For centuries, women weren't considered fast enough or strong enough to race. They've broken every barrier and disproved falsehoods about their fitness for the sport, in some cases outcompeting men.
For centuries, women weren't considered fast enough or strong enough to race. They've broken every barrier and disproved falsehoods about their fitness for the sport, in some cases outcompeting men.Myths about women in sport date back at least to the dawn of the Olympics 2,800 years ago, when women weren’t allowed to compete. These myths “remain hard to shake,” according to sports journalist.
It turns out, of course, that it’s just the opposite. Just one example: Girls need exercise as adolescents to boost bone health and prevent osteoporosis.While working on her book, Mertens realized something: “Maybe the reason we see women in a certain light is because of stereotypes or stories that have been told for a really long time.”In many races, the speed gaps are shrinking.
Today, women have the opportunity to run all the same races men do. But Mertens reflects that one of the most surprising things she discovered in her research is “how much gatekeeping there has been for women runners in terms of what they were and weren’t allowed to even try.”The first woman who ran the Boston Marathon wasn’t supposed to be there. In 1966, Bobbi Gibb snuck into the race, having been denied by the race director, who didn’t want to assume “the medical liability.
“It does show that women have a lot of athletic capabilities that aren’t as prized in some of the other sports we pay more attention to,” Mertens says of the success of women in ultrarunning. “I love the proof that our athleticism can rise to the top."The misconception that the thinner you are, the faster you are is a dangerous one that, as Mertens writes, arguably wrecked the careers of women runners like Leslie Heywood and Mary Decker.
But then, there’s Paula Radcliffe who won the New York Marathon 10 months postpartum. Ultrarunner Jasmin Paris pumped breast milk at aid stations at the ultramarathon she won. These are just a couple of examples of women runners proving that they can keep competing after giving birth. Paula Radcliffe celebrates with her daughter, Isla, after winning the women's division in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 4, 2007.One particularly haunting story from this book belongs to Annet Negesa, a Ugandan runner. After a blood test showed she had high testosterone levels, she was sent to France, where a group of white male doctors told her she needed surgery if she ever wanted to realize her dreams of running in the Olympics.
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