Why Women Run
by KC Carlberg, MPH, Owner of Try Fitness
Try Fitness producer of the Inaugural Women’s Run Series 2012
Women are interesting people. They can be mothers, daughters, wives, lovers, friends, bosses, leaders, helpers, a shoulder to cry on, and a force to be reckoned with. They can be nurturing, inspiring, competitive, strong, willful, protective and be so aloof you might wonder who they really are. They are magnificent and marvelous creatures. Women gather together when a friend is in need, they rally the troops lest a fellow friend be scorned. They laugh and cry together and they RUN!!!
Women have had a long history of struggling to compete in distance running. This is not to say there was no tradition of women’s long-distance running. Women were forbidden from participating in the ancient Olympics. A woman who was caught even as a spectator at the Games could face execution. But women in ancientGreeceheld their own festival to honor the goddess Hera every five years. Only one athletic event was held-a short footrace.
Women were considered the weaker sex and were thought to be physically incapable of running a marathon. Before the 1980s, there were no women’s distance races in the Olympics. In the Moscow Games, the longest race for women was the 1,500 meters, which had been instituted in 1972.
Then on June 23, 1972, the passage of Title IX helped to create a more level playing field for women and legitimize women in sports to a greater degree. The amendment states “No person in theUnited Statesshall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…”
—United States Code Section 20, [1]
Finally in 1984, the women’sMarathonbecame an Olympic event for the first time.
Women run because they can. They have the same goals, dreams and aspirations as everyone else. When women run together, much energy and power is created. Women’s runs are popping up all over the country. Women’s running is not new here in Hawaii. The Hawaii Pacific Health Women’s 10K celebrated its’ 34th year in existence in 2011.
Next year, we are introducing the Women’s Run Series 2012. The run series will consist of three all-women run events starting with a 5K in February and ending with the Wahine Half Marathon in April. Each event will build on the next and each event will support women inHawaii.
The first, much like the short foot race of ancient times, is the all new Women’s 5K being held on February 5, 2012 atKakaakoWaterfrontPark. This run will help support ovarian cancer and get athletes geared up for the HPH Women’s 10K on March 4, 2012. Proceeds of the 10K go to support women and children inHawaii. The culminating event is the Wahine Half Marathon which supports local non-profit volunteer organizations in our community.
Women run because they can. They run to feel stronger, to feel more confident, to support a cause and to celebrate life. Join in the celebration, be a part of history and run with us in the Women’s Run Series 2012.
