What It Really Means To Run Like A Girl and Why We Want To | HealthyWomen

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Have you ever been taunted that you “run like a girl”? Even now, telling a girl or woman that she does something “like a girl” (throw, hit, ski, weightlift, kick, ride, drive … you get the picture) is more often insulting than not. I was talking with a radio host recently, who told me that he had been teased for running like a girl when he was young. An insult that haunted him into adulthood.

But here’s the thing-running like a girl is empowering! Running like a girl is an everyday experience. Running like a girl happens on the road and off. Running like a girl invites us to engage with the world. Running like a girl means challenging our bodies and minds to be stronger and happier, and accessing our ageless girl-spirit, where the clean-slate optimism of “let’s go” meets the seasoned wisdom of “I can.”

When I say running, I mean it as a proxy for any active physical engagement you fancy, however you choose to move your body and get your heart pounding. Also, when I say running, I mean it as more than a sport. Sports are just one aspect of how we engage with the world as strong women. We have our work, our communities, our families, and our friends; how we are in each of those bits of the world matters. Wherever we meet the world with lightness of spirit…