Welcome to Strong Girl Talk, where we dive into the latest in sports science, performance, and well-being—all with a focus on women and girls in sport. Each episode, we take a deep dive into the research, the challenges, and the opportunities that impact female athletes. This week is book club week and Sasha interviews Molly about her book, Running As Fast as We Can. Just a heads up that this episode covers topics that may be triggering for some including eating disorders, sexual harassment and assault, and gender-based violence.
Released in 2024, Running as Fast as We Can is Molly’s 5th book. It’s all about navigating high school, female friendships, discovering a love for running, and navigating challenges. Molly says it best “High school is an uphill battle… especially if you run cross-country. Juniors Krista and Elle might have been best friends once. Not anymore. But they do have one thing in common: A distaste for school sports, and need for an athletic extracurricular on their college resumes. When they both show up to the first cross-country practice of the season, it’s a surprise to both of them.”
You can pick up your copy of Running As Fast as We Can at Strong Girl Publishing (or in e-book format), Amazon, Indigo, or ask your local bookstore to bring it in. There’s also some great swag and other authors available at Strong Girl Publishing.
Want to start your own book club? Strong Girl Publishing has your back.
Before we dive into Molly’s book and hear Sasha fan girl, we shared what we were reading.
Molly had just finished Steve Magness’s Win the Inside Game (Sasha too!). Molly had also just finished Gabrielle Korn’s The Shutouts. In addition to the Win the Inside Game, Sasha was finishing up Mel Robbin’s The Let Them Theory - and for all the athletes out there, Sasha will bring you something about Let It, not trying to manage the weather but being prepared for it! And for a little fiction, Sasha had just started the Deborah Harkness All Souls Series Book 2. And yes, we had a little fun talking about modern day witches.
We also cover some challenging topics include eating disorders, sexual harassment and assault, and gender-based violence. Below are some resources if you or someone you know might be struggling. Plus, we include some resources on how to be an upstander and recognize things before they veer into a negative space.
We have to give out a shoutout to one of our favourite registered dieticians, upcoming Strong Girl Author, and awesome human, Stevie Lyn. Stevie’s goal is to help you ‘simplifying eating to fuel your health and performance goals.’ Her book, Power Up - A Young Woman’s Guide to Winning with Sports Nutrition is set to release this fall. We promise to keep you updated. Other great resources include; i) The Lane 9 Project - Connecting athletes with women's health & sport clinicians and coaches, ii) National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), iii) ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders) - Resources for Athletes and Coaches, iv) Body Sense - Navigating body image, relationships with food, and disordered eating with young athletes can be intimidating for coaches and caregivers, v) The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC), and vi) Body Confident Sport. And if you prefer social media, you can grab their handles from all these sites!
Did you know that 1/10 women aged 15-24 have been sexually assaulted, 6/10 experienced unwanted sexual behaviours in public, and 3/10 were emotionally, financially, or psychologically abused by a partner? It’s Not Just, is the Canadian Government’s resources and campaign to help bring an end to gender-based violence.
Gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault as UNESCO says “It is rooted in structural inequalities and discrimination; it is rooted in toxic social norms; and it is rooted in harmful masculinities — harmful to women, harmful to men, and costly for all of society.” UNESCO put together this toolkit, Towards a Safer Playing Field. As part of the Coaching Association of Canada’s Support Through Sport Series is a module called Gender-Based Violence, where participants learn to both recognize forms of gender-based violence and identify strategies to use to prevent gender-based violence in your sport environment. Canadian Women and Sport partnered with E-Alliance to understand the relationship between gender equity and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in sport. Together they created an Infographic - Using Gender Equity to Combat Gender-Based Violence in Sport.
In Canada, if you need to report, including self-report, an incidence of sexual harassment, sexual assault or violence, you can connect with Abuse Free Sport.
This anonymous, confidential, independent service allows people to share and validate their concerns, obtain guidance on required next steps, and get referrals to other resources for follow-up.
Access the helpline toll-free from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (E.T.), seven days a week by telephone, text, live chat, or email in both official languages.
Visit: abuse-free-sport.ca
Email: info@abuse-free-sport.ca
Call or text: 1-888-83SPORT (1-888-837-7678)
In the United States, if you need to report, including self-report, an incidence of sexual harassment, sexual assault or violence, you can connect with US Centre for Safe Sport - Report here if you have experienced abuse or misconduct—or if you have reasonable suspicion of abuse or misconduct. From their site you can report online or you can call from 8am to 4pm MST 1-833-5US-SAFE (1-833-587-7233).
We know there is a wealth of information out there on eating disorders in sport and for sexual harassment, abuse, and gender-based violence. Please share with us resources that you share and promote.
Remember you can follow Molly and Sasha on Social Media including:
Molly - @mollyjhurford @stronggirlpublishing
Sasha - @SGollishRuns @Yellow_Running_Shoes
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