Reflections on a Women’s Running Trailblazer

Photo courtesy of Kathrine Switzer

Last weekend, the world marathon record fell in Berlin. A new fastest-ever time was recorded by Patrick Makau of Kenya as he crossed the finish line in an amazing 2:03:38.

Perhaps just as many eyes in Germany were on Paula Radcliffe, the legendary current women’s marathon world record holder who has battled back from various injuries and hadn’t run a marathon in two years. Radcliffe finished third, paving the way for a potential Olympic bid in 2012.

But long before there was Radcliffe, there was another runner paving the way for all future female marathoners: Kathrine Switzer. Switzer competed in era before the Radcliffes and the Kara Gouchers and, by way of a registration fluke, was the first woman to run the United States’ most storied race, the Boston Marathon, with an official bib.

Secretary Clinton says women’s health “must be at the top of the agenda”

To watch video or read full text of Secretary Clinton’s remarks on global women’s health, click here.

If you live the United States, you see them everywhere: pink ribbons on t-shirts, hats, cars and even on professional football players’ jerseys. But breast cancer – and other women-specific cancers – is indeed a global epidemic.

A new initiative that combines resources from several government and corporate entities aims to combat these health issues in developing countries. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently helped launch the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign in Washington, D.C., heavily emphasizing the importance of women’s health.

“If we want to make progress on some of the toughest challenges we face in global health—fighting HIV, preventing childhood deaths, improving nutrition, stopping malaria, and more—then investing in women must be at the top of the agenda,” Secretary Clinton said in her remarks. She went on to highlight the crucial matriarchal role women play in developing countries, providing labor, food and child care for their families.

“The conclusion is clear that if we want to make a difference when it comes to investing in health, then we must invest in women,” she said.

A secondary objective of the campaign is to prevent new cases of HIV, which has been shown to increase the risk of cervical cancer. Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon will be focused on developing areas of the world, with partners working with local governments to provide cancer screenings, education and human papilloma virus vaccines.

Joining forces on Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon are a variety of partners, including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the United Nations and various pharmaceutical companies that will provide vaccines to regions in need. An initial focus will be on sub-Saharan Africa.

What do you think it will take to reduce levels of women-specific cancers in developing countries? What additional regions do you feel direly need these services, outside sub-Saharan Africa?

Running on the Streets of Dakar

[Editor's Note: Please welcome our newest contributor, Rachael Cullins. Rachael is an American living in Dakar. Learn more about Rachael on our Contributors page.]

A street in Dakar / Rachael Cullins

A woman running, much less alone, is an unfamiliar sight in Corniche, the stretch of scenic road and sidewalk that runs along Dakar’s western coastline.

Recently, however, in the middle of three male joggers -- a more than common sight here in Senegal because of how important fitness is to men’s lives -- I watched a woman, clad in braids, a faded white t-shirt and long gray sweatpants run by. From my side of the street, I noted she had the easy, natural loping gait of most Senegalese runners, one they achieve without the aid of the latest in athletic garb such as wicking-material or the latest in running shoes. She fit right in with her male running companions.

Since I arrived in Dakar nearly a month ago, this female Senegalese runner is the first I’ve seen. Although Senegal is much more advanced in women’s rights than some African or Islamic countries, the concept of fitness for females hasn’t yet taken a strong hold. I see men jogging everywhere, quickened by with their long strides while my short ones are not able to keep up with even the slowest of the local runners. But I am almost always the lone female, matched only occasionally by a fellow expatriate.

I’m not the only one who has noticed the distinct lack of woman athletes in this country, either. Running Times magazine ran a feature in early 2009 about female Senegalese runners, noting that it’s often difficult for them to find places to train, to receive athletic encouragement the same way a man would, and to dedicate their lives and talents to something other than child-rearing. As one interviewee in the article said, cleaning house and raising children is “what it means to be a Senegalese woman.”

The Senegalese Olympic team has had precisely zero female medal winners in the history of the games, according to the International Olympic Committee –- although the country does field men’s and women’s teams in some sports each year. Some traditional Muslims perceive women’s athletics as inappropriate due to the “revealing” clothing they must wear, such as a jersey and shorts on the track field. Others are just too steeped in traditional gender roles to see women as strong and capable when it comes to sports.

My time in Dakar will end in the summer of 2013, when my husband and I will pack up our belongings and two dogs and head to another foreign post as part of his career with the United States government. But I’d love to come back to Senegal someday, perhaps decades from now when our first abroad post seems like a distant memory, to see how the place might have changed since our time here. I’m hopeful those changes will include seeing many, many more women jogging along the Corniche, with just as much commonality and athleticism as the men who match them stride for stride –- and maybe even struggle to keep up.