On Social Sport, Emma Zimmerman features conversations with endurance athletes of all types committed to fostering social change. The athletes she speaks with are climate change activists, mental health advocates, and promoters of more inclusive outdoor spaces. Through Social Sport, she shares the stories and thoughts of people who explore the connection between sport and activism in their lives.
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#81 - Caela Fenton on media representations of women distance runners
Season 1 · Episode 81
Monday, October 18, 2021 • Duration 01:05:54
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 TheInternational 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!
#80 - Tom O'Keefe on Stride for Stride and making road races more diverse and accessible
Season 1 · Episode 80
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 • Duration 55:39
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.
#71 - Emma Gee, first openly LGBTQ+ athlete at BYU, on the performance enhancing benefits of being your authentic self
Season 1 · Episode 71
Monday, July 12, 2021 • Duration 51:35
*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.
--Speaking out VS quietly taking care of your own mental health
--Navigating a public relationship
#70 - Chris Mosier on the 'Changing the Game' documentary and supporting transgender youth in sports
Season 1 · Episode 70
Monday, July 5, 2021 • Duration 31:21
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.
--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."
#69 - Lynn Mattix on Fund Her Tri and sharing the healing nature of sport
Season 1 · Episode 69
Monday, June 28, 2021 • Duration 01:00:52
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
#68 - Lucy Bartholomew on sustainability, body image, and being a positive role model for young athletes
Season 1 · Episode 68
Monday, June 21, 2021 • Duration 51:45
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!"
--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.’”
#67 - Cut to the Chase with Emma and Kamilah: transgender athletes' rights and support from the running community
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.
#66 - Liz "Snorkel" Thomas, the "thru-hiking legend," on expanding outdoor access through writing and urban-hiking
Season 1 · Episode 66
Monday, June 7, 2021 • Duration 48:48
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
#65 - Sabrina L. De La Cruz on Angel City Elite and inspiring the next generation of BIPOC runners
Season 1 · Episode 65
Monday, May 31, 2021 • Duration 40:17
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.
--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.”
#64 - Sandy Namgung on speaking up against anti-Asian violence, and not letting racism win
Season 1 · Episode 64
Monday, May 24, 2021 • Duration 52:36
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.
--“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.”
--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
"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
--“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
--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.”
*This episode is sponsored by OPE Running. Go to operunning.com and use code SOCIALSPORT for 15% off your order.
--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
*This episode is sponsored by OPE Running. Go to operunning.com and use code SOCIALSPORT for 15% off your order.
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