Feisty Women's Performance

From The Wall Street Journal to Runners World , People Magazine , and Women's Running Magazine ... From Lululemon to Ford Motor Co... Mirna Valerio is proving that you can be an athlete in whatever body you have. What started as a blog, FatGirlRunning, about her experiences as a larger woman in a world of thinner athletes, has turned into a movement that inspires people everywhere to be whoever th...

Since Title IX passed in 1972, there has been extraordinary growth in women’s sports and performance.  However, for decades, athletic research primarily conducted on males has simply been applied to women, and as we’ve discovered, when the standard of performance is based on that one type of person, it skews our understanding of what is considered “normal physiology.” Christine Yu, author of...

Jill Moffatt and Jenny Casson didn’t dream of becoming Canadian Olympic rowers. In fact, neither actually started the sport until they were a little older, but discovered quickly they both had an innate talent for the sport.  This talent, coupled with their chemistry and work ethic, landed them a spot at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games and they’re currently in the process of trying to qualify fo...

This episode first aired on the Women's Performance Podcast on April 4, 2022. Sara talks to Emily Kraus and Megan Roche. Emily is the FASTR program coordinator, MD, a clinical assistant professor at Stanford children's orthopedic and sports medicine center, a seven-time marathoner, and a two-time Boston finisher. Megan is the FASTR lead researcher, an MD, a Ph. D. candidate in epidemiology, AND a...

No doubt, there is an emotional aspect to fueling and eating. Each of us comes strapped with experiences from our past, cultural and religious expectations, and emotional biases that may affect our relationship with food. As athletes, we also inherently understand that fueling and nutrition are vital to our success. Eating for the demands of our training can, in a word, be  scary . Enter Eliz...

RED-S, LEA, The Female Athlete Triad, Overtraining, Overreaching, Underfueling…These words and acronyms are pervasive in endurance sports circles but, quite frankly, still cause much confusion and debate. Often, they are mistakenly used interchangeably when the definitions and symptoms do differ significantly. Today’s guest, Dr. Alex Coates, demystifies each of these concepts and explains them in...

When social media posts, conversations, and even shouting from the podiums about inequality in the outdoor industry is no longer an option, you take action and develop the change that you want to see. That is how Gina Lucrezi started  Trail Sisters , an online community for female-identifying trail runners and hikers, that she started in 2016. As a professional runner who also worked in the o...

Being the first to accomplish a historical feat usually comes with fanfare and recognition. Not so for today’s guest, Diane Maiese. Almost 25 years after the fact, Diane learned that she was the first, and as of yet, the only black female to win an NCAA National Championship in Diving and be named four-time All-American. She is also the first black female to coach diving at the division one level...

Lauren Fleshman has many titles - from being one of the most decorated American distance runners ever, to recently releasing her book, Good for a Girl - a New York Times best-seller. But all of this accomplishment doesn't come without difficulty. This week, Lauren gets real with us and shares her experience of disordered eating, motherhood, and mental health. Discussing the stereotypes placed upon...

When you imagine a high-performance athlete, what qualities do they possess? Determination perhaps? Grit? Tenacity? According to today's guest, self-compassion is actually the key to success. This week Sara chats with Sports Psychologist Dr. Erin Ayala. Beginning as a professor of Sports Psychology, Erin now takes on clients in all realms of sport - from triathletes to golfers, to rock climbers. E...

What does equity mean in sport? Yes, it's women being included, but it's also resources for racing moms, supporting the inclusion of Black folks in historically white sports, having size-inclusive athletic gear, and SO much more. Feisty Media welcomes a panel of women with intersectional identities to celebrate International Women's Day and discuss why equal opportunity is no longer enough. Hosted...

Alison Mariella Désir is an activist, runner, organizer, and author of the new book, Running While Black. After hearing her speak at the Feisty Women’s Performance Summit in 2022 (before the book was published) we wanted to catch up with Alison, hear how her book has been received, and learn more about her many cultural insights and observations about the Black experience in the running space. Ali...

Finding trustworthy and accurate information as a pregnant athlete can be extremely challenging. How much can you train? Will it hurt the baby? How high can I get my heart rate? This is the exact problem Maurya ran into when she first found out she was pregnant. Now 34 weeks, we welcome Maurya onto the podcast to share her pregnancy experience as an All-American triathlete. Maurya tells us some of...

There’s a lot of information circling about what women can and can’t do while pregnant. From lifting to running marathons, we wanted to get to the bottom of this. This week we welcome Dr. Kristi Adamo of Adamo Lab - a researcher who was involved in the groundbreaking 2022 study following the training habits of 42 elite runners through pregnancy and postpartum. Dr. Adamo outlines the study itself a...

Is there a recipe for mental toughness? Is resilience something we can work on and will it lead to increased success? This week, we welcome Alyssa Godesky to help us get some insight into how she became mentally tough and some tools every individual can use to help us achieve more. Alyssa is a record-setting endurance athlete, coach, and the host of the IronWomen podcast. Throughout her career, sh...

Okay, y'all. We are sensing A LOT of confusion around female physiology and training with your cycle. That's why this week, we welcome exercise scientist Alyssa Olenick, PhD to clear up misconceptions about female physiology and performance. Alyssa unpacks what the phases of our cycle are, and how we can work to support our bodies during these various phases. And she is clear that no matter w...

Despite not being A TON of research on female physiology, it seems like everyone is offering up different information, especially concerning menstruation and performance. That's why this week, we are sharing one of the informative sessions from our past Women's Performance Summit. In this session, Kerry McGawley shares a deep literature review of current research on female physiology in relation t...

Most of us can only hold our breath for 30 seconds, maybe a minute. But for Jordy Duncan, Australian pro freediver, 5 minutes is her sweet spot. This week, Sara welcomes Jordy to talk about the joys of freediving, how she found her way to the sport and the many ways freediving has helped her through tough times. Jordy talks about her experience with bulimia and alcoholism, and how finding freedivi...

In recent years, the media has depicted women's sports as a safe haven for queer women. But what about queer men? Trans folks? Or gender non-conforming people? This week, we seek to understand the queer experience in sport, how it differs between various gender expressions, and how we can work to make sport more inclusive. To do so, Sara welcomes Sports Psychologist and Researcher, Dr. Vikki Krane...

Navigating the waters of perimenopause can be daunting whether you’re in them, or will be eventually. What if there was someone who could be your guide? Well, this week, we welcome Selene Yeager to do just that. As the host of Feisty Media's Hit Play Not Pause podcast, author, and overall menopause guru, Selene shares what she wishes she knew before she entered perimenopause - and how lifting heav...

Sara welcomes Ultra-endurance bike rider and racer, Lael Wilcox, to discuss her unconventional success in ultra racing and the joy of making people (ok, mostly men) think, "How is this even possible?!"  In 2016, she won the Trans Am Bike Race outright, making her the first female to do so. The Trans Am is the premier self-supported road race across the United States, traversing over 4200 mile...

Sara welcomes Dr. Carla DiGirolamo, a double board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist who has experience with the unique physical and mental challenges that women face through every stage of life's journey.   In addition to specializing in all aspects of fertility care, Dr. DiGirolamo is also a NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner, Crossfit Level 1 Trainer/C...

Imagine a world where PMS and period discomfort doesn't exist? Dr. Saru Bala not only believes its possible, but helps makes that world a reality every day. Trained as a naturopathic doctor, Dr. Bala takes an integrative approach to women's health focusing on PMS, period pain, heavy bleeding, fibroids, endometriosis and fertility. Dr. Bala tells us why she loves working with athletes and the many...

Racketball, i.e. - hitting a ball with a racket in an enclosed room with four walls. This week, we welcomed Rhonda Rajsich - the most decorated Professional Racketball Player in United States history. Rhonda is a true inspiration, and her confidence is contagious. Rhonda shares her journey to Racketball, and the performance mindset that helped her get to where she is today. Coming from a long line...

How do you foster a CEO mindset? Make meaningful decisions? Understand and be true to your values? This week we bring you one of our favorite conversations from the Outspoken Women in Endurance Sport Summit of 2022. Sara and Vic Brumfield, CEO of USA Triathlon, discuss what it means to be a female CEO, and what it takes to be a meaningful leader. Beginning with a conversation about how Vic got to...