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The Quarter
Stride Strong Coaching’s Sort-of Weekly Newsletter, The Quarter.
The Quarter No. 66 - Representation
The Quarter No. 66 - Representation is now up on the website. Check out the link in our bio or read on below...
I saw this Instagram post from Olympic Marathon Trials winner Aliphine Tuliamuk a few days back. It got me thinking about how we view running and how we treat different performances. I found it thought provoking and well worth sharing this week, instead of a regular Quarter.
From @aliphine... LONG POST🤦🏾♀️ Let me make this clear, Racing and winning the Olympic trials in Atlanta was the highest breakthrough of my marathon career so far, I was elated after I crossed that finish line, I was grateful for the opportunity that being an American had given me, emotions were running high. The spectators and the fans along the course in Atlanta were unlike anything I had ever experienced before. They were loud, excited and cheered so well for us. I felt so much love and support while there, and from videos that fans took along the course or in bars, AND NO ONE CAN EVER TAKE THAT AWAY. Then a couple days later, I finally had a chance to watch the replay to see what people at home saw. I was definitely caught off guard, initially I was okay that I didn’t hear my name mentioned even when I was right there, while everyone around me was talked about, as the race went on, I became uneasy, and right when the move happened and coverage came back from break, I broke down, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I stopped watching the rest of the race till the next day. I spoke to my coach and manager about how I felt in that moment. When I resumed the next day, I still didn’t feel like anyone knew much about me. For starters, that was my 10th national championship title, I run for Hoka one One @naz_elite , a team that shares a lot on social media, I may have been the underdog but it wouldn’t take long before you saw this coming, from my last 3 marathons, heck you should have known that on my last podcast that week with letsrun, I was bold in saying that I felt ready because of the training I had had. Anyways If you haven’t watched the coverage go check it out on NBC or YouTube, make your own mind about it. I have watched that race 7 times, and I got enraged each of those last 6. I wondered if the reason was that I was a black woman, or that I am a Kenyan-American, (so not American enough?). I believe that any media covering a race should be fair and do their research, so that athletes can get the exposure they deserve, and fans can be educated on who they are watching; this can also make a difference in our careers in so many ways. Let’s all do better!
June 28th, 2020 Pictured Left, NAZ teammates celebrate with Aliphine after she won the Olympic Trials