Why every runner has a ‘runner’s body’ – Runner’s World (UK)

As runners, we often put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. Pressure to run further, or to run faster, to lift heavier weights as we cross-train. And some feel the pressure to look like some of the runners we follow on Instagram, or to pursue a ‘perfect’ ‘runner’s body. This focus on the so-called perfect body and the associated body shaming is nothing new; “thin is fast” is an idea that has been around for decades, but elite runner Mary Cain’s recent allegations have brought this back into the headlines.

In a video made with The New York Times, Cain described how she was “emotionally and physically abused” during her time training with the Nike Oregon Project – which was created by Nike to promote American long-distance running, under running coach Alberto Salazar. Cain described how Salazar was “constantly trying to get me to lose weight” to hit 114lb (51kg), weighing her in front of her teammates. At 17, Cain now 23, stopped having her periods, began self harming and had suicidal thoughts, which she blames on the “system designed by Alberto and endorsed by Nike”.

Cain highlighted the dangers of RED-S, or Relative energy deficiency in sport, defined as “the result of insufficient caloric intake and/or excessive energy expenditure. Consequences of this low-energy condition can alter many physiological systems, including metabolism, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, and cardiovascular and psychological health”. After months of dieting, the condition left Cain with five broken bones. She called the way women have been (and are) treated a “crisis in women’s sports”. In response, Nike said, “We take the allegations extremely seriously and will launch an immediate investigation to hear from former Oregon Project athletes. At Nike we seek to always put the athlete at the center of everything we do, and these allegations are completely inconsistent with our values.”

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The allegations raise serious concerns, and not just about coaching methods in the US as they relate to women athletes. In a worldwide study published in the Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers found that both male and female athletes of all ages and abilities are 20% more likely than the general public to develop a dysfunctional relationship with food and training. Researchers noted that, “the disorders are especially common in sports where weight has a significant effect on performance. In endurance sports such as long-distance running, leanness is related to performance for obvious physiological reasons.”

The study concluded, “If the problem is to be addressed then there needs to be an understanding of how the sports environment might contribute to an increased risk. It is knowledge of additional risk factors that leads to the development of preventative strategies in the world of sport. Sports organisations, sports governing bodies and those professionals who work with athletes have a responsibility to develop and implement good preventative practices.”

In light of the Cain allegations, a number of athletes, including multiple Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington, have spoken about the change needed. Wellington tweeted, “I’ve been influenced by this pernicious, pervasive narrative of “thin is fast”, and seen the impacts of coaches who perpetuate it. It is damaging physical health, mental health, performance, careers, relationships and lives not only of women but men too.” This The Daily Telegraph ran a story on Charles van Commenee, Britian’s most senior running coach in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, who’s comments on a number of female athletes’ weight, including Jessica Ennis-Hill, has been branded “disgraceful”. Van Commenee told The Daily Telegraph, “over the last 40 years, I have called a number of athletes fat, because they were.”

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Furthermore, discrimination is not just restricted to athletes accused of carrying too much weight. Earlier this year, Team GB Olympian Eilish McColgan took to social media to condemn members of the public who had been criticising her for being “too thin”. Writing, “Nothing pisses me off more than someone making a comment that I’m ‘too skinny’. I’m naturally small-always have been. Some people are just slim! I doubt they would comment on someone slightly larger than ‘average’. I’m a healthy athlete and human. Go body shame elsewhere!”. McColgan went on to support the messages in Cain’s video, writing, “We definitely need more female coaches within our sport (and more in paid coaching positions within our governing bodies too!).”

It’s also important to remember that this isn’t a problem that only affects the athletes we watch on the main stage. Last year, performance and eating disorder dietitian Renee McGregor and parkrun communications manager Tom Fairbrother launched #TrainBrave – an initiative aiming to give coaches and clubs guidance into how to offer support to athletes, and to shine the light on eating disorders, and a running culture that isn’t doing enough to protect vulnerable athletes.

For any runner who has struggled with eating disorders, the line between healthy and obsessive can be blurred. When I spoke to McGregor about the unhealthy idea that to go for a run means to ‘run off calories’, she said, “my biggest concern is people seeing running as validation of the foods they eat, as this is not what your relationship with running should be.

“It should not be ‘I should go running’ but ‘I want to go running’ or you’ll fast lose the enjoyment. Running is about so much more than burning calories – it’s about your wellbeing, your heart health, your serotonin and dopamine levels, it can be something you do socially, or because you want to explore a new trail or adventure. Calories are a side effect, but not the be all and end all.”

Perhaps the most important message here is that the ‘perfect runner’s body’ is not something that can, or ever should, define by a certain height or weight. With all the talk of elites and physical appearance, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that if you placed any runner into the elite world, with the resource and advice that goes with following a rigorous training and racing schedules, then physical changes would occur and those would be of fat loss and muscle gain.

The now standardised image of a female athlete is more and more that of visible abs and defined shoulders, lean and powerful women competing as the world’s best. That is not what is at fault here; the issue is that these bodies weren’t just created through hard work and determination, but by shame and insults. This aesthetic that many amateur runners strive for cannot be disassociated with an archaic and misognisitic attitude and that’s the biggest crime. The perfect runner’s body is the one that gets you across the finish line. Anybody who goes for a run has a runner’s body, and this is something that should be celebrated.

If you are worried about your own, or a fellow runner’s relationship with food and body image contact your GP or phone the Beat helpline for confidential support.

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