At Runner’s World, we celebrate female athletes and the inclusivity of running everyday, but in aid of International Women’s Day, we’ve taken a look back at the past year in female running. Here’s six examples of inspiring, record breaking female athletes at the forefront of running:
Jasmin Paris
Even before Jasmin Paris won the Spine Race outright this January, her running resumé was extraordinary. The fell-running veterinarian had records for Britain’s three major rounds: the Bob Graham (England), Ramsey (Scotland) and Paddy Buckley (Wales). Her latest challenge, however, was a much longer beast: the Spine Race, a 268-mile race along the Pennine Way. Paris pulled away from the field in the second half of the race, shattering the course record. Oh, and she did all this while expressing milk for her baby. Her achievements made national news and even caught the attention of Barbra Streisand, who tweeted her congratulations.‘I’m proud of what I achieved,’ said Paris. ‘But what’s been eye-opening is the response I’ve had from the media. I’m just a fell runner; this is not typical for our sport.’
Laura Muir
Continuing the theme of running vets, Laura Muir has had a stellar couple of years, winning 1500m gold at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin. The 25-year-old Scot followed this up in February by smashing the British mile record, On International Womens Day, weve taken a look back at the past year in female running How to sprint: Your guide to faster running. Her time of 4:18.75 is comfortably inside the previous record, held for 31 years by Kirsty Wade, of 4:23.86. As well as being a new British record, her time was the third fastest indoors in history, behind Ethiopian legend Genzebe Dibaba (4:13.31) and Romanian Doina Melinte (4:17.14). Muir told the BBC: ‘I knew I was in great shape. It was about winning the race, but also about running fast. I’m so chuffed to get the record on home soil. I knew the split halfway and knew I was there and thereabouts. The crowd were fantastic.’
Dina Asher-Smith
Already the British record holder over 100m and 200m, Dina Asher-Smith broke further records at this year’s European Championships in Berlin, winning triple gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay – the first British woman to do so. As well as making history, she’s studied it, graduating from King’s College, London with a degree in the subject. With Jessica Ennis-Hill now retired, she’s the charismatic, well-rounded breakout star that Team GB needs – with a megawatt smile to light up any stadium. Yet, despite all the attention and accolades, she remains a refreshingly down-to-earth presence, as grounded as she is gifted.
‘I haven’t actually noticed a big change in my day-to-day life,’ she says. ‘My Instagram followers went up [following the European Championships], but that’s not real life, is it? I’m still training as normal; my friends are still laughing at me when I trip over my own feet. Everything is very much the same. Life hasn’t changed. And that’s a good thing: it gives me the time and focus to concentrate on what makes me fast in the first place.’
Sophie Power
Completing the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is staggeringly difficult. The 106-mile circular route, beginning and ending in the mountain resort of Chamonix, France, it takes in 10,040m of elevation – more than the equivalent of hiking up Mount Everest from sea-level. Not only did Sophie Power complete the route inside the 46hr cut-off time, she did so while breastfeeding her baby son, Cormac, at the aid stations. ‘I think a lot of women become mothers and then forget about their own dreams,’ says the 26-year-old. ‘I’m an experienced ultramarathoner, and I’m not suggesting that mums can go and do a race like this from scratch. But with the right support and training, you can keep challenging yourself – whether that’s signing up for a parkrun or running the UTMB.’
Diane Leather
One of the unheralded heroes of women’s running, Diane Leather was the first woman in the world to break five minutes for the mile, doing so back in 1954. She died last year, aged 85, but her legacy lives on, with the likes of Laura Muir and Kathrine Switzer paying tribute to her. At the time of her record-breaking run, however, the media remained largely unbothered. ‘There was a bit of attention,’ she told The Guardian. ‘At least at the weekend.’ Bewilderingly, Leather’s run was not recognised as a world record, only a world’s best, due to the fact the IAAF did not keep records about 800m for women. Leather retired at the age of 27 and went on to teach, do social work and raise four children. She lived with her husband for more than 55 years in a remote corner of Cornwall. She was a track pioneer who never received the credit she deserved.
Caster Semenya
Female athletes throughout history have had to fight for equality and legitimacy – be that the right to run the same distances as men, or the battle for equal pay. In Caster Semenya’s case, the Olympic 800m champion is fighting for her right to be recognised as female. The South African is currently seeking to overturn new eligibility rules aimed at lowering the testosterone levels of hyperandrogenic athletes. ‘Hyperandrogenic’ refers to a medical condition that causes a person to produce high levels of hormones. The IAAF says its new rules will ‘preserve fair and meaningful competition in the female classification’ because athletes, such as Semenya, with higher testosterone have an advantage of up to nine per cent over women with normal levels of testosterone. For Semenya and her female supporters, however, it’s another example of discrimination in sport. ‘I am not a fake; I am natural,’ she has said. ‘I don’t want to be someone I don’t want to be. I don’t want to be someone people want me to be. I just want to be me. I was born like this. I don’t want any changes.’
