This past week, Michigan State University senior Rachele Schulist’s Instagram transformation took the running world by storm. Her post opened up an important dialogue about female runners and body image.
The expectation to fit into the runner stereotype plagues plenty of people like Rachele. Singlets and shorts (or lollies) leave little to the imagination as far as size goes. Many runners and non-runners alike have been asked if they run solely based on their thin appearance. A runner is defined solely by the act of running, not by what is on the scale or clothing tag. The idea that anything else is necessary to be a runner is ridiculous. Our identity and belonging in this special community are not based on our size or ability, and that is what makes it so great. We belong and are welcomed in spite of how we look.
Sadly, it is our own personal biases and self-esteem struggles that perpetuate the idea that we need to look a certain way. We look at the pros and our competitors and see them and want to be like them. Our instinct to fit in combined with our incredible discipline and competitive nature create the perfect storm for disordered eating and overtraining to lose weight and shed fat beyond what is healthy.
What is forgotten in all of this is that our health is more important than anything else. We must take care of our bodies in order to be runners, otherwise, more than just our running will suffer. Sustainability and longevity are more important than our short-term success, and the sooner we realize that the better. Our bodies are going to be with us for our entire earthly life, so fighting them is a futile battle. Loving ourselves the way we are and being thankful for our physical ability to run is what really matters. So many other people in this world are not able to do what we do, so why focus on something as insignificant as the way we look? Our self-worth should not be defined by a measure so arbitrary and meaningless.
As Rachele concluded her post, “Trust yourself, embrace yourself, and have confidence in yourself, because if you do, you can never lose.” The runner in the mirror knows it’s true.
