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Tag: For The W

  • The WNBA’s Historic Run Overshadowed by Racism – a Tale as Old as Time – POPSUGAR Australia

    The WNBA’s Historic Run Overshadowed by Racism – a Tale as Old as Time – POPSUGAR Australia

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    The WNBA has undoubtedly had a historical season with a dedicated yet largely new fan base breaking records in attendance, viewership, and interest. Most recently, the WNBA playoffs have been earning some of the highest viewership numbers ever seen in the league’s post-season games, per The New York Times. The attention has been exciting, but also unveiled some of the racism that continues to stain the game.

    At a post-conference interview following Sept. 25’s first-round playoff game, where the Indiana Fever were defeated by Connecticut Sun, Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas expressed her sentiments about the racism and harassment that she and fellow players experience. She referenced many comments made on social media that exacerbate the issue. “In my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced the racial comments … I’ve never been called the things I’ve been called on social media, and there’s no place for it,” Thomas said, per ESPN. Thomas spoke candidly about the pain of those experiences and how the WNBA needed to do something to protect players; she also called out the Indiana Fever organization to check its fans.

    Thomas’s comments prompted the WNBA to release a statement on Instagram stating that racism will not be tolerated – leading many commenters to ask what took the league so long, given the fact that the players have been dealing with and calling attention to the vile rhetoric received throughout the entire season.

    Additionally, earlier this month the WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert came under fire when she was called out for not speaking out about the racism the players have experienced. When asked about the fan rhetoric becoming more racist, connecting it to what Angel Reese had been experiencing in the conversations about the Reese-Caitlin Clark rivalry, Engelbert’s response referred to it as “a little of that Bird-Magic moment.” She noted that “the one thing I know about sports, you need rivalry. That’s what makes people watch,” seemingly focusing on how athletic rivalries can benefit the league, as reports the Los Angeles Times. Following backlash, Engelbert issued a follow-up comment stating, “To be clear, there is absolutely no place for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else.” But for many players, it felt too little too late. New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart said the commissioner’s words were “disappointing to hear,” according to AP News.

    On Sept. 26 Reese, who had an amazing rookie season before it was cut short due to injury, expressed comments in support of Thomas and other players who are also experiencing the racism that she’s dealt with all season. “I’m sorry to all the players that have/continue to experience the same things I have,” Reese wrote on X. It’s well documented that Reese has received the most vile comments on the Internet, including death threats being made against her. “For the past 2 years, the media has benefited from my pain & me being villainized to create a narrative. They allowed this,” Reese shared, reflecting on how racism has been normalized within the league.

    For a game that is experiencing historical growth, the events of this past season have been marred by the racist tropes and stereotypes that have been experienced by the players, and observed by the fans, coaches, and media who cover the WNBA. Considering over 70 percent of WNBA players are Black, ESPN reports, it will be important for the league to set a precedent and clear boundaries around what is acceptable fan behavior. The league must emphasize that critiques that go beyond a player’s basketball game, that attack their racial identity, are unacceptable and must be condemned, and there must be consequences for fans who perpetrate them. Racism shouldn’t be excused or tolerated to advance revenue and ticket sales.

    The WNBA has been a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts with a strong show of activism on social issues – but that was largely driven by the Black women who make up the largest demographic within the WNBA. The time is now for the entire league, from the commissioner and owners to the front office, to take a firm stand – to not only protect its players but also to preserve the future of its legacy. They must take actions such as instituting a dress policy in sporting arenas that bans clothing with racist language, ejecting racist fans who hurl racism, and doing more to moderate social media accounts, including banning offending users and cross-referencing their information with ticket-holders, just to name a few.

    It’s also important for players who are not experiencing these attacks to speak up and speak out too, as often one’s silence can be mistaken for permissiveness or acceptance.

    What Reese, Thomas, and other players have experienced is truly shameful and unacceptable. Racist, sexist, and discriminatory attacks have no place in women’s basketball, and certainly will not grow or advance the game into the future. But, just as with anything in America, until we confront our ugly past we cannot learn from it, change, and positively shape our future. The next generation is watching this unfold, and what’s not said or done will have an immeasurable impact on the evolving fan base and the future success of the game. So while the WNBA’s statement may have come up short and too late for many, let’s hope it’s not the last time the league and those who run it speak up to protect its players. Above all, the players deserve to play in a safe environment that champions women and the sport of basketball.

    Ralinda Watts is an author, diversity expert, consultant, practitioner, speaker, and proven thought leader who works at the intersection of race, identity, culture, and justice. She has contributed to numerous publications such as PS, CBS Media, Medium, Yahoo Life, and the Los Angeles Times.

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  • Sophie Morgan On Hosting the Paralympics: “I’m an Advocate First” – POPSUGAR Australia

    Sophie Morgan On Hosting the Paralympics: “I’m an Advocate First” – POPSUGAR Australia

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    The Paris 2024 Paralympics are underway, and history is already being made. For one, the Games are providing more coverage than ever, with a record number of broadcasters covering all 22 sporting events live for the first time, per NBC. But additionally, NBCU’s Paralympics coverage is being led by hosts with disabilities for the first time ever. And while this may be a step that should have been taken years ago, it’s a move worth celebrating for all it means for disability representation.

    Sophie Morgan is one of the new faces of NBC’s coverage, but a familiar one to many UK households. Morgan first appeared on screen in 2004 as part of a BBC reality TV series, and has been a TV host and commentator since 2012, when she had a small presenter role for Channel 4’s 2012 Summer Paraympics in London. Her segue into sports broadcasting came into full force at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, and she has been a mainstay on British sports screens since then.

    Morgan’s career as a TV host and sports commentator has been long and accomplished – but prior to booking her first job, she never thought the profession was an option for her, a young wheelchair user, simply because she’d never seen an example of someone else doing it.

    “When I was first injured at 18, I didn’t know any other young disabled women. I hadn’t been exposed to many wheelchair users, so I was really in the dark about what was possible for me, which was harmful,” Morgan tells PS. “I now know how important it is to have representation of disabled people because I’ve lived in a world where for so long I felt like I was so out of place.” When she was starting out in TV, she hoped to be that example of representation she was missing.

    Now Morgan is stepping onto her biggest stage yet, covering the Paralympics for NBCU as part of the historic team with Lacey Henderson and Chris Waddell. Together they bring with them a wealth of lived experience of disability that many hosts who aren’t disabled simply do not have. Morgan believes this will add unique value to their commentating – and many para-athletes, viewers, and fans of parasports agree.

    Related: Paralympians Earn the Same Pay For Medals as Olympians, but Is It Enough?

    Why Representation in Sports Broadcasting Matters

    While people with disabilities aren’t a monolith and have different perspectives and experiences, in general people who understand what it’s like to have a disability are familiar with the common pitfalls those without disabilities run into when reporting on parasports. For instance, nondisabled people often have, “a fear they’re going to say something offensive or wrong,” Morgan says. “That’s a human instinct. No one wants to upset anyone intentionally and when it comes to disability, because there’s not much exposure to it, often someone might be trying to say something nice, but it will come across as offensive, patronizing, pitying, or really, let’s call it ableist.”

    Avid parasports watcher Kathryn (who asked to be identified by first name only) tells PS: “It doesn’t always, but having disabled people commentating can limit how much of the superhuman, inspiration porn narrative [is] shared,” referring to an ableist trope in which people with disabilities are objectified to motivate or inspire people without disabilities.

    This year some of the world’s most talented Paralympic champions, including sprinter Amber Sabatini and wheelchair tennis champion Gustavo Fernandez, have co-signed a social media campaign that challenges another ableist habit that’s affected how people talk about the Paralympic Games: the tendency to refer to the athletes as “participants” and not “competitors.” Morgan refers to this disparity as “offensive” for “implicitly assuming within . . . tone that [para-athletes are] any less than their counterparts.”

    “A Paralympian will most often train the same number of hours as an Olympian – and they most certainly put in the same level of effort, dedication (and pain),” notes Eleanor Robinson, a retired Paralympic swimmer for Team Great Britain. “To suggest that they are putting their bodies through blood sweat and tears for the joy of ‘participation’ and inclusion greatly diminishes their feats of sporting prowess. A Paralympian competes for the same reasons as an Olympian – to win and taste success.”

    Not only are hosts with disabilities less likely to repeat these harmful ideas; they’re also well-positioned to call them out when they hear them from others. As Morgan says, “I’m an advocate first and foremost, so I love to lean into conversations around language and attitudes and societal models and perceptions – the bigger themes.” And she’s not afraid to have those conversations on screen.

    Another reason representation is so important is that, as Robinson tells PS: “The presence of disabled people on screen aids our collective familiarization of impairments and all body types. The more familiar we are with the uniqueness and variation of the human anatomy – and disconnect ourselves from ideas about the ‘typical body’ – the less anatomy and aesthetics matter.”

    Looking Beyond Representation

    Morgan’s desire for better representation of disability in media encouraged her to keep pursuing TV roles, even as she faced numerous barriers, such as being boxed into covering only topics that explicitly related to being disabled.

    But Morgan knows representation alone isn’t enough. So in 2023 she partnered with Disability Rights advocate Keely Cat-Wells to found Making Space Media, a division of the talent acquisition and learning platform Making Space. The platform aims to serve as an antidote to the obvious lack of screen time people with disabilities receive in mainstream media by creating secure and sustainable employment opportunities for disabled talent.

    Morgan is also leading a talent training program developed as part of a partnership between Making Space and NBC. “We trained up the talent with the hope that they would be cast in the Games and a number of them have been,” she says. But the plan is for Paris to just be the beginning. NBC and Making Space are collaborating to produce more disabled hosts, analysts, and play-by-play sportscasters across sports media as a whole.

    Many hope that the Paris Paralympics will prove that attitudes are changing for good. Matt Scott, a retired Paralympian and now a NBC reporter in Paris, sees the improving coverage of parasports as evidence that although society “has had a misinformed and misguided belief that disability equals inability, [it now] has had no choice but to reconsider the preconceived notions and accept more inclusivity in every industry, including mainstream media.”

    Morgan also hopes that this year’s commitment to increased coverage is a trend that continues. “They have put these Games on the sidelines and then get surprised that there aren’t many people watching it,” Morgan says, drawing comparisons to the experience of women’s professional sports in the past. “This frustrates me about television. People fall back on that notion – but why would they watch if it’s buried on a channel that doesn’t get the same marketing budget and promotion? It’s not about the sport, it’s about the way it’s positioned.”

    And although Paris is still in full swing, Morgan already has her eye on the LA Games in 2028, and is excited about what it can do for the disability conversation in the US. “LA is one of the most influential cities globally, and Hollywood is the storyteller of the world,” she says. “The way we can change perceptions around disability is through storytelling. So we have got the perfect ingredients, we just need the recipe for change.”

    Related: What Happens If You’re Not “Disabled Enough” For the Paralympics?

    Hannah Turner is a disabled writer and journalist living with complex chronic illnesses. Her writing focuses on disability, anti-wellness culture, and pop culture. Her words have appeared in many places, including PS, Refinery29, Mashable, and Dazed.

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  • In the WNBA, Mentorship is Everything – POPSUGAR Australia

    In the WNBA, Mentorship is Everything – POPSUGAR Australia

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    The transition from being a star collegiate athlete to a rookie on a professional team can be rocky, regardless of your sport or your gender.

    But in the small and hyper-competitive WNBA (just twelve teams with twelve players each) – that transition can be especially challenging. Often, teams only have capacity to sign one or two rookies per season, if any, leaving those new players swimming in a sea of veterans and without direct peers to confide in.

    Plus, there are the many cuts, trades, waives and signings that come with being such a small league. Not to mention, the grueling, compact schedule, and the potential pressure that comes with all the new eyes on the W.

    But if you’ve watched enough games, you’ve likely noticed that while the on-the-court play is highly physical, something different – and special – is happening on the sidelines, and in the huddles.

    “Our league is a sisterhood,” says Ariel Atkins, a guard for the Washington Mystics since 2018. “It’s a small league, and it creates this system where we really want everyone to succeed.”

    The hugs, high-fives and pep talks between veterans and rookies that we witness as fans are just the tip of the iceberg that is the tradition of mentorship in the W – a tradition that doesn’t just help rookies thrive in professional life, but bolsters the league as it grows.

    Why Mentorship is So Essential in the WNBA

    You’ve probably heard about how important mentorship is for women in fields dominated by men (lack of mentorship opportunities is one reason women have been found to leave such fields, for instance, and though mentorship is linked to many success metrics, fewer women than men report having mentors). And while there’s no denying that the women of the WNBA have been dominating for many years, by the numbers, the league still lags behind the NBA. (See: the huge salary gap, the more-than-double number of NBA teams, and the fact that WNBA teams weren’t even allowed to fly charter until recently.)

    Until that changes (we’re getting there), one role of mentorship is to help players fill in the gaps of the sometimes under-resourced league, and to navigate the unique challenges of being a woman in sport. Atkins points out that having so many Black and LGBTQ+ players in the league also makes those mentorship relationships all the more essential, especially as those players often find themselves in positions of advocacy and activism off-the-court. “At the end of the day, as much as it is about mentorship, it’s about supporting the person to the left and to the right of you,” says Atkins.

    And while coaches can act as mentors, too, Atkins says that teammate mentors serve the essential purpose of being a resource and a confidant who isn’t also evaluating you. “Your mentor is somebody who is also in the trenches with you,” she says. “They’re running with you, they’re taking hits with you. They’re feeling the same emotions you’re feeling with wins and losses, because at the end of the day, you’re on the court together with the same jersey. It just hits different because you can look to your left or your right and see this person battling with you.”

    These rookie-veteran relationships are also key to on-court chemistry, says Atkins, giving rookies the sense of comfort and confidence that allows them to play their best and building the trust between players that leads to basketball magic. “My biggest thing with our rookies and younger players is for them to know that we trust them,” she says. “Because I’ve seen them put the work in.”

    Brionna Jones, a forward for the Connecticut Sun since 2017, agrees: “When you have good vets on a team who can help the rookies along, the faster the teams can build that chemistry and build that connection on the court,” she says. “That’s what makes teams more successful.”

    What Mentorship in the W Looks Like

    When former Villanova star Maddy Siegrist joined the Dallas Wings last year, veteran teammate Natasha Howard helped teach her the “stay ready” mentality that Siegrist says is crucial to thriving in the W. “Things can change in a second, so that mentality is huge,” she says. “You could go from not getting in a game to starting in the next game, which I think is pretty unique to this league.”

    Howard also cooked Siegrist dinner when she first joined the team. “That meant so much to me,” says Siegrist. “You’re going from college where you’re a young adult and now you’re a real grown-up. I leaned on my vets a lot for that.”

    What any given player needs from a mentor, on or off the court, is highly individual. For instance, Monique Curry taught Atkins a trick to help with her serial fouling, and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt helped her understand that her journey through the league wouldn’t be the same as anyone else’s. Siegrist’s mentors, like Howard and Kalani Brown, taught her to take care of her body – “something I definitely didn’t do as much as I should have in college” – and that more isn’t always more.

    For Jones, it was mentors like Alyssa Thomas, Jasmine Thomas and Shekinna Stricklen who encouraged her not to lose her identity as a player as she tried to fit into the system her coaches had designed. “They were always the first ones to cheer me on,” she says.

    Mentorship in the W isn’t just limited to teammates, says Atkins. “Something cool about our league is that it’s uber-competitive and insanely physical,” she says. “But at the end of the day, you see people dapping each other up after games. If you have a question about something, about business, medical, anything like that, everybody is super helpful. Young players need to have that comfortability to actually go to people and ask questions.”

    A Growing, Changing League

    By 2026, the W is expected to have expanded to 14 teams, with the goal of adding two more in the next several years. Those veterans will be key in anchoring their teams and teammates in a time of change, especially as the league will have room for more roster spots, and therefore more rookies. “It’s definitely going to help as we transition, having those people in place to help all the new players coming in get where they need to be,” Jones says.

    As for what the growing number of eyes on the league means for the players themselves, and for what they need out of their mentors? “I don’t think it changes anything,” says Atkins. “I just think we need to continue to be who we are.”

    Lauren Wingenroth is a freelance journalist covering all things sports, fitness, and the performing arts. In addition to PS, her stories can be found in The New York Times, GQ, Outside magazine, Women’s Running, Well+Good, Dance Magazine, and more.

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  • For Paraclimber Raveena Alli, Growth Sometimes Looks Like Falling – POPSUGAR Australia

    For Paraclimber Raveena Alli, Growth Sometimes Looks Like Falling – POPSUGAR Australia

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    Before getting on the wall in the final round of a paraclimbing competition, 17-year-old Raveena Alli, a climber who’s blind, usually has six minutes to preview the top rope route with her caller, Fernando Vásquez. He tells her how it’ll feel – easy, pumpy, familiar, unfamiliar – and how it’ll flow. He talks her through the resting spots and the cruxes – the hardest moves. When Alli starts climbing, Vásquez gives her the direction, distance, and shape of the next hold through Bluetooth headsets, referencing a clock face and everyday objects: “12 o’clock, close, muffin.”

    Vásquez never rushes his calls, matching his tone to Alli’s intentional movement. As she climbs, she engages her biceps to find control, adjusts her feet to find balance, and pushes off from her legs to find power. She loves it when these moves feel natural, but she also likes it when they don’t. In training, Alli will fall on a tricky move a few times before Vásquez gives her more direction. “He’s big into – which I like – having me attempt it, having me fall, because that’s when you really learn most about how your body will respond to your movements,” Alli says. “I would’ve quit a long time ago if I had just always gone to the top, because that’s kind of boring.”

    As a member of the Atlanta, Georgia chapter of Team Catalyst, Alli has competed in adaptive climbing both nationally and internationally, moving to the adult field in 2022. She placed third in her international debut at the 2022 Paraclimbing World Cup in Salt Lake City. But when Alli took first at the US Paraclimbing Nationals in 2022 and 2023, there were no other competitors there to claim silver or bronze in the events’ B1 – total blindness – category.

    Alli was born with a condition called congenital bilateral anophthalmia, which kept her eyeballs from developing. She’s been totally blind all her life and wears prosthetic eyes, which puts her in B1. It’s hard to find B1 climbers at the highest levels of competition. This dearth of blind peers comes in part from low public awareness of the sport, Alli says. But soon, there will be a global spotlight on paraclimbing: in June 2024, the International Paralympic Committee voted to add the sport to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games. “It fills me with optimism,” Alli tells PS. “It’s a powerful step in the right direction. My greatest hope is that other blind people and other people with unique abilities will say, ‘Oh, look, they can do it, why shouldn’t I be able to?’”

    “I would’ve quit a long time ago if I had just always gone to the top, because that’s kind of boring.”

    Alli started climbing when she was around 6 years old. Her mother, Hayley, encouraged her to take lessons after she tried the sport during a birthday party at a gym in her hometown of Atlanta. When Alli was 8, she joined Team Pinnacle, which caters to kids of all abilities and is based at Stone Summit Climbing & Fitness Center. Two years later, she joined her current team at the same gym: Team Catalyst, where she met Vásquez, her coach and caller for more than a decade. When they first paired up, Alli was full of energy getting on the wall, Vásquez remembers. “Her whole attitude was like, she wanted to go at it,” he says. “She wanted to go.”

    Since then, Vásquez has watched Alli’s climbing mature, as she’s built up her stamina, patience, ability to multitask, and proprioception – a sense of your body in space. Alli worked on these skills over time, but she’s always easily interpreted Vásquez’s calls, he says: “Throughout the years, it’s gotten to the point where I can just give her a string of information and she will nail it.”

    For Alli, climbing is about growth, and growth comes from falling. “Growth looks like those moments where I don’t quite make it,” she says. “Even when I do, it’s really about: What did I learn about my body on this climb? Or how did my coach and I learn to collaborate better as a team? It’s really just being able to take every climb and think, ‘What did I learn from this?’”

    Alli doesn’t consider herself the fiercest competitor. At most events, she’s just happy to have an outlet for focusing on her own growth as a climber and to meet other differently abled athletes. But since she’s begun competing nationally, Alli has found she’s not only the rare B1 climber, but also the rare teenager among older athletes.

    She and her mother point to climbing’s costs and hesitation toward a lesser-known sport as barriers to entry for youth. Competitive climbers and their families pay for specialized gear, gym memberships, and national or international travel. And because blind and low vision climbing isn’t well known, parents may not have a clear concept of the sport’s relatively safe practice of top roping on routes set for static movement.

    That’s where the Paralympics come in. Exposure by way of the biggest stage in sports could drive up participation and usher in resources, says John Muse, vice president of sport at USA Climbing. “When sport climbing became part of the Olympics, it shifted things in the US,” Muse says. “There was a lot of excitement around it and increased interest in competition rock climbing. Paraclimbing is going to see the same influx.”

    When Alli competed at the 2023 IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships in Bern, Switzerland, she had a taste of the community that comes with taking part in international competitions. She was able to meet more B1 athletes and other climbers from around the world. Alli listened to their varying strategies for hard moves.

    In fact, one of her favorite moments was waiting in isolation with her competitors before climbing. “That’s when you can really feel the energy,” Alli says. “There is a genuinely encouraging energy of: we’re competing, but we’re all in this together.”

    Alli hopes for more of that connection throughout her competitive climbing career. She plans to compete for as long as she can, and one day, she’d like to mentor young adaptive climbers.

    After graduating from Atlanta Girls’ School in May, Alli now works for the Partnership for Southern Equity and is studying at Georgia Tech. She hopes to bring her experiences moving through the education system as student who’s blind to a career advancing social justice and equity. Alli wants to find ways to fill the system’s gaps in training and services for differently-abled students. She has similar hopes for her sport: “The goal now is just to spread the education, spread the knowledge, and hopefully get more uniquely abled people involved,” Alli says.

    Suzie Hodges is a freelance writer drawn to stories in science, environmental conservation, and outdoor sports. In addition to POPSUGAR, her work has appeared in Smithsonian magazine, Blue Ridge Outdoors, and The Daily Beast. Previously, she was a writer at an environmental conservation organization called Rare and at the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech.

    Related: These 3 Women Climbers Overcame Surgery, Grief, and Self-Doubt to Make Rock-Climbing History

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  • How Gabby Thomas Handles the Pressure Of Being the Next Big Thing In Track – POPSUGAR Australia

    How Gabby Thomas Handles the Pressure Of Being the Next Big Thing In Track – POPSUGAR Australia

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    At the age of 27, New Balance athlete Gabby Thomas has racked up a lifetime’s worth of accomplishments. She’s a Harvard University graduate, a two-time Olympic medalist (in the 200 meter and the 4 x 100 meter relay), a World Champion (in the same track and field events), and an NCAA Champion.

    Any one of these feats would be considered impressive; taken together, they’re almost unbelievable. To go the extra mile: as an undergrad at Harvard, Thomas studied neurobiology and global health. During those same years, she set the school and Ivy League records in the 100 meters, 200 meters and the indoor 60 meters. Thomas won 22 conference titles in six different events during just three years of college track and field, before she ultimately forwent her last year of college eligibility to go pro with New Balance.

    Not to mention, she went on to get a master’s degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Austin).

    To say that Thomas’s schedule must have been busy during her college years would be an understatement. But the truth is, in 2014, after her sophomore collegiate track season, Thomas found herself on the cusp of burnout and struggling with the idea of powering through her junior year track season.

    “I had gotten to a place in my college career where I felt like I had given so much to track. I was feeling a little bit less whole in other areas of my life,” Thomas tells PS, acknowledging that being a college athlete “can be very intense . . . It requires so much from you in terms of discipline, energy, and mindset,” she says.

    This was all happening in the mid-2010s, when high-profile athletes weren’t having the types of conversations about mental health that they are today. It was still years away from Naomi Osaka skipping a press conference to protect her mental health; Simone Biles withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics while battling “the twisties;” Michael Phelps opening up about his experience with depression.

    Without the examples of other athletes to follow, Thomas ended up following her own instincts. And they were telling her to make a bold choice: to say yes to studying abroad in Dakar, Senegal for a semester, even though that meant missing summer regionals, NCAA national championships, and the USA Championships – the track and field competitions that had, until that point, defined her college experience.

    While many student athletes may hesitate to study abroad for an entire semester – and risk missing out on competitions and events and falling behind on training – Thomas says Harvard was uniquely encouraging.

    “Thankfully I was at Harvard, which is a place that kind of encourages self-discovery in other avenues, and so I didn’t have to worry about losing and sacrificing scholarship money, or my coach holding a grudge forever, or people wondering what I was doing,” she tells PS. “That said, my coach was not excited about it! But he accepted it and he understood where I was coming from.”

    Thomas still felt apprehensive about the choice she was making. She took an entire summer off training, one of her longest breaks ever. What if she lost her fitness? Would she come back and lag way behind her training partners? Or more pressingly: What if she lost her emotional edge? What if she loved not being a track athlete so much that she couldn’t recommit when it was time to come home?

    But she knew “if I was going to have longevity in the sport, I needed that breathing room. I needed to be able to let things go,” she tells PS. “We sacrificed a lot for track – whatever you love, you sacrificed a lot for it. And so I needed that [time] for me.”

    Ultimately, she credits the time abroad as providing the mental reset she needed to continue dominating in track and field, eventually setting the table for her entry into professional track and field.

    “I think that trip really helped me with my track career at the end of the day, because I came back from it feeling very refreshed. By the time I came back, I was really happy with my life and what I was doing, so I was really excited to get back to Harvard, go to school, and go back to the track and get to training. And I don’t think it was a coincidence that literally that next season I ended up winning NCAAs and breaking the collegiate record,” Thomas says.

    “I just think I needed that time to really reflect on what I wanted in my life and what I wanted to do. And that’s why I feel like having that balance is so important. You need to really be enjoying the entirety of your life and really have the sense of purpose to have success in what you’re doing. And I really found that just by taking that break and going abroad,” she adds.

    Years later and with even more accolades and degrees under her belt, Thomas is able to look back at the choice that felt so monumental and potentially disastrous at the time with fondness. She can also see she’s continued to choose “balance” over and over again, throughout her career.

    She talks about living between two worlds that she tries to integrate as much as possible. “I have my track world, and those are my teammates, my coaches, and people who are in that elite sports world and understand what it takes. Those are people you can confide in, hang out with, and do things that are appropriate for your lifestyle. And it’s really helpful to have that sense of community,” she says.

    The other world includes everyone else. And while her non-athlete friends may not understand her lifestyle as well, they’re just as crucial for her mental health. “You need those types of people that remind you to not take life too seriously, and are a refreshing reset from that world. So having both and being able to split my time with them is just really helpful,” she says.

    Make no mistake, Thomas’s schedule as a Team USA track and field athlete during an Olympics year is about as jam-packed as you can imagine. Her training is intense, and the mental pressure is on. But she remains committed to truly listening to herself on what balance looks like for her. “You need to really be enjoying the entirety of your life and really have the sense of purpose to have success in what you’re doing,” Thomas says. “As long as you are happy and loving what you’re doing and passionate about it, then you will find success.”

    Sierra Chanell Patrick is a former dual-sport Division I collegiate athlete turned writer, producer, and digital strategist. You may also recognize Sierra from hosting a variety of content for POPSUGAR, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hearst Media, and more.

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  • Running Longer Takes Mental and Physical Grit – and These Mind-Body Tips Can Help – POPSUGAR Australia

    Running Longer Takes Mental and Physical Grit – and These Mind-Body Tips Can Help – POPSUGAR Australia

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    Learning how to run longer can feel like gaining a superpower. Distances you used to only drive across suddenly become something you can cover on your own two feet. Still, heading out the door for multiple miles can be incredibly intimidating. And in the process of building up your endurance, it’s easy to make mistakes that lead to injury, like going too far before your body’s ready.

    Of course, “longer” is a relative term. But whether you’re trying to make it through 5K or getting ready to tackle a marathon for the first time, many of the principles behind how to run longer remain the same. We spoke to two run coaches to get their insights on what it takes to go the distance – not just physically, but mentally too.

    How to Run Longer: Physical Tips

    When you’re looking to increase your running endurance, you want to make sure you’re supporting your body. There’s no need to overcomplicate it; the best way to run longer distances is to start running longer distances. That said, there are strategies you can follow to help ensure you stay strong and injury-free as you start to log higher mileage.

    Increase Your Distance Gradually

    No matter your current mileage or experience level, ramping up too fast in your quest to run longer distances can lead to injuries like shin splints or stress fractures. “If you pour too much water into a bucket, it’s going to overflow. It’s the same thing with running: if you put too much stress on your body, something’s going to give,” says running coach and personal trainer Tammy Whyte of TW Training and Wellness in Chicago.

    Even if you’ve got great aerobic fitness from other workouts like cycling, it takes the body a while to adapt to the strain of running, so increase your mileage slowly. For example, if you currently run for 30 minutes at a time, three times a week, try lengthening just one of those to 45 minutes; after two weeks, assuming you’re injury-free, consider adding 15 minutes to another one of your runs. Or, if you’re itching to make the leap from half to full marathon, follow a training plan that adds a mile or two to your long run every week.

    As you gradually increase your distances, be sure to ease off the gas and reduce your mileage and running intensity for one week out of each month. “Taking a ‘down week’ really helps that training sink in and avoids overtraining or injury,” says Amy Tortorello, a running coach with Heartbreak Hill Running Company in Boston.

    Run Slower Than You Want To

    When you’re only running shorter distances, you can run at your top speeds every time you lace up. But you need to pull back the pace when you’re running farther. On a long run, aim for an effort that’s easy enough to comfortably hold a conversation the entire time. It may feel too low, especially at the start – but try to avoid pushing yourself. “There’s a lot of benefits to that slow running,” Whyte says. “When you run really easy, you’re building your capillary density and your body’s ability to use fat for fuel.” It also makes injuries less likely.

    Let Go of Walk Break Shame

    Some runners are hesitant to walk on a run because it’s not, well, running. But walking can help you run longer. “Walk breaks are great, not just for being able to increase your time on feet, but also the mental piece, being able to chunk things up and be like, ‘Okay, I’m going to run for two minutes, and then I’m going to walk for a minute,’” Whyte says. Giving yourself that permission to stroll for a bit can help prevent you from throwing in the towel before you hit your goal.

    Focus On Building Strength

    Longer distances mean more stress on your body. Prep your muscles to handle the extra miles by strength training. “You want to make sure that your body is strong enough to withstand all the pounding and the repetitive movement,” Tortorello says. In particular she recommends strengthening your glutes, hamstrings, and core.

    Whyte adds that low-impact cardio – like cycling, doing the elliptical, or even power-walking – can also improve your aerobic fitness while giving your joints a break. “Your lungs and your heart don’t know the difference if your breathing is similar and your heart rate is similar,” she says. “Your body’s going to have the same type of response in terms of building that endurance.”

    Eat and Drink More

    When you’re increasing the time you spend on your feet, you’re increasing the amount of water and calories your body needs to sustain you – so make sure to fuel up properly, Tortorello says. Before your run, you’ll want to eat a snack of carbs, and maybe a little protein and fat. After, refuel with a post-workout snack that contains protein and carbs, Whyte suggests.

    During your runs, it’s always a good idea to carry a handheld water bottle or enough cash to buy something to drink along the way. And if a run lasts more than 60 to 90 minutes, you’ll want to take in some carbohydrates midway through by eating a gel or some sports gummies to keep from “bonking.” Just know that you may need to experiment with a few different types of mid-workout snacks to find something that you can tolerate.

    How to Run Longer: Mental Tips

    Increasing running endurance isn’t all about pushing yourself physically. Staying on your feet for longer requires mental strength too. While what motivates runners to keep pushing past “the wall” is personal, these tips can help you get your head in the distance-running game.

    Track Time, Not Distance

    Focusing on how many minutes you’ll be on your feet rather than how far you have to go can feel less daunting when you’re first starting to run longer distances. This strategy can also help keep you from running too fast, since picking up the pace won’t get it over with any faster.

    Tortorello likes comparing the time she has to run to another activity so it feels more manageable: “Like, okay, this run is going to take me two hours. That’s only a quarter of my workday. How many times have I lived through a quarter of my workday? Like a billion.”

    Schedule an Aspirational Run

    Putting a race on the calendar can give you the motivation to keep pushing even when you’re tempted to cut a run short. Whatever “long” means to you, choose a race distance just far enough that it will stretch you past your comfort zone, but still feels doable in the timeframe you have to train. Or, if pinning on a bib for an official race isn’t up your alley, sign up for a virtual race or simply set a date with a friend to run a particular route. The idea is to find something that will hold you accountable.

    Try a Running Buddy

    Real talk: Hitting new distances is likely to get uncomfortable at some point. But the miles will go by a lot faster if you’re not alone. Even if you love the solitude of jogging alone, consider trying to enlist a running buddy or finding a local running group you can join, just to see if running with others helps you break the mental barrier you might have around hitting certain distances. “I’ve been running for a long time and I’m still like, ‘Please do my long run with me!’” Tortorello admits.

    Distract Yourself (Safely)

    The right running playlist can keep your spirits high, your legs turning over, and your mind off any pain or monotony. If your go-to songs are starting to feel stale, listening to an interesting podcast or audiobook can also keep your mind busy on long runs – and if you only let yourself listen to it while you’re running, you’ll have another reason to be eager to lace up your running sneakers. Just be sure you’re in a safe area and the volume is low enough to allow you to stay aware of your surroundings.

    Plan a Route to Look Forward to

    Some people enjoy using their long runs to visit a beautiful place or explore a new neighborhood. Others prefer to stick to a tried-and-true loop they know well so the distance doesn’t feel overwhelming. Tortorello suggests thinking about whether novelty or comfort might be more useful to you when deciding your route. Know that the answer might change from day to day.

    Embrace the Hate (Sometimes)

    Running long distances doesn’t always come with that legendary “runner’s high.” Sometimes, even the most dedicated runners and professionals struggle to get through the miles. “Give yourself grace and know that sometimes it’s just not going to feel good, and that’s OK,” Tortorello says. If you simply keep putting one foot in front of the other, things will often turn around by the end of your run. And if it sucks right up until your very last step? Well, sometimes that’s just how it goes. But you might feel totally different tomorrow.

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    Jennifer heimlich

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