She was once a runner

Bcc wrote:

I am a male and I admit to having an eating disorder. I restrict my calories and eat small amounts of low-calorie foods like salad. I have wanted to stop this process for a long time now, but can't bring myself to do it. I want to look/feel/be thin. Can someone who has dealt with this issue as a runner please provide me with coping mechanisms or strategies to end this dangerous cycle?

Thank you in advance for genuine advice,

Struggling male with eating disorder

Bcc -

Check out SFWED

Mostly women but some men and you're much more likely to get constructive advice than on letsrun.

J.R. wrote:

What a whiny little pussy you are.

Maybe, but I'm still right.

But she mentions that her city is hot and humid. Boston is neither hot nor humid.

Clickkkk wrote:

But she mentions that her city is hot and humid. Boston is neither hot nor humid.

Boston is hot and humid in July/August

FCR, the author was a sophomore that year (apparently 2001; though it could be 1997). Was Kathy Franey still coaching at BC in the fall of 2001????

Obviously we have narrowed the years down to 1997 OR 2001. We know Kathy Franey coached at BC in 1997....but what about 2001?

Nice job, sleuths.

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

FCR, the author was a sophomore that year (apparently 2001; though it could be 1997). Was Kathy Franey still coaching at BC in the fall of 2001????

Obviously we have narrowed the years down to 1997 OR 2001. We know Kathy Franey coached at BC in 1997....but what about 2001?

Nice job, sleuths.

Yes. She coached Cicero, who was a freshman in 2001.

Clickkkk wrote:

But she mentions that her city is hot and humid. Boston is neither hot nor humid.

Boston is not her city. She was home for the summer....in her hometown. Within reasonable driving distance of Boston might be the DC area. Note: she said hot & humid in August (only) which fits the DC area.

Any other theories?????

PS Way too much time on my hands????

This is all assuming that BC is in fact the school in question here.

As far as I can tell it wasn't BC - Look at the results for pre-nats, and where she is in relation to the girl from her team who was the spot in front of her. The author would have been a freshman (I think) not sure of the other girl. They wouldn't have been the top two girls either (so at best their 3rd and 4th). According to her story, a teammate and her finished close together, the teammate a previous all american, who sounds like was having a bad year.

None of the BC pre-nats results fit that as far as I can tell.

zip zero nada wrote:

As far as I can tell it wasn't BC - Look at the results for pre-nats, and where she is in relation to the girl from her team who was the spot in front of her. The author would have been a freshman (I think) not sure of the other girl. They wouldn't have been the top two girls either (so at best their 3rd and 4th). According to her story, a teammate and her finished close together, the teammate a previous all american, who sounds like was having a bad year.

None of the BC pre-nats results fit that as far as I can tell.

As mentioned earlier, the results throughout the season only loosely fit the author's descriptions, suggesting either only a coincidental similarity with BC or systematic fictionalization of the entire story. However, the pre-nats results are among the most convincing to link SWOAR to BC, in my opinion. As mentioned earlier, BC's 4th runner at their opener (Jelley) was their last runner at pre-nats. This pattern fits that of the author. BC placed 4th a pre-nats-- hardly a shabby finish, but disappointing for a team that entered the season hoping for a national title.

BC's 2001 preseason hopes:

Opener results:

Pre-nats results:

As a sidenote... I hope that if the author stumbles upon this thread and finds her identity exposed, she isn't discouraged from continuing her captivating story. I realize the messages from her experiences are conveyed equally well anonymously as they are when correctly attributed. Personally, my interest in investigating her identity (and the team's) is a compliment to the blog's powerful impact. I feel that validating its increasingly evident truth may make it even stronger.

zip zero nada wrote:

As far as I can tell it wasn't BC - Look at the results for pre-nats, and where she is in relation to the girl from her team who was the spot in front of her. The author would have been a freshman (I think) not sure of the other girl. They wouldn't have been the top two girls either (so at best their 3rd and 4th). According to her story, a teammate and her finished close together, the teammate a previous all american, who sounds like was having a bad year.

None of the BC pre-nats results fit that as far as I can tell.

I think we have a confirmed "outing". She was clearly a sophomore the year she was writing about.

The clincher - she had written early in her blog that she was a Footlocker national finalist. There was a 2001 BC sophomore who was a 1999 Footlocker finalist.

female college runner wrote:

As a sidenote... I hope that if the author stumbles upon this thread and finds her identity exposed, she isn't discouraged from continuing her captivating story. I realize the messages from her experiences are conveyed equally well anonymously as they are when correctly attributed. Personally, my interest in investigating her identity (and the team's) is a compliment to the blog's powerful impact. I feel that validating its increasingly evident truth may make it even stronger.

I'm pretty sure the author is reading this thread (notice how she made her character more sympathetic...) I really really hope that she continues to write. She could throw some red herrings in there, lead us away from the truth if she wants, but she's telling a great story and I'd hate to see her stop. I check back three times a day to see if there's a new post.

The writer is reading this, but I get the impression the entire story is already written and edited (the story-telling is too methodical to be something that she works up each evening). It is only being posted once a day for effect. I also hope she does not stop updating the story now that her identity is out there.

On a different note, I followed the link to the forum for eating disorders and that is truly a bizarre world.

taken by storm wrote:

I'm pretty sure the author is reading this thread (notice how she made her character more sympathetic...) I really really hope that she continues to write. She could throw some red herrings in there, lead us away from the truth if she wants, but she's telling a great story and I'd hate to see her stop. I check back three times a day to see if there's a new post.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Furthermore, I hope our research silences the LetsRun critics earlier who suggested that this story was purely an imaginative work of fiction. Our confirmation that it is indeed rooted in actual events on a real team adds urgency to the story's important message about the sometimes disturbing world of EDs in D1 women's running. Maybe this blog can get a mention in RT or something if it keeps gaining support.

I definitely do not think it's fiction. It wouldn't be anonymous if it was. I also don't think we need to know who wrote it to prove that it's real. You might "out" one team, one coach, but that won't solve the problem everywhere else. What's important is getting the story out there, not necessarily the people involved. I think she is being respectful of their personal lives.

I read a couple pages of the story and it's well written and clearly shows the lack of togetherness on the team and the bad attitude the coach had, but I fail to see why the narrator is suffering so badly. It seems to me that she far exaggerates the difficulty of each incident. For example, why at pre nats does she act like it's such a chore to even run a race?

taken by storm wrote:

I'm pretty sure the author is reading this thread (notice how she made her character more sympathetic...) I really really hope that she continues to write. She could throw some red herrings in there, lead us away from the truth if she wants, but she's telling a great story and I'd hate to see her stop.

Agreed.

I hope she continues, and without too many red herrings.

female college runner wrote:

Opener results:

http://bceagles.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/recaps/091801aaa.html

"Our first race was a local duel meet on our home course."

The Opener results are in fact at home and seem to be a smaller meet, but by no means a "duel." Perhaps throwing off the scent?

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

What's important is getting the story out there, not necessarily the people involved. I think she is being respectful of their personal lives.

I could see why the author would be reluctant to keep writing when the other people in the story find out--her teammates and parents would be hurt, and this would dig up a lot of old resentment. Maybe if she's worried about hurting people, she could add something to her "About" section, stating that this is written from her 19-year old point of view--when the environment they were all in warped their perspective--to minimize the damage. Or something. Just as long as she keeps writing.