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(Photo: Hilary Yang/Western States Endurance Run)
Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not
Not to make today's newsletter all about running, but there's a broader point to be had here.
It's also true that as more women get on the trails and run longer distances, there will be more women who turn out to be exceptional at this. And it's true that as more nationalities and demographics are represented, there will be a larger and larger pool to draw the best from. Jenn may be a one-in-a-million talent, but think of how many other one-in-a-million talents there are out there among the millions of people who haven't had the chance yet...
According to stats published last month from the International Trail Running Association, women make up just 30% of trail runners and that drops to 15% when you get to the longest distances. There are well-documented barriers that impact women more:
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childcare and family obligations tend to be born by women
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restrictions around time and cost impact women's free time and choices at higher rates because of societal standards
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women often cite safety concerns running solo on remote trails
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and then there's the simple fact that women can feel unwelcome in male-heavy trail and ultra spaces
And, as was pointed out on our joint Another Mother Runner x Trail Society podcast from Western States, women are less likely to DNF because of injuries or distress. But they are more likely to be pulled because of time cutoffs. If women, on average, take longer to cover the same distances as men (though not all of the time!!), then the same time cutoffs applied to the men's and women's amateur fields will disproportionally impact women.
All of these barriers then compound when qualifying races are required to get to a start line.
✔️ There were 83 women & one non-binary runner competing in Western States out of 370 runners
✔️ Pro/elite spots (Golden Tickets) are awarded equally to men and women
✔️ BUT (!) in the Western States lottery — which requires regular re-qualifying races, takes an average of seven years for athletes to get in, and is the main/only way regular runners can start the race — just 41 of the 266 spots went to women
This isn't just a question of fairness or of expanding opportunity simply because it's the right thing to do. More opportunity, more access, will also continue to raise the level of any sport.
💜 AMAZING: A final shoutout to the last Western States finisher, Donna, who fell out on the trail during the night and missed the official cutoff time — but is still a legend!
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