No. When would it ever be ok to say to a young woman who is obviously fast and talented enough to run at an elite level where there is already such prevalent pressure of slipping into eating disorders? Your lack of knowledge and perspective is embarrassing.
I didn't fully feel like I trusted the person making allegations. Kate Intile was a 5:20 ish miler who was cut from the CU team.
On the other hand, multiple women were alleging some pretty bad behavior, including violation of HIPAA and just setting up unmanageable weight goals...it's really ridiculous to expect an 18 year old to lose fat in targeted areas.
I think they can stand to change some of this behavior. I don't think that calling this type of thing out makes someone weak.
Remember golden rules of power dynamics and what is seen as tough. For people in power, "toughness" is defined by the ability to bully and boss around others. Ex. Trump bullying people on twitter was seen as tough even though it would be pretty pathetic and fragile of anyone else, and Alberto yelling at Cain accusing her of "gaining five pounds" in front of a whole track meet of people was seen as "tough coaching" when in reality, it's completely irrational behavior. For the powerless, it's the ability to shut up and take it on the nose. Not everyone speaking out over mistreatment is soft or weak. Sometimes they are just people who want to be treated better.
Calling people soft or weak when they already are running elite is silly. Elite runners are already mentally tough. What is more likely to be a problem is the coaches training. So many athletes live with the stress of not improving as much as they want and don't think twice that the coach might be the problem. It would be great if we start measuring coaches by the number of athletes they have ruined rather than the miniscule who succeed. What I consider soft or weak is coaches who want to blame their failures on their athletes alleged weight issues instead their own training.
Shame on runnersworld and the author of this article for publishing this the day before NCAA’s. If they truly cared about athletes’ well-being, they would not publish this on the eve of one of the biggest races of those kids’ lives. The investigation is compromised and unintelligible at this point. Intile has had a vendetta against Mark and Heather since her sophomore year of college. She was not fast enough to get into many of the out-of-town meets and blamed the coaches for that. At one point, she even called a big meet director to make sure the coaches were entering here into the meets, which they were. The investigation started with an interview with Kate, and she then recommended who to interview next, based on who she knew did not like mark/heather/Laura. Sounds like a good sample pool to interview, right? Sounds like they’ll get the full range of perspectives, right? And that’s how the investigation has gone. People interviewed recommend who the investigators should reach out to. Kate is actively recruiting people via text who she think will help to prove her point. Many former runners with positive experiences have tried to contact investigators and got 0 response. From my experience on the team, the problem with the program was Anderson. The claims of sharing info and unprofessionalism surrounding Anderson are true. It’s unfortunate that, from my perspective, the real issue— Anderson— is brought to light in such a way. Klecker echoes this sentiment on twitter.
Another current Buff here. I had problems with under-fueling when I joined the team and didn’t even realize it until I started meeting with our nutritionist. She has always encouraged me to work on getting more food in throughout the day. I wouldn’t have had success on this program without that advice.
After Kate Intile told the athletic department about her opinion on the body comps, they were very quick in interviewing athletes and changing how body comps are conducted. Now there is a very clear protocol in place, which I think is great for anyone who may feel triggered by it. From my experience and from talking to my teammates, people seem comfortable and happy in her office under the new protocol.
I’ve been on the team for multiple years now, and I can say that the team’s culture around fueling is the strongest it has ever been. Our staff are all direct in encouraging healthy fueling and are careful when it comes to sensitive subjects like body comp testing. In part that is thanks to Kate Intile letting our AD know. It’s crazy how communication works like that.
I would suggest you get in touch with the investigators yourself. You can share your story to make the investigation more comprehensive if you think that the only things people are saying to them are their negative experiences, share some of your positive experiences. I was in touch with them and my story does not relate to the story that was written about in the article.
Calling people soft or weak when they already are running elite is silly. Elite runners are already mentally tough. What is more likely to be a problem is the coaches training. So many athletes live with the stress of not improving as much as they want and don't think twice that the coach might be the problem. It would be great if we start measuring coaches by the number of athletes they have ruined rather than the miniscule who succeed. What I consider soft or weak is coaches who want to blame their failures on their athletes alleged weight issues instead their own training.
Thank you. When I was in college, really wish I had allowed myself to think that the coach might have been part of the problem. (Spoiler Alert: he was.) Your success was his success, but your failures were your own. All of us on the team got caught up in policing each other's thoughts to reinforce this mindset.
We even had a meeting once, where he told us to brainstorm ideas to solve the problem of so many athletes quitting the team. We were so full of kool-aid at the time that none of us could admit to ourselves, let alone tell him, that he was the cause of his own problem.
What do you think they do in wrestling and football? "coercion" what is that?
What they do is they demand that you hit weight / body composition standards. It's standard practice. Wrestlers don't "watch what they eat". They go to extreme measures to hit an exact weight. The things they do are insanely unhealthy. Lineman weighing 340 pounds are insanely unhealthy. But they aren't playing unless they hit standards.
here let me google that for you: Coercion: n the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats. Al Cantello verbally, emotionally, and, in some cases, physically abused his athletes. That atmosphere, combined with regularly screaming at people for being too fat was not the behavior of anyone who should be a coach. There were no “weight or body composition,” what there was was a culture of fear and bullying designed to control those who were under him
Again, what do you think they do in wrestling and football? How do you think that is handled? Are you saying men are strong and can withstand (even excel with) someone being "mean" but women crumble and cry?
Another current Buff here. I had problems with under-fueling when I joined the team and didn’t even realize it until I started meeting with our nutritionist. She has always encouraged me to work on getting more food in throughout the day. I wouldn’t have had success on this program without that advice.
After Kate Intile told the athletic department about her opinion on the body comps, they were very quick in interviewing athletes and changing how body comps are conducted. Now there is a very clear protocol in place, which I think is great for anyone who may feel triggered by it. From my experience and from talking to my teammates, people seem comfortable and happy in her office under the new protocol.
I’ve been on the team for multiple years now, and I can say that the team’s culture around fueling is the strongest it has ever been. Our staff are all direct in encouraging healthy fueling and are careful when it comes to sensitive subjects like body comp testing. In part that is thanks to Kate Intile letting our AD know. It’s crazy how communication works like that.
So, basically, they don't tell the fatties that they are fat?
Strange because I know for a fact that many CU runners deal with stress fractures.
Please list some D1 running programs where athletes haven’t had stress fractures:
And a lot of stress fractures are tied to an individual's nutritional intake when they were growing (long before college), which a college coach wouldn't have influence over. Yes, there are ways to responsibly increase a runner's volume, and I am pretty sure most college coaches follow the science on that. I can't think of a single runner (or athlete in any sport for that matter) who has not dealt with an injury in their career.
As someone who has known elite high school and collegiate football players and wrestlers: yes, many of those athletes also deal with serious mental and physical health repercussions due to the focus on weight in their sports. It's truly not hard to find accounts of wrestlers and football players who feel that the damage that their sports did to their bodies and psyches wasn't worth it.
I think that this comparison to other sports is a bit of a non-sequitur (collegiate runners can still have legitimate concerns about how weight is handled in their sport, even though it is handled differently in other sports), but I also don't think you have an accurate picture of how many of the athletes in other sports actually feel. Football generates so much money that harmful practices in their sport can't really "sink" coaches or programs in the way that can happen in sports like cross country and track. You just have to look at what we know about head injuries and CTE, along with the continued popularity of football and other high-contact sports, to see evidence of that. Football is its own money-generating monster, but it shouldn't be used to try to discredit people in other sports who are trying to move away from harmful mindsets and practices.
Why do women care so much about what society says or what people call them? Call me fat to my face I don't care. I'm not going to resort to shoving my fingers down my throat because someone said I look chubby.
It is totally mentally weak to change your behavior based out of society, social media, or anything outside of yourself.
20 year olds don’t always have that kind of self security. Also hard when your spot on the roster may or may not depend on certain metrics.
D1 athletics are rough and tough. It's not for everyone. One idea: Let people know what the standards are upfront. As an athlete, you make your choice. Maybe run for a different school or a lower level if those standards don't work for you.
Nothing wrong with saying that you want to give it all in terms or work and training, but then draw the line when it comes to eating a healthy diet as opposed to eating an optimal performance diet. Those two diets are not the same. It's more sane to eat healthy, of course.
Also, what do you think they do in wrestling or football? Do we treat women and men the same or not? Or just selectively when it suits an agenda?
Sacrifice as in not partying and getting drunk on Saturday night so you can do a 15 miler Sunday morning. That’s productive.
Sacrifice breakfast? Not so productive for long term health and only really sacrifices performance anyways.
Every athlete will have their own experience, but I do want to say that I would love for my kids to be coached by Mark & Heather. I felt supported and loved during my 6 years in the program. https://t.co/3nZpOU2ELm
In my time at CU the coaches always cared for my well-being ahead of my athletic performance. All issues I had regarding diet and body weight were directed to our registered dietician. https://t.co/0Aulw7J46N
If you read this article, please make sure you read all the way to the section, "Opposing opinions." Not every athlete shares the viewpoints raised in the allegations. https://t.co/s4xUVpxkkF
Not my experience whatsoever. Mark and Heather cared more about my well being, finding a job, and finishing my degree. Unfortunate that this is what has become of the NCAA https://t.co/rR3VWoEAch
If you think this isn’t rampant in women’s distance, you have chosen to turn your head and accept success. This is an entire culture that must be addressed EVERYWHERE, no matter how uncomfortable it’s going to be (and it’s going to be uncomfortable). https://t.co/mz1UWPVs2N
As someone who has known elite high school and collegiate football players and wrestlers: yes, many of those athletes also deal with serious mental and physical health repercussions due to the focus on weight in their sports. It's truly not hard to find accounts of wrestlers and football players who feel that the damage that their sports did to their bodies and psyches wasn't worth it.
I think that this comparison to other sports is a bit of a non-sequitur (collegiate runners can still have legitimate concerns about how weight is handled in their sport, even though it is handled differently in other sports), but I also don't think you have an accurate picture of how many of the athletes in other sports actually feel. Football generates so much money that harmful practices in their sport can't really "sink" coaches or programs in the way that can happen in sports like cross country and track. You just have to look at what we know about head injuries and CTE, along with the continued popularity of football and other high-contact sports, to see evidence of that. Football is its own money-generating monster, but it shouldn't be used to try to discredit people in other sports who are trying to move away from harmful mindsets and practices.
So weight standards are ok for men but not for women?