Fully Woman, Fully Alive

By Cheryl Hart

This month, as we celebrate Mother's Day, let's focus on working together to instill confidence, self-esteem and joyfulness in the lives of the young women we mentor.  Generations of women before us fought for opportunities and freedoms that we now enjoy.  It's up to us to continue that mission: to be fully woman and fully alive. Women have always relied on their wisdom, strength and courage to overcome obstacles along the way - pushing through gender barriers, fighting for the right to vote and even the right to run.

In 776 B.C., women were not only prohibited from participating in the first Olympic Games, but also from even watching the contests. Violators faced torture and death by being thrown from a cliff.  When the women of Greece were banned from the Olympics they started their own games, Heraea - named after the queen of gods.  Competitors wore high-waisted tunics that bared the right shoulder and ended above the knee.

Though women were not allowed to run marathons, Katherine Switzer signed up for the 1969 Boston Marathon. She registered as K. Switzer and tucked her ponytail under a hooded sweatshirt. When a racing official discovered her hidden identity, he tried to physically remove her from the course.  He was upholding the race rules and belief that "running was just for boys."  Consequently, she became instrumental in founding and promoting the Women's Avon Race Series. 

My first road race was the 1978 Avon Five-Miler at Stone Mountain , Georgia , where Katherine Switzer was the pre-race dinner guest speaker. A poll by "Runner's World Magazine" in 1972 found that only one percent of its subscribers were women. Back then, there were no jogging strollers, jog bras or lines of women's running apparel.  I still have old running books that advised not to run alone, to carry a hatpin when running and to wear your boyfriend's heavy T-shirt to hide the fact that you were a woman.

The 1977 International Olympic Committee turned down a proposal to hold a 1.9-mile race for women, saying it would be too grueling for females.  In fact, for years, women were warned that their reproductive organs would fall, making it physically dangerous to run.

Even in the late 1970s, women were awarded trophies with male figures on top.  Gayle Barron, the first female to finish and win the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta still laughs about her genetically incorrect trophy.  

We've come a long way, ladies!  We have even set records here in Kentucky .

In 1990, the Midsummer Night's Run in Lexington represented a milestone in women's running.   It was the first time in the U.S. that a road-racing event had 51 percent participation by females. 

Though today most sports don't discriminate against women, physical characteristics give male athletes a significant advantage.  That just means that what we lack in physical strength, we make up for with heart and determination!

"At birth, the average girl begins life a half-inch shorter, seven ounces lighter and with one percent more body fat than the average boy," says Ron King in a special report on female competitors.  "These are the first signs of the physical hurdles she'll face throughout her life."

Women have smaller hearts, lungs and bones than men.  A man's higher muscle content makes him more efficient in using oxygen than a woman.  He has a 10 percent greater lung capacity proportionally.  Men are 30 percent stronger in the legs and twice as strong in the arms. They have more power for speed in shorter distances.

Despite the apparent physical handicaps, the competitive future for women looks bright.  Women are competing more seriously and in greater numbers than ever before.  Top female athletes are performing within ten percent of the best males in many sports, especially running and swimming.

Exercise physiologist Dr. Jack Daniels conducted a study for the Nike lab and concluded that "men and women can train and race at the same relative intensity.  However, women have more difficulty keeping up with men who run similar race times when doing short, fast workouts. They keep up more easily on longer training runs and often beat the same man in a marathon event."

Women runners also have the advantage of being able to sweat more efficiently.   They are able to regulate the body temperatures with less sweat. More importantly, women have found that running changes their attitudes about themselves.  They realize they can control their lives and achieve individual goals. 

In "Women and Sports Magazine," Janice Kaplan expresses how running allows the female runner the chance to be alone with her true self.

She says, "The trouble so far in women's sports is that the athletes have been busy explaining, 'I do this even though I'm a woman,'" while few have been wise enough to claim, 'This is what it is to be a woman.'"

Molly Barker, four-time Ironman triathlete and founder of Girls on the Run International, began a mission in 1996 to change that.  Her program educates and prepares girls and women for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.  Barker will settle for "nothing less than a complete transformation in the way girls and women perceive their place in society."

Girls on the Run offers life-changing, experiential learning programs for girls in the 3rd through 8th grade.   Participants prepare for a 3.1-mile running event with fun workouts that are geared toward enhancing self-esteem.  The object of the running goal is to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development.  Success comes in the voices of participants who exclaim, "I know now that whatever I set my mind to do, I can do."

That, ladies, is what it is to be fully woman, fully alive.

Cheryl Hart is owner of 2nd Wind, a motivational coaching business with a focus on achieving life goals.  She is also a certified personal fitness specialist and spinning instructor. Cheryl was Kentucky 's NCAA Woman of the Year (1993) and National Inspirational Athlete of the Year (1994). She is a member of Team USA , most recently winning silver medals in both the 2004 World Triathlon and World Duathlon.  She was named All-American in triathlon and duathlon (2003 & 2004). Cheryl has a B.A. in English from Centre College, where she served as communications associate, cross-country coach and sports information director.  To contact Cheryl, call 693-7443 or e-mail offrunnin@yahoo.com.