How can you get involved?
Anonymous response to She Races survey of 1,800 runners
Since the campaign launched a couple of months ago, there’s already been positive changes made in some areas. Grant Smalley, the co-founder of event company Ultra Trails said: “We have now changed our online booking system and our website, and introduced a female fit option for our t-shirts, along with a size guide. We will be emailing those who have already entered (our events), so that they have the choice to re-select their t-shirt fit.”
And Nick Kershaw, Founder of the Impact Marathon Series said: “Impact Marathons has a proud record of female representation on the start line, but formalising our She Races policy helped us identify big blind spots, as well as share what we have done well for all to copy.”
The She Races campaign needs the help and support of other runners to spread the word and to get the guidelines into the hands of event organisers, so they can review their own policies and provisions and, hopefully, make the changes needed for us all to have an enjoyable and equitable race experience.
There’s long been a disparity between women and men in running. The modern marathon originated at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, and the following year the Boston Marathon was born but it wasn’t until 70 years later, in 1967, that Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as an official entrant, and the only woman in a field of 741 runners. Even then, she had to hide her identity by signing up under her first initial and was shouted at to get off the course by the race manager who told her, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!”
Have a think about where you are racing this year and take a look at the imagery that’s used on their website and in communications with their participants.
From 1928 to 1960, women were prohibited from competing in any event longer than 200 metres at the Olympics because it was thought that the strenuous exercise would harm their ability to have children in the future.
Does it feature a diverse range of runners?
Fast forward to 2022 and the Boston Marathon had the greatest lineup of elite female runners in the race’s history. It also happened to be the 50- year anniversary of Boston officially beginning to accept female entrants.
Look at their results from previous races. Do they split the women’s field out and give equal focus to our competition? Have they provided toilet logistics? Are they giving out finisher t-shirts and do they specify if they’re unisex or men and women-specific fit?
If the answers to any of those questions are “No”, the She Races campaign is asking runners to highlight the issues to the event organisers by emailing them directly and sending the She Races Race Guidelines.
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