I've got some news...
Plus, a round up of my favourite running Substackers
A slightly different post this morning, as I wanted to share some exciting news with you all that I recently received. I’ve been chosen to be a SheRACES Trail Series Ambassador! As a long term supporter this is a lovely full circle moment for me and I’m thrilled to be able to work more closely with them. Today I thought I’d talk a little about why I’m so excited for this role, and what SheRACES is all about.
So if you’re not already familiar with SheRACES, allow me to introduce you…
SheRACES was founded by Sophie Power, who was famously photographed racing the UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc), a 106-mile mountain race while breastfeeding her 3-month-old baby. She had wanted to defer her place until she was fully fit, but whilst the organisation would defer places for injury, for them pregnancy was seen as a choice and this request was refused. Sophie wanted to complete the UTMB, it was a dream for her, so she chose to race anyway.
Because of the photo, Sophie was contacted by several race directors who said they were embarrassed by the fact they’d never thought about pregnancy and deferrals, and they wanted to know how they could improve their races and value female athletes equally to males.
So SheRACEs was created to ensure that women can race, and that women deserve an equal opportunity to races and an equal experience when they get to the start line. And you might be thinking that this all seems a bit outdated, that men and women have parity on the start line, but women are still underrepresented and a recent survey by SheRACES found that 96% of women have experienced unequal treatment in a race events such as -
Harassment: 28% of respondents reported experiencing physical or verbal harassment during races.
Facilities: Over half of the participants pointed out inadequate toilet provisions at events.
Pregnancy Policies: 79% of those who became pregnant lost at least one race entry due to insufficient deferral options.
Subsequently, SheRACES, launched the UK's first female-only trail running series in December 2024, in collaboration with Ourea Events. The initiative was a response to research indicating that 87% of women were interested in women-only races, yet such events were scarce in the UK. Their events and initiatives champion fairness, representation and accessibility, ensuring that all women feel supported in their journey to the start line and beyond.
Their vision is to lead the way in making ultra-running more inclusive for women by challenging the existing barriers, shaping event standards, and fostering a community where women can confidently participate, compete and thrive in trail and ultra-running.
So, why me?
As a supporter of SheRACES since it started, meeting with local race directors sharing some simple strategies that can help women get to the start line, from female only toilets to extended finish times, I was excited to see the launch of the SheRACES trail series; I excitedly signed up to my nearest event. I noticed one of the biggest changes they were making was no cut off time for their races, this was huge for me and the runners that I coach, I couldn’t quite believe it so I emailed them immediately and asked if they really, really meant it!
I gave them some background info of why this was such a biggie and shared some of our (many) past experiences at race events, you know the usual things that are so often normalised and that I’ve spoken about here many times before- finish lines being taken down, tail cars revving their engines 100 metres behind the last runner, roads being opened before the last runner was through, all these things can have a huge impact on people’s race day experiences.
SheRACES emailed me back and assured me that “whilst there were runners still running, the finish line would not be taken down” and suggested I should apply for one of their upcoming Ambassador roles.
My application was written from the heart as I shared my own experiences on the trails as a lone female and gave the many examples that RunVerity members shared with me. Coincidentally I’d entered a race that I’d noticed had promoted they would be following the SheRACES race event advice- this race was an event that I’d been entering for 15 years so I was slightly sceptical, but the sheer joy I experienced when I saw 6 FEMALE ONLY Portaloo’s was probably a bit disproportionate to just needing a wee, but it also wasn’t, it was huge!! This simple act cut down the toilet queues whilst also giving us girls a sense of being seen.
What’s next?
I’m booked on the first trail event in August, in the Peak District (you can find out more about this event and others here), and I am confident, this time, if I encourage my club members to come and run it, that I won’t be embarrassed if the race director has negated on their promises and the women who run will have a fabulous experience, not another horrible one that will put them off racing ever again. Exciting times ahead!
My must-read running Substacks
I also wanted to share some Substackers who’s writing about running, but also often other things, are must reads each week for me at the moment.
& - both female runners and writers who write about the reality of running- the snot, the tears and the sheer joy! - The Leading Global Community of Female Coaches Who Support, Drive and Influence Real Change in Sport. They have been going as long as I have and in my early days I went to quite a few of their conferences, they support female coaches at every level. This article on female coaches and AI was particularly eye opening… by - snippets of interesting articles that Nico has found, every issue I find something fascinating! I especially loved the picks from this recent issue… - I loved this insight in his recent Substack Fearless. Female. Runners.
If you have any other must reads for me, please share in the comments!
Congratulations Ambassador, you’ll be great, RD’s will have to learn to listen a bit harder, from here on.
Thanks for including Five Things and congrats on getting the new ambassador role!