2021 Chicago Marathon) while also breaking the 2:30 barrier, cracking the top 10, and shining her brightest on November 6. That did not happen, and it was heartbreaking. But it led Meagan on a marathon adventure that would see her run the Philadelphia Marathon two weeks later, on November 20, almost grabbing the win, and then CIM in Sacramento, California, two weeks after that, on December 4. Along the way, Maegan realized the importance of shaking things up, being playful among the seriousness of big pursuits, and how going after wild goals can reignite your ambitions. She also got that sub-2:30 PR, at CIM! Maegan tells her story in her own voice. Follow Meagan on Instagram: @mkrifchin Lean more about Maegan in our live interview, also featuring Marilyn Bevans, recorded just before the 2022 Boston Marathon: LIVE EVENT: Marilyn Bevans & Maegan Krifchin, Celebrating 50 Years of Women Running Boston, Officially; hosted by Strides Forward & Run Father & Faster podcasts Also mentioned in this episode: Hillary Allen: An Unbreakable Will Ways to keep up with Women's Running Stories Our website: womensrunningstories.com Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @womenrunstories

Well into her 30s, Tiffany Gayle Chenault didn't have any interest in running, even when she said yes to a friend who asked her to run a 5-mile event near her home in Boston, Massachusetts. But during that run, she felt something, a renewed sense of being alive that had gone quiet since the passing of her mother a few years earlier. That aliveness led to a whole new path for Chenault, whose professional life is as a professor of sociology at Salem State University. As Chenault began her running journey, she also developed a curiosity about the lack of diversity in the sport, especially the absence of other Black women runners. This led to Tiffany setting out on a running challenge and research project of completing a half-marathon in each one of the 50 states. Her approach and interest is both academic and personal: she's assessing the project through the dual lens of being a Black woman runner herself and also as a sociologist focused on the intersection of race, gender, and class. Tiffany has been chronicling her journey on her blog RunISee50. Once Chenault finishes her project in 2023, by completing a half-marathon in her 50th state, Hawaii, she'll turn her findings into a book. Tiffany has come to define her own space in the running community, and she's working to help other women do the same. She is the co-ambassador for the Boston chapter of Black Girls Run, and she a member of the Boston Running Collaborative, which the Boston Athletic Association created to strengthen its focus on increasing diversity and access to the running community in the Boston area. Tiffany also recently modeled for REI and was featured in their catalog. As part of that campaign, there was an accompanying article that featured her titled "What a Runner Looks Like." Ways to keep up with Tiffany Her blog: RunISee50.com Instagram: @runisee50 Ways to keep up with Women's Running Stories Our website: womensrunningstories.com Instagram: @womensrunningstories Twitter: @womenrunstories

If you aren't familiar with Hillary's racing career, it's likely because most of the racing she's done is in Europe where the style and the terrain of the racing suits her; it's what she really loves. Hillary is also the author of the book Out and Back where she chronicles in fine detail exactly what she's had to overcome and what's she's learned. Hillary will readily tell you that she's not the same as she was before her running journey began. She doesn't consider her story one of comebacks; it's one of growth. It's a story punctuated by a near-death fall and then other serious set-backs. Through it all, Hillary has honed the art of growth through adversity, and she's cultivated a lot of skills along the way.  In this episode, Hillary brings us up to the present, which very significantly includes her running the 100-mile UTMB, which just took place at the end of August 2022. If you're not totally familiar with UTMB, it can refer to the collection of races that take place over the course of a week in late summer in the Alps, with all of the action based out of Chamonix, France, or it can refer to the UTMB race, which is the premier event of that week of races. The race is a full circumnavigation of Western Europe's highest peak, Mont Blanc. Suffice to say the UTMB festival of events is the largest, most competitive collection of ultra events in the world.  When Hillary isn't racing up and down the tough technical terrain in Europe or elsewhere in the world, she's training and racing on the tough technical terrain near her home in Boulder, Colorado. She relayed her story from there just after returning from her time in Chamonix and the UTMB. This episode is sponsored by The Feed, the largest online marketplace for your sports nutrition, offering the brands you know and love, from Skratch Labs, Clif Bar, to Maurten, plus their athlete customized supplements called Feed Formulas. In addition to supporting Strides Forward, this sponsorship supports Hear Her Sports and Keeping Track: together we are a collective of women-hosted podcasts focused on women in sports. As part of this sponsorship, you can get $80 in credit at The Feed: just go to TheFeed.com/forward to claim your $80 in credit at The Feed. Keep up with Hillary Online Hillary's website: https://hillaryallen.com/ Hillary's book Out and Back Hillary's TedTalk Hillary on Instagram: @hillgoat_climbs Podcast co-hosted by Hillary, Corrine Malcolm and Keely Henninger: Trail Society 

In this episode, Alison tells her running journey and touches on many of the topics that are featured in her book. Let this serve, then, as an inspiration to read her whole story in Running While Black, a book that will certainly become a best-seller and an important read for all runners, especially white runners.  On Women’s Running Stories, we often feature running journeys that highlight how running is about more than the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. Alison's story is exceptional in this regard.  Her new book is the latest example of how Alison interweaves her running with her commitment to leave the world a better place than it was when she found it. Over the years, she has become a leader in the running world, with a clear, powerful voice. She has shown how running can be a vehicle to create change. She’s also working to create change within the running industry so that this sport can some day truly live up to the claim that it is open and welcoming to everyone.  Alison not only does the work herself, but also inspires and encourages and helps make space for other people doing the work to move the sport of running toward being a space where everyone feels not only welcome, but that they belong.  This episode is sponsored by The Feed, the largest online marketplace for your sports nutrition, offering the brands you know and love, from Skratch Labs, Clif Bar, to Maurten, plus their athlete customized supplements called Feed Formulas. In addition to supporting Strides Forward, this sponsorship supports Hear Her Sports and Keeping Track: together we are a collective of women-hosted podcasts focused on women in sports. As part of this sponsorship, you can get $80 in credit at The Feed: just go to TheFeed.com/forward to claim your $80 in credit at The Feed. Keep Up with Alison Online Alison’s website: http://alisonmdesir.com/ Alison on Instagram: @alisonmdesir Buy Running While Black:  Links to Organizations Mentioned in this Episode Harlem Run: http://www.harlemrun.com/about Run 4 All Women: https://www.run4allwomen.com/ Meaning Through Movement: https://www.meaningthrumovement.com/ Running Industry Diversity Coalition: https://www.runningdiversity.com/ Take the Lead on Instagram: @woctakethelead