Sorry this will be behind a paywall for many, but from today’s NYT. Lots of quotes from T&F athletes from P5 schools. Unlike the presence of a non-binary division in the NYC marathon, this issue is a truly grave one that directly and adversely impacts women athletes (and some men too). Much suffering and little collective action taken. I wish Rojo would write an editorial on this topic and discuss it incessantly. It would help a lot of people.
Eating disorders are contagious, just like suicide. That means that some efforts to combat it end up making the problem worse. Discussing EDs and running "incessantly" would likely normalize the behavior rather than make things better.
Honestly, this is outdated thinking. ED education and awareness reduces ED. We are talking about speaking out against a sporting culture that at best ignores the problem and at worst foments it. Nothing about this promotes the problem. Silence is stigmatizing and isolating. This is the same as for all mental illness.
I used to coach NCAA DI men and women, multiple different schools. Go ahead and confront that coach, chances are they can’t do anything. They know the athlete has an ED, so does the trainer and probably a mental health specialist (if a larger university). The burden to get well falls on the athlete and their family. I had multiple runners that I wanted sent home, taken away for treatment but they are 18 and make a lot of their own health decisions. Then you get team docs and psychologists involved and the decision was rarely up to me. The school felt confident in the athletes “wellness plan” and the team they had in place to take care of them.
Also I was told by my SWA and compliance officers that I was not allowed to have discussions on weight or nutrition. A nutritionist was allowed to come speak to the team but I could not be present. The hand cuffs are crazy.
We need to do better. We now manage to hold out athletes that fail the concussion protocol. That’s a major change in how things are done compared with my Cleese days. We need the same approach to athletes with EDs.
We need to do better. We now manage to hold out athletes that fail the concussion protocol. That’s a major change in how things are done compared with my Cleese days. We need the same approach to athletes with EDs.
“We” don’t hold out our athletes that fail the concussion protocol. A doctor does. The coach is not a doctor. Nor is the OP “observing” how the runner looks to them. This is just another symptom of anyone with access to google now thinks they are an expert.
Posters here think they know someone is doping from a progression. They think the vaccination doesn’t work because they are a virologist, think they can predict the red wave, 5 days tops, 2600, and 40% real estate. Just stop already.
Toughen up cupcake. These athletes are in college, demand to be treated like adults and thus should know how to take care of themselves. If not, they should be able to figure out that flying too close to the sun will get you cooked. There is a ton of information available. Do your research and get on with it. Since when did personal responsibility fly out of the window?
Mental health requires professional help. Do you just google how to give yourself open heart surgery too?
You are being disingenuous. You want the world to bow down at you feet as soon as you screech about "mental health", yet choose to abdicate the very notion of actively seeking solutions without casting aspersions on others. Why blame the world for your problems? If a coach advises an athlete to meet weight and fitness standards it is "fat shaming", if the coach does not bring up weight, then he/she is actively encouraging disordered eating. Really? GTFO.
At what point as a community do we confront these things? I don’t want to embarrass anyone but there is a team out west that everyone talks about how sickly they are from likely ED’s…. There’s no hiding it either in their IG account
These women are winning races, but at what cost? And are we complicit if we simply stand by waiting for another sad story to unfold 5 years down the line like with Allie O? What is morally right?
This is BS to judge athletes by how they look. Have you thought that some athletes could be naturally thin, and naturally thin athletes gravitate to cross country?
Back in the 90s, my high school coach told me other coaches had expressed concern about how thin I was. I’m built like my Dad when he was younger. There was nothing wrong with me- I eat like a horse to keep my weight up. My coach told me to start drinking protein shakes to put on weight. I felt terrible during this time and went through a period of getting bone injuries. I was fine before then.
In my mid-20s I started training more seriously again and got thin like I was as a teenager. I felt better and got much faster. Some people are naturally thin people- let us be as we are.
We need to do better. We now manage to hold out athletes that fail the concussion protocol. That’s a major change in how things are done compared with my Cleese days. We need the same approach to athletes with EDs.
“We” don’t hold out our athletes that fail the concussion protocol. A doctor does. The coach is not a doctor. Nor is the OP “observing” how the runner looks to them. This is just another symptom of anyone with access to google now thinks they are an expert.
Posters here think they know someone is doping from a progression. They think the vaccination doesn’t work because they are a virologist, think they can predict the red wave, 5 days tops, 2600, and 40% real estate. Just stop already.
The problem is very real and very common. There should be a culture of speaking up when people close to the athlete (not some random outsider) observe something that seems off. Of course, there is a balance between inappropriate intrusion and complete abdication of responsibility. Not an easy balance to strike, but I do think a lot of people clearly in trouble get ignored until the sh-t really hits the fan. That’s a shame.
I hate to be the one to drag koko into the conversation, but she‘s a real good example of when you see a runner who is wayyyy too underweight. (I was shocked to see her outward appearance at Valencia.)
Either she has a very advanced eating disorder, or she is sick with a physical illness, or has a drug addiction. (I highly doubt that either of the latter two is the case, but certain illnesses and certain drug addictions technically COULD produce a drastically underweight physique.)
i dont know if, in a professional setting, the brand can step in and say „hell no, you are not racing in our kit, you cannot represent us looking like death running on a pair of toothpicks.“
the analogy of a boxer needing a medical exam is a good one. I do remember talking with a guy who tried to make it in boxing, who told me that once he had a certain amount of brain damage, he couldn’t fight professionally anymore. The doctors wouldn’t give clearance — end of story.
Some kind of screening like that seems worth considering — says to the athlete, it‘s your right to starve yourself, but we‘re not giving you a bib, and that’s that.
I’m not necessarily saying that the brands should have to police the runners with anorexia, or that the race directors should be in charge of policing them, but at the same time, it seems weird for everyone just to pretend they dont see anything.
Eating disorders are contagious, just like suicide. That means that some efforts to combat it end up making the problem worse. Discussing EDs and running "incessantly" would likely normalize the behavior rather than make things better.
Honestly, this is outdated thinking. ED education and awareness reduces ED. We are talking about speaking out against a sporting culture that at best ignores the problem and at worst foments it. Nothing about this promotes the problem. Silence is stigmatizing and isolating. This is the same as for all mental illness.
Do you have any data to back that up?
Eating disorders like anorexia are classified as a social contagion. There's a reason why hospitals won't place multiple people with Anorexia in the same rooms. The patients tend to egg each other on, and provide suggestions on how to further their condition.
Sadly, social media has provided a virtual ward for these people.
We need to do better. We now manage to hold out athletes that fail the concussion protocol. That’s a major change in how things are done compared with my Cleese days. We need the same approach to athletes with EDs.
Just holding an ED kid out will make it worse. Trust me. Oh, and we are talking about ***school name deleted***. Duh.
Wow, I just saw the *** runner this post it likely referencing. While I think it’s totally plausible for runners to be natural thin, the amount of weight she has lost over the last couple years is concerning to say the least.
This is common, and performances will improve for 12-18 months before the runner gets injured and falls out of the spotlight altogether.
I believe Boise State had a similar problem years ago, with runners like Brenna Peloquin improving after dropping significant weight. She now doesn’t compete anymore and has been at outspoken advocate for anorexia in athletics, but it’s sad how many careers eating disorders have ruined.
We need to do better. We now manage to hold out athletes that fail the concussion protocol. That’s a major change in how things are done compared with my Cleese days. We need the same approach to athletes with EDs.
“We” don’t hold out our athletes that fail the concussion protocol. A doctor does. The coach is not a doctor. Nor is the OP “observing” how the runner looks to them. This is just another symptom of anyone with access to google now thinks they are an expert.
Posters here think they know someone is doping from a progression. They think the vaccination doesn’t work because they are a virologist, think they can predict the red wave, 5 days tops, 2600, and 40% real estate. Just stop already.
Key word is "protocol" There is none for this UNLESS the ATR is aware. Maybe we shouldn't bring it up to the coach, but the admins at the school since the coach is silent on the sideline worried more about winning than long term health
This is BS to judge athletes by how they look. Have you thought that some athletes could be naturally thin, and naturally thin athletes gravitate to cross country?
Back in the 90s, my high school coach told me other coaches had expressed concern about how thin I was. I’m built like my Dad when he was younger. There was nothing wrong with me- I eat like a horse to keep my weight up. My coach told me to start drinking protein shakes to put on weight. I felt terrible during this time and went through a period of getting bone injuries. I was fine before then.
In my mid-20s I started training more seriously again and got thin like I was as a teenager. I felt better and got much faster. Some people are naturally thin people- let us be as we are.
This is why we need much more evidence than just appearance to be certain if a runner has an ED. Restrictive EDs are indicated by behavior, health symptoms and performance rather than solely being very thin. Failing to eat enough calories, avoiding certain foods, purging, feeling cold all the time, ammenohrea, hair loss, frequent illness/injury and hormonal and metabolic dysfunction are often even more evident of EDs.
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