Women Running
safety dressed in form
Caution: RUNNERS on the road
dogs cat call danger
AUDIO: Running around town in Mannheim, Germany
I hate running. The first mile is the hardest.
I love running, but I hate running.
– SabrinaRunning is like fighting against myself and winning.
– Mavis
Chapter Three, Real Women Run, highlights the voices of forty-one women runners Faulkner interviewed about their embodied experiences running and being a runner. Faulkner answers the question, What are women’s embodied experiences of running and being a runner?, in an essay woven with scholarly research, poetic transcription, and women’s reflections. Running for women is about being in control, being blessed, being healthy, setting goals and meeting them, challenging the self and body, being strong, being safe, and for some, part of a spiritual practice. Running is part of their identities and a way of life. Their perceptions of their running bodies, what running means to them, and how running fits into their lives and social networks is shown through the themes: Running as Health; Running as Accountability; Running as Relational Practice; Running as Safety and Danger; Running for a Reason; Running with Your Body; Running as Expansion; and Running as Self-Definition.
This web-based material is an accompaniment to the book Real Women Run: Running as Feminist Embodiment by Sandra Faulkner.