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Runner stories

Happy International Women's Day

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We chat with three women runners about overcoming challenges, barriers for women in running, and tips for beginners.

Here’s to strong women.

Gender inequality is prevalent in industry, culture, and sports — and running is no exception. From endorsement gaps to disparity in female participation in ultramarathons, the running world has plenty of work to do to accelerate gender parity.

To highlight women in the sport, we’re supporting International Women’s Day, a global effort that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. IWD is also a call to heighten awareness of gender disparity and fundraise for female-focused charities. 

In celebration of strong women everywhere, we spoke with three badass runners about overcoming injuries, some of the many challenges women face in running, and uplifting advice for female athletes.

Woman flexing her muscles

This pro athlete lost her leg to injury but remade herself through running.

By age 16, Desirée Vila had become an elite professional acrobatic gymnast. The future was bright for the young Spaniard, but a sudden injury changed her sports career and her life. While practising for the 2015 European Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships, Vila fractured her tibia and fibula. The devastating injury was complicated further by medical negligence, and Vila had to have her leg amputated.

“It took a while until I returned to sports. I needed to recover, both physically and mentally, and learn to walk, which was the most important thing. When I was finally independent and went back to school in 2016, the Olympic and Paralympic Games were happening in Rio. That’s when I discovered adapted sport and decided that I wanted to learn to run like the people I saw on TV. Since then, I have been motivated with desire to compete in athletics again,” Vila says.

Since her injury, Vila has adopted the motto “The only incurable thing is the desire to live.” She went on to represent Spain in a number of championship para events, including the 2018 World Para Athletics European Championship, where she finished sixth in the long jump. Vila is now training three hours a day, six days a week, to compete in sprint events and the long jump in the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo.

Woman tying her shoe on a track.
Woman crouching, showing her prosthetic leg

Vila is also a social media star. With 89,000 subscribers on YouTube, 48,500 followers on Instagram, and 667,000 followers on TikTok, Vila uses her platforms to normalize disability and promote the importance of sports.

Desirée Vila’s advice for women runners

Look for the opportunity within the change. Be excited by every little thing you do, even if it seems insignificant. The first step I took with my prosthesis after six months using crutches and a wheelchair was an incredible joy. This is how we should take life — with the attitude of that first step, because more will come later.

Woman running through a mountain meadow

Running is a constant for this mom, business owner, and former All-American athlete.

Julia Stamps Mallon was on the cover of Runner’s World before she was a senior in high school. She went from teen prodigy to decorated runner in cross country and track and field at Stanford, but Stamps shattered her leg in a skateboarding accident in college. She had to reevaluate her running career.

“I have always loved running. Even from a young age, it was a big part of my life. And from age 18 to 22, I was told three times I would never run again. After my accident, I couldn’t walk for a year. When you’re told by a doctor that you can’t do something again, I think it’s a way of lighting a fire under you,” she says.

Stamps Mallon didn’t care at what level — she needed to run.

Women posing on a hike
Women running on a trail overlooking the ocean

“I wanted to feel the wind on my face, the sweat beads on my brow, my breathing change. So, I learned to walk again. Then I learned to jog again, and eventually, I was running the New York City Marathon.”

Stamps Mallon is now an accomplished trail runner, a mom to two kids, and cofounder of a boutique events company called Eventus Outdoors. Through it all, her motivation for running remains the same — she simply loves to run.

Advice from Julia Stamps Mallon for women runners

Take advantage of enjoying the quiet of running. I think especially now when everything is so hectic, with so much going on in the world, running is that time where you can get quiet and enjoy yourself.

Woman smiling after a run

A Maryland marathoner preaches the importance of bras, brunch, and body positivity.

Marketing expert and run coach Alexandria Williams hates running in the rain. Her aversion to wet weather runs stems from her first Did Not Finish (DNF) in the 2018 Boston Marathon where monsoon-like conditions thrashed participants.

A year after Boston, she struggled with cramps at the end of the Chicago Marathon, but managed to finish. Then a few days later at the Marine Corps Marathon, Williams was tested again by flooding conditions. She panicked before the race, then began to pray for lightning before kilometre 19. But Williams realized she was further along than she was at Boston and her preparations were paying off.

“I made adjustments. Rainy weather tips were engrained in me now. Saran Wrap on my feet, Vaseline, hydration. My DNF prepared me to successfully complete MCM, since I knew what to do now. I took all the tips, mental toughness, and endurance and used them to finish two marathons back-to-back,” she says.

The mental and physical tests of marathon running are far from the only challenges that Williams has faced in the sport.

“I check different boxes as a minority. I’m curvy. I’m a woman. I’m black. Being all of those and marathoner has come with a lot of adversity. Frequently, I have faced racism and various biases of not being an actual runner based on my size and skin colour. It was important that I found others facing similar challenges.”

Woman with a big smile on her face
Women laughing in the sun

Williams now hosts her own sports bra events to help women who have issues finding proper sports bras. She uses the events to offer women practical solutions and to show them runners come in various shapes and sizes.

“I think picking out a run bra is one of the biggest but most hidden barriers to entry that women face in running. I used to wear two sports bras at once. The options just weren’t there for me. I do what I do because there’s never been inclusivity for women who are shopping for running gear.”

Alexandria Williams’ advice for women runners

Pace yourself to run your own race. Make sure to enjoy the journey and do not place too many expectations on yourself. If you're new to the sport, make sure you take time to learn and focus on the essentials of running, but don't forget to set aside time for new, cute workout gear.

You can read running tips, including style advice posts like “Workout Shorts for Thick Thighs and Big Butts” and “The Affordable Sports Bras Guide for Women with Large Breasts” on her website alexandriawill.com.

Read more about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion effort at Brooks Running and explore the many ways you can support International Women’s Day.

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