Social Sport – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Caela Fenton is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Oregon. Her research lies primarily in cultural studies of sport, utilizing feminist approaches to consider gender equity in sport industry, as well as digital iterations of physical culture. Her academic work has appeared in The International Journal of the History of Sport, Narrative, and Aethlon. Her journalistic work has appeared in Canadian Running Magazine, iRun, and The XC. Most recently, she served on the communications team at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials. In this episode, we discuss social media as it relates to professional athletics, gendered expectations, and capitalism. We also discuss representations of women distance runners throughout time and in various forms of media. Caela blows Emma's mind multiple times, and she will likely blow your mind, too! 

Discussed in this episode:

--Running, Identity, and Meaning by Neil Baxter

--Athlete identity crises

--Perdita Felicien 

--Sarah Banet-Weiser and brand culture

--Women runners and self-representation over Instagram

--Fetishization of female runners’ bodies

--Heather Caplan on Social Sport

--Colleen Quigley's Instagram post on pulling out of Olympic Trials

--Allie Ostrander's video on beginning eating disorder treatment

--Postfeminism

--Once a Runner by John L. Parker

--"Why I Loathe Once a Runner," Caela's article in Canadian Running

--Late Air by Jaclyn Gilbert

--Inadequate representation of Black women runners

--"Jogging Has Always Excluded Black People," but Natalia Mehlman Petrzela for NYTimes

--Risa Isard on Social Sport

--"Hayward Magic in the Era of Globalized Sport Culture"

--Coach Tom Heinonen

--The Passage series

Follow Caela: Twitter, Instagram

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Tom O'Keefe is a social impact entrepreneur, and the founder of Stride for Stride, Heart to Cart, and Bostontweet. 

Stride for Stride is a non-profit running organization that buys race bibs for immigrant, BIPOC, and low-income runners. Their goal is to make races more accessible and more diverse. Tom started Stride for Stride in 2018 after struggling to pay for race bibs and observing that most races lacked diversity - his assumption was that this was due, in part, to the high cost of entry. Since 2018, Stride for Stride has grown to over 60 avid runners from over a dozen countries. They compete in everything from marathons to 5Ks, and even a 50-mile Ultra. All but two of their runners are immigrants representing the following countries; Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica, Nigeria, and the United States, as well as Puerto Rico. 

Discussed in this episode:

--Boston globe article on Bostontweet

--Story of how Tom met his wife

--Rosie's Place

--Sid Baptista of PIONEERS Run Crew on Social Sport

--Black Men Run

--Black Girls Run

--Latinos Run

--Dominican Runners, NYC

--Heart to Cart

--Impact Video Group

--Donate here or text STRIDE to 44321

Quotes:

--“Races are the only sport where you’re running with the best of the best—the professionals, like Meb and Shalane. There is no other sport where you’re competing with them; you can’t play football with Tom Brady. The same thing goes for wage inequity. A CEO makes 258 times what the average employee makes, which is awful, but if those two guys run the same race, the employee could beat the CEO. How empowering is that?”

--“When you finish a race, you’re high-fiving everyone. That’s all you care about—that you ran. You’re just so happy for yourself and for everyone else. Nothing else matters at that point. You’re not thinking about politics or how much money you made…It changed my life, and I think it can change so many others.”

Follow Tom: Twitter, Instagram

Follow Stride for Stride: Twitter, Instagram

Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Newsletter

*CW: this episode mentions suicidal ideation

National suicide prevention lifeline: 800-273-8255

Emma Gee is a queer Division 1 runner who competed for both Brigham Young University and Temple University. She recently completed her final collegiate track season at the NCAA Track & Field Championships by racing the 3000 meter Steeplechase. In April 2020, Emma graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Public Relations. She was the first LGBTQ+ athlete to come out publicly at BYU, and the only athlete to be out during her five years at school, an experience which Emma has written and spoken openly about. Emma is currently completing a masters degree at Temple University. 

On Instagram, Emma said: "I went from being a little closeted Mormon girl on a partial cross country scholarship, to becoming the first LGBTQ+ athlete to publicly come out at BYU, to qualifying for nationals and racing at NCAAs for the first and last time." Hers is a story of self-love, authenticity, and the benefits that come from being your true self. 

Discussed in this episode: 

--Unlearning childhood lessons

--Student stories regarding BYU's honor code, @honorcodestories

--Having a supportive, identity-affirming adult in your corner

--Emma's Instagram post on her presentation to senior athletic leadership at BYU

--NCAA Common Ground Initiative 

--Speaking out VS quietly taking care of your own mental health

--Navigating a public relationship

--Supporting a loved one’s sexuality and gender identity

--The importance of pronouns

Quotes:

"My relationship with myself is the most important relationship I’m ever going to have.” -Emma Gee

On pronouns and unlearning the binary: “do better honey.” -Emma Gee

Follow Emma Gee: Instagram, Twitter

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Chris Mosier is a trailblazing hall of fame triathlete, All-American duathlete, and a 6-time member of Team USA. In 2015 he became the first known transgender man to represent the United States in international competition, and was a catalyst for change for the International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes. He is also a 2x National Champion and the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in any sport in a category different than their sex assigned at birth. He has devoted his life to fighting for transgender athletes’ rights and fair, inclusive policy. 

In this episode, Chris talks about the current moment we are in with so many bills on the table that attack transgender youth. We also talk about the documentary, Changing the Game, that Chris is the Executive Producer of. The film follows transgender high school athletes across the country as they compete at the top of their fields, while also challenging the boundaries and perceptions of fairness and discrimination.

Discussed in this episode:

--Transathlete.com

--Take action tab on transathlete.com (reach out to legislators)!!

--Gender-affirming healthcare

--The inherent harm in the phrase “protect girls’ sports”

--AP article: lawmakers fail to be able to cite any example of transgender athletes in sports being a problem

--Women’s Sports Foundation statement: "Let us be clear, there are many real threats to girls’ and women’s access and opportunity in sports; however, transgender inclusion is not one of them." 

--Watch Changing the Game on Hulu 

--Particular struggles that Black transgender kids face

--Sha’Carri Richardson and scrutiny of Black women athletes

Quote: 

“This is not a partisan issue. And while it’s been made out to be a partisan issue, my identity should not be political. The identity of these kids should not be political. We’re talking about basic human rights, dignity, respect, and opportunity--like every other kid has--to play the sports they love, to be their authentic selves, and to have a childhood and experience in school that is like that of their peers. That is not a political issue.” -Chris Mosier

Follow Chris: Website, Instagram, Twitter, 

Follow Changing the Game: Instagram

Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

Subscribe to the Social Sport Newsletter

Lynn Mattix is a wife, mom, USAF veteran, military spouse, age-grouper in triathlon, and the founder of Fund Her Tri. 

Fund Her Tri is a nonprofit that pursues equality in triathlon, breaks down the financial barrier & makes triathlon more accessible to women & girls. The Fund Her Tri team raises money to pay race registration fees for first-time, female triathletes. Lynn says, "In an effort to grow the participation of women in the sport of triathlon, I wanted to start an organization that provides financial resources to first-timers. My professional background is in aviation so starting a nonprofit is outside my comfort zone, but if triathlon has taught me anything, it's that I'm capable of far more than I ever dreamed possible. I have been doing triathlons for 10 years and I hope to continue doing it forever. The sport has changed my life in the best way." 

Discussed in this episode:

--Lynn's experience with teenage pregnancy and why she speaks openly about it

--Open adoption

--Military careers

--"Addictive personalities" and endurance sports

--Barriers to entry for women in triathlon

--Vanessa Foerster on the Social Sport podcast

--How gender interacts with other marginalized identities to increase barriers to entry in triathlon

--Outspoken Women in Triathlon's Bethany Rutledge Memorial Award

--Untamed by Glennon Doyle

--Turia Pitt, 2016 IRONMAN World Championships

Quotes:

"When women are loving themselves, you can see it. We’re unstoppable. It’s wonderful. I basically just wanted to share that with as many people as possible.” -Lynn Mattix

“I want [my daughter] to understand that this is how we live. We live in a way that gives to others.” -Lynn Mattix

Follow Lynn 

Follow Fund Her Tri

Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

Subscribe to the Social Sport Newsletter

Lucy Bartholomew is a 25-year-old living in Melbourne Australia who runs professionally for Salomon Running. She joined the sport of ultra trail running at age 15, when she ran 100km with her Dad. Her accolades have included setting the course record at the Ultra-Trail Australia Championship and claiming a third-place finish at the 2018 Western States 100-mile race. Recently, she also set the fastest known time on the Larapinta Trail. Lucy says, "I love the nature, the community, the challenges and the resilience that this sport provides.. okay, and all the food you get to eat too!"

Discussed in this episode:

--Larapinta Trail

--Lucy's Larapinta Trail recap post

--Lucy's recent quote on body image in Runner's World 

--Body positivity vs. body neutrality

--Many different forms of sustainability 

--Sustain plant-based cookbook

--Lucy and her watermelon 

--The Lost Art of Running: A Journey to Rediscover the Forgotten Essence of Human Movement by Shane Benzie and Tim Major 

--Quote: “I surround myself with people who support me and don’t pressure me to be anything different. I’ve learned that if you do anything with confidence, ANYTHING—if you wear a new hairstyle with confidence, if you wear a new t-shirt with confidence, or if you say you don’t drink alcohol with confidence—people will say, ‘oh wow, she owns that.’”

--Follow Lucy on Instagram

--Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

–-Subscribe to the Social Sport Newsletter

Featuring Vic Thasiah, Executive Director of Runners for Public Lands.

Cut to the Chase with Emma and Kamilah is a monthly series on the Social Sport Podcast. Each month, Emma Zimmerman and co-host, Kamilah Journét, bring you a no-filter conversation at the intersection of endurance sports and social change. In other words, we cut to the chase.

In this episode, we talk about the recent wave of anti-trans bills, transgender athletes' rights, and support for transgender athletes from the running community. We speak with Vic Thasiah, Executive Director of Runners for Public Lands (RPL), about the recent statement released by RPL and the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, in support of transgender youth. This statement sets a strong example for the rest of the running community and other athletic communities when it comes to publicizing support for transgender youth in sports. 

Discussed in this episode:

--Map and Lists of states with anti-trans bills passed or introduced

--Take action against anti-trans bill, information on transathlete.com/take-action

--30% of trans girls reported having attempted suicide

--Harm faced by trans kids intersects with race: learn more from National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition

--Using language: “being united,” rather than “taking a stand”

--Call to action—what you can do to support transgender youth athletes

--Trans athlete-activists' social media accounts to follow: @thechrismosier @pinkmantaray @athleteally

Quotes:

--“Any risk that comes from being united with people to support transgender youth is such a small risk when compared with the riskiness of being transgender in the United States right now.” -Vic Thasiah

--“Hopefully, we can get conversation going so that it’s harder and harder to pass this legislation and then, in the future, virtually impossible to pass anti-transgender youth legislation. I think, because running is a sport that can involve so many young people across the country, it really is a good place to have this conversation.” -Vic Thasiah

--Follow Runners for Public Lands, Running Industry Diversity Coalition, Kamilah Journét, Emma Zimmerman

–-Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

–-Subscribe to the Social Sport Newsletter

Liz Thomas is a professional hiker, speaker, and outdoor writer who held the women’s self-supported speed record on the 2,181-mile long Appalachian Trail from 2011-2015. Called a "thru-hiking legend" by Outside Magazine, Liz has also hiked 20+ long distance trails including the Triple Crown of Hiking (AT, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail) and first known traverses of the Wasatch Range and Chinook Trail. Her innovative urban thru-hikes of 14 cities led The Guardian to call her “The Queen of Urban Hiking.” Liz is a former staff writer for the New York Times/Wirecutter and current Editor-in-Chief for the outdoor web-magazine Treeline Review as well as contributing editor and columnist of “Ask a Thru-hiker” for Backpacker Magazine. She's the author of Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-hike, which received the 2017 National Outdoor Book Award for Best Instructional book with judges calling it destined to become the “Bible of the Sport.”

Discussed in this episode: 

--Barriers to entry in thru-hiking

--The story of how Liz got her trail name, Snorkel

--Urban thru-hiking

--The ALDHA West video on Liz's Seattle urban hike

--How urban settings interact with redlining, race, class, gender, etc.

--The Trust for Public Land

--NYC playgrounds thru-hike

--Inman 300 trail

--Sign petition to support the Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act

--Truffle Pigs Bistro

--Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

--Quote: “I had spent a lot of unnecessary money and pain learning about thru-hiking the hard way, and yet, thru-hiking had still changed my life and rewired me into a much more emotionally stable and happier person… I really wanted to share that joy with others while also minimizing the barriers to entry that I experienced.”

--Follow Liz: www.eathomas.com or @lizthomashiking.

--–Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

–-Subscribe to the Social Sport Newsletter

*This episode is sponsored by OPE Running. Go to operunning.com and use code SOCIALSPORT for 15% off your order.

Sabrina L. De La Cruz is an elite runner, Olympic Trials Qualifier, and co-founder of Angel City Elite, a running team with the mission to bridge the disparity gap of BIPOC representation in the running community. 

In this episode, we talk all about Angel City Elite, why representation is so important at the elite level, eating disorders and cultural beauty standards, and female athlete health. 

Discussed in this episode:

--Women’s Running article on Angel City Elite

--Angel City Elite's partnership with Brooks

--Starla Garcia on the Social Sport Podcast 

--Mexican American beauty standards vs stereotypical expectation of a "runner's body"

--Cultural identity as it interacts with eating disorders and body expectations 

--Sabrina's twin sister and their shared experience with eating disorders and body shame 

--Menstrual health for female athletes

--Running during pregnancy, and what Sabrina has learned from Aliphine Tuliumuk and other pro runners/mothers 

--Selena movie, series, and podcast

--Quote: “Running saved me; it shaped who I am, and it helped me attend college. I don’t think I would have attended college if it weren’t for running, because running helped me get a scholarship. I hope that Angel City Elite will connect with the younger generation and teach them that they can run and become educated as well.”

--Follow Sabrina on Instagram 

–-Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

–-Subscribe to the Social Sport Newsletter

*This episode is sponsored by OPE Running. Go to operunning.com and use code SOCIALSPORT for 15% off your order.

Sandy Namgung (she/her) is a five-time vegan and cruelty-free marathoner, writer, and social justice advocate based in Duwamish land (Seattle, WA).

As a Korean American woman, Sandy was frustrated by the lack of media attention regarding the significant increase of anti-Asian racism and violence during COVID-19. She began sharing and speaking up on Instagram about the racism, erasure, invisibility, and misogyny Asian communities continue to experience today, including within the running community.

Through her advocacy work and writing, Sandy continues to fight against the harmful casting of Asian Americans as “model minorities,” break stereotypes that dehumanize Asian women, and hopes to contribute to a new narrative that recognizes and values the diversity of Asian people and their full personhood.

Discussed in this episode:

--@Diversewerun Instagram account and Sandy’s feature

--Societal focus on athletes' body sizes

--Korean and American beauty standards and running

--The lack of media attention on the increase in anti-Asian violence at beginning of the pandemic

--Sandy's June 2020 Instagram post on running as a BIPOC athlete

--Mental health effects of racism

--Sandy’s Medium article, "Dear Allies and Antiracists, Where Are You?"

--The Model Minority Myth

--Cruelty-free veganism

--How to balance your physical and mental health with environmental/cruelty-free food values 

--“If I keep on not running [out of fear], if I keep denying myself this happiness, them I’m letting racism win. I’m letting hate win. That thought is what led me to start running again.” -Sandy Namgung

--Follow Sandy on Instagram

–-Follow Social Sport: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter 

–-Subscribe to the Social Sport Newsletter

*This episode is sponsored by OPE Running. Go to operunning.com and use code SOCIALSPORT for 15% off your order.