Week 41: Girls Run The World - and Endurance Sports.
Like Beyonce says - girls Run The World. In sport, it’s no secret that the men have, since the dawn of media, had the lion’s share of the press coverage. “Men are more interesting to watch,” “women just don’t play hard enough,” and - my personal favorite - “women are slower.”
Except - is that even true anymore? If you ask any endurance/sport fanatic what their most recent favorite sport story is, it’d probably be a woman’s name. Molly Seidel in the Marathon, Lucy Charles-Barclay in Kona ‘23, and Iowa women absolutely crushing March Madness.
This year, endurance sports have seen absolute domination by women. On Saturday, Lucy Charles-Barclay broke her 4x runner-up streak at the IM Women’s World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, and climbed to the top of the podium. This isn’t the culmination of women crushing endurance sports; but instead, is just the beginning.
In this week’s email:
Fast Results: A new world champ crowned, and marathon szn.
Athletes make a move: USATF being petitioned to start the marathon earlier.
Italian Gravel Ride: Whisk away to Italy for “training” and some well-earned carbs.
👇Watch a Cadence-recommended Vid: Lucy Charles-Barclay is now the reigning IM World Champion. Listen to her personally recap how the race unfolded, her thoughts on the course and how she’s moving forward.
Post of the Week:
We’d lobby for cross country to be brought back as an Olympic sport - but that’s just our retired collegiate athlete brain.
Race Results of the Week
Tidbits
US Olympic Trials Marathon Drama: In 1968, USATF decided that in order to qualify for the marathon at the Olympics, one must not only race a full distance marathon, but also run a qualifying marathon. So - 2x marathon in probably, 18 months, and MAYBE you can get your shot at becoming an Olympian, IF you do everything right on 1 day. This year, Olympians and Olympian-hopefuls are trying to force their luck, and USATF’s hand, and push the marathon to an earlier time in order to give themselves a winning shot.
✅Be Nosey: El Capitan is perhaps one of the most widely known (both outside of the rock climbing world, and in) rock formations in the world. The solo record was recently broken by a flatlander - in a whopping 4 hours 39 minutes.
✅Fanny pack - but make it slim: Fanny packs are cool - again? If you’re tired of holding your phone in your hand, or going music-less because you don’t have a good solution, this is going to be your best friend.
✅Kona Recap: The first year for a women’s-only championship event was an absolute hit. It was definitively the more well-attended and watched event compared the men’s event just a few weeks ago. This split is here to stay - but while we look ahead to 2024, read the recap HERE if you missed the action.
🏃Bucket List Recs
Big training week behind ya and want to add something to your bucket list? Need something to kick your butt into high gear? Check out our endurance bucket list recs below and sign up for something you’ll probably regret when you’re doing a 20 mile training run in August in the Midwest.
Monte Argentario Gravel Ride: Italy is known for more than just pasta and gelato - it’s also known for gravel cycling. Explore the backroads of Italy, under the (nearly) Tuscan sun and drink all the affogatos and eat allll the pasta you want after this ride.
Women’s IRONMAN World Championship: The future is female - and the future of triathlon is badass women. This is the time to get involved in long distance triathlon - more slots, more tri clubs, greater accessibility means that even beginners have a solid path to crossing that IM finish line in Kailua-Kona.
Hawaiian Rough Water Swim: If you’ve never swam in the ocean off the coast of (any) Hawaiian Island - you’re missing out big time. If you’re a marathon swimmer, you’re missing out EVEN more. Try out a rough water swim to test your grit, and get some great blue water views (replace those tiled lines in your Master Swim Club pool).
Performance Of The Week(end)
4x runner-up; Lucy absolutely dominated wire-to-wire and pulled off the underdog win at IM World Champs.
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