Back in action!
Nike and maternity leave, Caster Semenya’s saga continues, and the story behind the WSER trans athlete policy.
Hello again!
It’s been a little while since I slid into your inboxes. I ran the Boston Marathon a whole month ago (!), and as much as I fantasized about spending my recovery period on things like this newsletter, it turns out that I really needed a lot of eating and sleeping. (And then immediately took a work trip to Santa Fe, where I had the fun experience of easing back into running at altitude!) Anyway, a lot has happened in women’s running over the past few weeks. Let’s dive in to some of the highlights.
(And as always, for more timely updates between issues, you can follow the Kick on Twitter.)
Step it up, Nike
On Mother’s Day, the New York Times published an important piece about how Nike’s female athletes have been penalized when they decide to have children. The story and accompanying video were produced by the NYT’s Lindsay Crouse, and feature athletes Alysia Montano, Kara Goucher, and Phoebe Wright.
Since the piece was published, a handful of brands have updated their contracts to include language about pregnancy. (Including, eventually, Nike themselves.) The Runners of NYC podcast also did a great interview with Lindsay last week, which you can check out here. (Also featuring a quick mention of this newsletter!) For further related reading, Christine Yu wrote a piece for Outside earlier this year about some similar contract and policy issues female athletes face.
Semenya’s saga continues
As of earlier this month, after weeks of deliberation (and years of controversy), there’s finally a decision in the Caster Semenya case. On May 1, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favor of a testosterone limit for women in track events from the 400-meters through the mile. Two days after the decision, Semenya raced the 800 in Doha and won in a blazing fast time (1:54.98). She was a late addition to the field, and the race was her last before the regulations took effect on May 8. But for fans of the sport on all sides of the issue, things hardly feel resolved here. As Fritz Huber put it in a piece I edited for Outside: “Even those in favor of IAAF regulations have been unsettled by the idea that track and field’s governing body is effectively green lighting an experiment in reverse doping.”
In the weeks since the decision, there’s been a lot of great writing published about the case. I’d recommend this story (also from Lindsay Crouse!) in the New York Times, and this one from Parker Molloy in the Columbia Journalism Review, on the role of the media in the framing of Semenya’s story.
And just this week, it was announced that Semenya plans to run the 3k at the Pre Classic in late June—an event that won’t require her to lower her testosterone levels to compete.
The story behind Western States’ trans athlete policy
As I mentioned in a previous issue of the newsletter, the Western States Endurance Run implemented a new policy for trans athletes earlier this year. For Outside, ultrarunner Stephanie Case wrote about how the policy came together, and why it’s important. WSER is one of the most prominent and iconic ultras, and it’s encouraging to see them leading the way in creating a policy like this one. It’ll be interesting to see if other races follow suit. As one of the trans athletes Stephanie spoke to said: “The lack of a visible policy is likely to be a huge source of anxiety for trans athletes. The mystery of whether I am welcome at a given event acts as a deterrent.”
What a time to be alive
It’s been several weeks since Emily Sisson’s impressive marathon debut in London (ICYMI, she clocked the second-fastest debut time by an American woman, running 2:23:08). But Erin Strout’s piece in Women’s Running, pegged to Sisson’s race, about this moment in American women’s distance running, is still worth very worth sharing nearly a month out. I strongly agree with Erin’s overall point here—it’s thrilling to step back and appreciate what a great time it is for the sport.
Quick ones
A handful of other related things I’ve had my eye on: Allyson Felix testified on Capitol Hill last week about maternal health and racial disparities. Steph Bruce is still on fire (and I don’t think it’s going to end any time soon). Shalane Flanagan is recovering from her knee surgery earlier this month. Runner’s World caught up with New York sub-elite runner Leigh Anne Sharek. This is a great episode of the Runners of NYC podcast, with my fellow Tufts alum (and New Hampshire native!) Veronica Jackson.
Called out
Drop me a line
I want to hear from you! Tell me about what you like here, what I missed, and what’s going on in your running life. (You can also follow the Kick on Twitter, and on Instagram.) Thanks for reading, and enjoy your miles.
Molly