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.

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.

Team Congo Races the 20 Kilometers of Paris

Paris is known for its incredible light. When I was training for the 2009 Paris Marathon to race for Girls on the Run International, one of my last training runs found me at Place de la Concorde. Just as my running shoe hit the center, the Eiffel Tower lit up as did all the surrounding street lamps. The natural light here can be just as profound.

This past Sunday Alice Phan, pictured here triumphant at the 20K de Paris finish line, took to the city streets along with Run for Congo Women's Team Congo Paris in sunlight that marked beauty to the highest degree. Autumn. 20,000 runners. Unite.

In early September, I met Alice in person as we ran Parc des Buttes Chaumont together in training for the 20K de Paris. At the time, she was running about five miles. Later that month, we chatted excitedly at the start line of La Parisienne, a 6K for women's health, which also marked the ninth anniversary weekend of September 11.

When Alice initially emailed me about joining Team Congo Paris, she shared how she had always wanted to work with Girls on the Run Manhattan while living in New York, but that her work hours had always been an obstacle. Phan, an optometrist, is now living in Paris due to her husband's job transfer, and while acquiring her work visa, she volunteers at a hospital and has also become an invaluable asset to Team Congo Paris. To explain Alice's energy is like harnessing a surge of fresh air, a full deep-belly laugh; she is the kind of person who congratulates herself out loud on a fantastic idea and keeps on in the face of adversity with determination and a smile.

For the first ten minutes of the 20K de Paris race, I ran alongside Alice before I launched onward. On Sunday night post-run, I checked in with her and she shared that the first eight miles she was at a consistent 10 minute mile pace, but then a major cramp kicked in. "I probably could have walked faster than what I was running, because I was pretty much crawling," she told me, "but then when I saw the 19 km sign, I was so excited and was ecstatic to finish!"

She finished in under 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Born to first-generation parents who came to the United States from Vietnam then settled in Southern California, Alice often embraces Run for Congo Women's shared reason for being. She gets it. We are out there running together raising awareness, pushing our own bodies as a metaphor for Congolese women and children whose bodies and beings have been pushed far past any fathomable sense of resiliency. We keep on as a testament to their profound hardship. Around the time I met Alice, I wrote Resiliency, Congo, and Rape As a Weapon of War, which highlighted the July 30 attack of 300 women and children in Eastern Congo, only ten to twenty miles from a UN compound.

According to the Guardian's October 6 article, Militia Commander Mayele Arrested After Mass Rape of Congo Villagers, "Over four days, at least 303 people were raped – 235 women, 52 girls, 13 men and 3 boys – according to a preliminary UN investigation published last month. Many of the victims were raped repeatedly."

In a statement from Congo, Lisa Wallström, the UN's representative for sexual violence in conflict, says the arrest of Mayele is a victory for justice. "The numerous criminal acts committed under 'Lt Col' Mayele's command cannot be undone, but let his apprehension be a signal to all perpetrators of sexual violence that impunity for these types of crimes is not accepted and that justice will prevail," she said.

Although human rights activists have commended the arrest, they have also highlighted that Mayele was not a major player or the only assailant, and this act of small justice is only one step toward a more comprehensive and effective resolution. How that resolution takes shape – or if it will – ultimately depends on a variety of upcoming actions, reports, and initiatives.

In the meantime, Team Congo Paris will continue to race in support of the women and children in Congo. For their deserved safety and well-being, at least.

You can still join Team Congo Paris and race on November 7, 2010 or you can support us via donation.