Happy International Women’s Day!
While we can think of plenty of ways to celebrate—our ideal day would be to go for a run, hang with girlfriends over a long lunch, then come home to read Barbara Kingsolver—we realize you might need to keep to a more regular daily routine.
Since it’s not a national holiday yet, we’re creating a mini-celebration around some female athletes on Instagram with whom you might not be familiar. We hope you already follow Kara, Mirna, and Laura for regular doses of inspiration and laughter, and recommend you add these AMR-sourced profiles to your list.
While their athletic achievements are worthy of admiration, what really draws us to them is the authentic, thoughtful perspectives they share: hard to come by IRL, even more challenging to get across on social media.
Thanks for sharing your worlds and words, ladies.
@Courtney Dauwalter: Courtney Dauwalter
Who she is: Ultra runner with a love for long inseams & candy.
Follow her for: Amazing trail pictures from around the world and so much joy on the trail, you can’t believe she’s winning all those races.
Next adventure: Recovering (for about a week) from winning The North Face Trans Gran Canaria.
In her own words: “I hope the future generations of trail crushers know that the journey of trying is the whole point. The path we get to go down when we decide to try something hard, no matter the result, is the cool part.”
@EmmaKirkyo: Emma Kirk-Odunubi
Who she is: A run educator, gait analyst, and columnist for Women’s Running UK
Follow her for: A mix of running advice, her training runs, and helpful reminders (“Running should not replace therapy.”), all delivered in a delightful British accent.
Next adventure: Running four marathons in four weeks in April for brain tumor research.
In her own words: “Some medals represent PB’s, some represent tough races. I’m commemorating this one as a celebration of my training consistency since November.
Showing up when I didn’t want to, listening to my body when sickness did strike, workout around and through injury and adapting and running the slow runs slow plus the hard ones hard.”
@JenniferWeinerWrites: Jennifer Weiner
Who she is: Novelist, feminist, Jewish, cyclist, runner.
Follow her for: Posts on books (duh!), Girls in Gear (think Girls on the Run, but on wheels, and everyday humor (A Costco membership for Valentine’s Day: what I always wanted!).
Next adventure: She just inked a five-book deal; the first is The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits, a novel inspired by the likes of Britney, Jessica, and Wilson Phillips (note: we can’t wait!).
In her own words: “I’m sharing my 2023 stats, and a wish that we could normalize celebrating consistency as much as we do marathons and sub-30-minute 5Ks (not that there’s anything wrong with either of those things). In 2023, I didn’t get much faster. And I definitely did not get smaller. But I rode my bike 96 for more than 2000 miles and I ran (very slowly!) 323.6 miles…I moved more days than I didn’t, and I felt healthier and stronger and more comfortable in my skin every time I ran or walked or rode my bike. So here’s who everyone who did the thing, and kept doing it.”
@LisaCongdon
Who she is: Artist, bike racer, activist, adventurer, joy monger, queer.
Follow her for: Art that can easily apply to any aspect of your life (Dimity’s favorite these days: “Hold It Lightly”) and her gravel bike racing riding adventures.
Next adventure: Best guess is to continue to make beautiful art and her best life on the bike.
In her own words: “I used to the a person who, maybe driving in my car, saw other women climb steep hills or ride in a speedy peloton of other women and would secretly think, ‘I wish that was me.’ But my next thoughts were always: that could never be me, I’m not good/cool/athletic enough, that’s too much work, who am I kidding. The greatest gift of getting older has been realizing that I am, in fact, good enough and I can do the work (in fact, I love the work). And now, I AM that person cranking her bike up steep hills in her slick cycling jersey (and now I even design slick cycling jerseys).”
@IRunForTheGlory: Carolyn Su
Who she is: Runner, advocate, ice cream hoarder, creator of diversewerun.
Follow her for: Keeping things real about running, especially with all.the.things you do to be able to run, and the need for diversity and representation in the endurance world.
Next adventure: Currently supporting at the #LululemonFurther six-day event.
In her own words: “I’ve been slowly and steadily increasing my mileage again, and, this past Saturday, as my feet were getting tired and my mind started to waver, I reminded myself of where I’ve been.
I truly know and believe that I am capable of MORE.
It will just take time to remember what the discomfort of GROWTH feels like.
And for the first time in my life, instead of hearing the stern voice of the Inner Critic speak lies about how I’m not ______ enough, I heard a gentle, soft whisper of faith saying,
‘Keep going.
You can do this.
Your story is not finish yet.'”
@Sarah.Canney
Who she is: Founder + host @riserunretreat, snowshoeing champion, writer + run coach
Follow her for: Winter shots that make want to play in the snow and literary inspiration.
Next adventure: Recovering from the World Snowshoe Championships in Spain.
We love this perspective: “This was one of the most challenging races I’ve ever done. The fresh deep snow, steep (so steep) and post-holed downhills, the lack of visibility, the single track the whole race…But instead of having my best race I had a meh race.
It’s hard to have an ‘off day’ on a ‘high stakes’ day.
Regardless of the outcome, I know I gave everything I had, dug deep on those climbs, and did my best to stay upright on the downhills….This family and this experience are better than any podium spot.”
@elizabeth_healthy_life: Elizabeth Jansen Amell
Who she is: 10x Leadville Trail finisher, running coach, and new mom
Follow her for: New baby pics! And plenty of running inspo and advice on trails + roads.
Next adventure: Becoming a mother runner a smart, thoughtful way.
In her own words: “”I see a lot of women talk about ‘bouncing back’ after having a baby. I’m not interested in that at all.
‘Bouncing’ seems like a fast motion to me. Something goes one way and then it comes right back. Returning to running after having a baby isn’t fast or speedy.
Also, I’m not going ‘back’ to who I was pre-baby. I’m now a mom (still crazy to say) and instead of going ‘back’, I envision myself going forward into this new chapter with Charley by my side.”
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