Women's Running Stories

In recent times, Caryn—who lives in Texas and also spends a lot of time in Colorado—became the first person (as far as we can find) to qualify for and run the Boston Marathon after a knee replacement surgery, thanks to a procedure done by Dr Richard Berger.  And, Caryn’s story is about that, but also so much more. Caryn has faced significant traumas in life, among them experiences with disordered...

Elizabeth Sheridan has developed a great love of ParkRun, and it has inspired travel all around the US and to many other parts of the world; currently ParkRun happens in 22 countries, and Elizabeth has done a ParkRun in every one of those countries, except Australia.   If you aren’t familiar with ParkRun, it’s a free, weekly, timed 5k. No registration, no bib numbers. It’s not even a race: some pe...

Mikka Kei has been running since childhood, and the significance of running has shifted as she’s moved, grown, and evolved through life. For Mikka Kei, running has taken different forms, but it’s been a nonnegotiable part of her life, whether she’s had to negotiate with her parents to run as a teenager in Nepal, jumped at the chance to discover the Appalachian Trail with family friends,  or challe...

Emma Bord had a dream to run the six major marathons, and she started on that path with the 2024 New York City Marathon, which she ran for her 40th birthday. How she managed to get into, travel to, and run all these major races within 12  months is what this story is all about.  And of course, Emma's story is about so much more: it’s about facing fears, processing mom guilt, developing rock solid...

Starre’s story is a little different from many of the stories you’ll typically hear on WRS. It isn’t only about running: Starre is a runner, but she’s also a swimmer, dancer, and weightlifter. And Starre doesn’t compete in running: she doesn’t have marathon dreams or go after PRs. However, being a runner, being an athlete, has been fundamental to her understanding of just how capable and strong an...

Over the course of her life, Liz has overcome a lot, and running plays a central role in the peace she has today. Liz’s story follows her larger health journey, up through her most recent big goal, to mark the end of her 40s, and welcome in her 50th birthday.   How to Follow Liz Andersen On Instagram: @pnw_introvertedrunner Mentioned in this Episode WRS episode, We Out Here Trail Festival: on ⁠App...

Stephanie self-describes as a wife, mom, and running coach, yoga teacher and  podcast host: she hosts The Runner’s Round Table Podcast. Stephanie also founded Correr Running Retreats. In addition to all that, she is a distance runner and run community advocate.  Stephanie came to running in her adult years, and has run over 200 races of various distances, in various places all over the world. This...

This episode features elite runner Ari Hendrix and how she is refinding her joy in the sport. This is Ari’s second time on the podcast; her first appearance was back on December 1, 2023. At that point in time, she was putting the finishing touches on her preparation for the 2024 Olympic Trials Marathon. That earlier episode covered her running journey to that point: how Ari got into running and ho...

This In Memory reair marks the deeply sad occasion of the tragic death of legendary racer and running community leader in South Africa, Cheryl Winn. Winn passed on October 5.  This episode first aired on October 16, 2020. Cheryl Winn is the 1982 Comrades Marathon champion and was the Chairperson of this historic event 2017 to 2021. This episode tells her Comrades story, from her early days of runn...

This is a special Part 2 episode featuring runner, role model, and groundbreaking racer Shawanna White. If you have not listened to part 1 of Shawanna’s story, which is just above this episode in your feed, I suggest you go back and start there.  This episode picks up where that episode left off. Shawanna had finished that part of her story discussed being inducted into the National Black Distance...

This episode features Shawanna White, a very prolific competitor who has been recognized for her many accomplishments and contributions to the running community. Among her accolades, White was featured in the running documentary Breaking Three Hours, Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners ; in 2022, she was inducted into the National Black Distance Running Hall of Fame; and she helped cre...

This episode features Nadia Ruiz, who is a hugely prolific runner, with a special fondness for the marathon. This is a love that began when she was a teenager. Running has been a source of strength, empowerment, and self-confidence, as well as healing: running has seen Nadia through good times and also through some dark moments. Up to today, when Nadia is hitting new highs in the sport, in her 40s...

This episode features Marwa Ali, who is from Kabul, Afghanistan, and now lives in exile as a refugee in Paris, France. How and why she left her home country and the part running and sports played in that journey is what her story is about. Moreover, it's about the power of being an athlete. Marwa Ali, who is now 24 years old, has been an athlete since childhood. She grew up in Afghanistan during a...

Verna Volker first started running as a way to improve her health. Over time, however, her relationship to the sport has grown and changed, to become a more personal and powerful part of her life. She started out pursuing road marathons and then moved to the trails, stretching her limits in ultra trail running. As her journey has evolved, so have her motivations. This is a story about how Volker h...

This episode features Mary Cass, one of New England's most competitive masters racers. At age 63, she is crushing it, and she's also one of the most generous racers you'll meet. Mary has that wonderful combination of being really open about sharing her knowledge and advice before and after races, and then from the time the gun goes off to the finish line, she's a fierce competitor. Mary is undoubt...

It's been a summer of training and getting back to racing; surviving the heat, building back speed and strength, and looking ahead, with a new coach. Plus, a shout out to the power of breathwork, especially for managing anxiety. Mentioned in this Episode The last update from me, Cherie: womensrunningstories.com/wrs-host-cherie-back-to-training-running-update-mid-mar-mid-may-2025 To support WRS, pl...

Arielle Knutson has been an athlete since she was young, and this has shaped her life. She starting with gymnastics and then moved on to road running, triathlon, and trail running. As she developed in her adult years and her career life, Arielle discovered strong connections between her work and athletic life. She went with it, and the two became strongly intertwined. And, in both realms of her li...

Summer Confuorto, a Gros Ventre, Cree, Mi’kmaq woman, tells the story of running her first marathon: the 2025 Boston Marathon, representing the Ohketeau Cultural Center Natives Run Initiative. Summer tells her story, from running along the water during her youth in her hometown of Falmouth, MA; to how running connects her to her own and also the local native communities; and then about her first m...

Ultra runner and long-distance fast packer Jessica Pekari on the podcast! She shares the story of her most recent fastest known time (FKT) adventure: completing the 500 mile Colorado Trail. Jessica is an Army veteran—having served as a medic in Iraq—and mother of three, with Blackfeet and Mexican heritage. She started exploring ultra running in 2015, and ran her first 100 miler the next year. Jess...

Professional runner for Oiselle and social media influencer Allie Ostrander is on the podcast! Allie is here to share what running and racing has looked like from her over the past couple years as she returned to elite level competition, in all the many running disciplines that she pursues, after going through treatment for disordered eating—a journey she’s been very public about.  Allie Ostrander...

Welcome Amy Ortiz to WRS! Amy is a runner who, over the past several years, has become a community builder and leader in the running scene, and now she's a coach, with a focus on creating space for women, especially women of color. In this episode, Amy shares how she arrived where she is today in the running world. A long-time resident of the Bronx, Amy's running is deeply intertwined with her int...

In this episode, Lisa Levin tells her running story through to today, where at 51, she’s more excited than ever to challenge herself and set motivating goals.  In addition to being a longtime runner with a particular interest in running marathons, especially Boston, which she has run an astonishing 22 times, Lisa is also a coach and podcaster, with Julie Sapper, who was featured on WRS last week....

Runner, running coach, and podcaster Julie Sapper is on Women's Running Stories! Her story here is focused on  her return from a long-term injury: an ACL tear. She tells about her thorough approach to healing and recovery and the nonlinear path to returning to running injury-free, all the way to reaching her ultimate goal: running the Boston Marathon, for her 13th time. Sapper was so thoughtful an...

This episode features runner, adventurer, and creator of the wildly popular Tough Girl podcast and Tough Girl Challenges, Sarah Williams. These days, Sarah is well known for taking on incredible challenges, but it wasn't always that way. Here, Sarah tells her adventuring lifestyle origin story: how she transitioned from working in wealth management in London to exploring the world through epic adv...

This episode features the running story of Mireille Siné, a marathon and ultra runner, a coach, and so much more. And intertwined into Mireille’s running journey is an autoimmune condition she’s been navigating since college: lupus. Since childhood, being active and participating in sports has been part of Mireille’s life, and that included running. Running became a more central part of her athlet...