Schulist Instagram & Reaction

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  • Indoor?
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 7:19am CST
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    Hi,
    Not much has been said about Rachele Schulist's Instagram post, the follow up pieces and the reaction it's gotten. Hopefully this won't get deleted because I feel like it's worth talking about. Her main post is linked on the front page, yesterday she did a great flotrack podcast about it.

    In a thread that was deleted someone in a round about way said that someone like this shouldn't be commended because you only hear about these things after the fact and it doesn't help prove the point because they are never good again.

    I'd argue this is not that way because she did get good again and weighs 20 pounds more than she did when she was running in 2014. She ran only 14 seconds slower in 2016 and the course was much slower.

    To me her post, the reaction and follow ups are all great. It's not even all about weight and body image but also confidence, mindset and thinking you can be good again after any kind of setback.

    Thoughts?
  • xcrsc01
    registered
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 7:34am CST
    re: Indoor?
    Forum Index
    Unfortunately, in a forum such as this, all the good that her message is doing will be lost.
  • Indoor?
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 8:01am CST
    re: xcrsc01
    Forum Index
    So you come to a message board where you believe nothing positive can be discussed?
    Come on, we have lots of goof conversations. If you have something to say about this, speak your minds and hopefully not too much trolling goes on.
  • The Dingo^3
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 9:13am CST
    re: Indoor?
    Forum Index
    This is undoubtedly a good thing.

    There are hundreds, if not thousands, of high school and collegiate female runner right now sacrificing their health for perceived performance improvement.

    The message that you do not need to succumb to an ED in order reach your runner potential is a great message. It's even bettered when it's delivered by someone like Schulist who's dealt with exactly what many are going through right now.
  • Hlfcrzy
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 8:00pm CST
    re: The Dingo^3
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    Agreed. Seemed well received. Definitely necessary to get the word out too.
  • come on guys
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 8:06pm CST
    re: Indoor?
    Forum Index
    Yeah, it is awesome. However, 4th to 12th has got to sting. But I am hopeful she will come back even stronger in track to further prove her point.
  • Running turtle
    registered
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 9:25pm CST
    re: come on guys
    Forum Index
    tricky part is, not everyone can maintain performance after 20 pounds weight gain

    example: mc
  • Hlfcrzy
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 9:31pm CST
    re: come on guys
    Forum Index
    come on guys wrote:

    Yeah, it is awesome. However, 4th to 12th has got to sting. But I am hopeful she will come back even stronger in track to further prove her point.

    Yeah it has to be tough. I mean, I think I could be a faster runner if I lost a little weight, but I also think that I would turn into a crazy b*tch. So, guess I'd rather work hard at the weight I'm at and if at the end of the day I'm just a tich slower, it's okay because at least the other areas of my life aren't suffering. I bet/hope Schulist feels this way, too.
  • Hlfcrzy
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 9:33pm CST
    re: Hlfcrzy
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    P.S. She does NOT look 20lbs heavier. Guess her height helps her.
  • come on guys
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 9:45pm CST
    re: Hlfcrzy
    Forum Index
    Hlfcrzy wrote:

    P.S. She does NOT look 20lbs heavier. Guess her height helps her.

    +1.

    She def looks maybe 7-10 lbs heavier. I don't know though...
  • Indoor?
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 10:19pm CST
    re: come on guys
    Forum Index
    Well she was 4th to 12th but that included a year in between where she was hurt and most of this regular season where she didn't perform even close a high level, so getting her confidence and fitness back at the end of the season probably actually felt awesome.
  • The Athletic Department
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 11:27pm CST
    re: The Dingo^3
    Forum Index
    It's worth noting that there are a lot of male runners in the same boat - with full-blown eating disorders or just chronically restricting calories.

    Part of the problem is that, because eating disorders are considered a "women's issue," many of these men are either 1) afraid to come forward about their conditions, or 2) unaware of what they're going through, not recognizing the behavior for what it actually is.

    With respect to the Schulist pictures: as a former male anorexic runner myself, I still look at photos of runners with the same high levels of scrutiny that I applied to my own body during my dark period. The first thing I notice about other athletes is their body composition and structure. I still think about weight every day.

    That said, even I struggle to distinguish between the two images. The key differences that I can pick up on:
    - Her skin tone is much paler in the "before" picture. She looks ruddier/rosier/healthier in the "after" shot.
    - Somewhat fuller about the face in the "after" picture
    - Somewhat fuller in the thigh in the "after" picture

    She certainly doesn't look as though she gained twenty pounds. I know that I would look like a completely different human being if I did so myself.
  • The Athletic Department
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 11:32pm CST
    re: The Athletic Department
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    Bottom line: we need to approach our sport from a holistic perspective, offering athletes honest information about the importance of physical and psychological health - not just aerobic fitness and leg speed.

    Weight does matter. Period. But athletes can reach racing weight in a totally healthy, sustainable, and socially-normal way.

    Coaches and mentors can help athletes do this by providing them with more nutritional education, as well as by keeping tabs on their charges' mental health. If a coach sees an athlete who is at risk or is in the throes of an eating disorder, it is his or her responsibility to connect said athlete with the necessary support staff.
  • anemiadude
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 11:45pm CST
    re: The Athletic Department
    Forum Index
    I don't want to discredit all of the good that her post has done. She is promoting a positive message to female and male runners everywhere that it is not worth it sacrifice your health for performance. That being said, this has been blown way out of proportion as some kind of posterchild for body image disorders. I know it may be hard to separate the two of these, but her post is about how her WEIGHT affected her PERFORMANCE, not how her WEIGHT affected her IMAGE.
    I have several friends who have shared her post saying that body shaming needs to stop and that runners should not develop eating disorders in order to "look fast". But I don't think that was what Schulist intended. She dropped weight, she ran fast, she was unhealthy. She had to make a decision that all of us make to some extent, "How much should I risk my body in order to run my best?". She realized that it was not good for the long term, made a change, and luckily was able to maintain about the same performance.
    Anybody who makes this about image is projecting a cause on this that is not there, it is about PERFORMANCE. If she had been running slower after losing weight, I guarantee that she would have purposely put on weight immediately, even at the expense of her "image".
  • Carnival Weight Guesser
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 11:46pm CST
    re: The Athletic Department
    Forum Index
    she looks the same to me. let's check her out from behind maybe?
  • just a couple lbs.....
    3 years ago 12/09/2016 11:55pm CST
    re: The Athletic Department
    Forum Index
    The Athletic Department wrote:


    Weight does matter. Period. But athletes can reach racing weight in a totally healthy, sustainable, and socially-normal way.

    .

    What I'll add to the above is that weight should be viewed just like training. You aren't in peak shape all the time and you shouldn't be at "racing" weight all of the time either.

    If runners are taught that instead of just less weight equals faster times, they can take a better approach to running faster during the season and getting their bodies stronger the rest of the year.
  • Decisions matter
    3 years ago 12/10/2016 12:00am CST
    re: Carnival Weight Guesser
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    Her decision to come forward will have consequences. She will not be as welcome to some of the top level training groups if she plans to continue in the sport. Maybe she doesn't care.

    I've had discussions with a couple of coaches that were afraid of the Molly Seidel situation and I know that sponsors got wet feet with Molly as well. That was based on speculation. With Schulist there is no speculation.
  • Indoor?
    3 years ago 12/10/2016 8:33am CST
    re: anemiadude
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    anemiadude wrote:

    I don't want to discredit all of the good that her post has done. She is promoting a positive message to female and male runners everywhere that it is not worth it sacrifice your health for performance. That being said, this has been blown way out of proportion as some kind of posterchild for body image disorders. I know it may be hard to separate the two of these, but her post is about how her WEIGHT affected her PERFORMANCE, not how her WEIGHT affected her IMAGE.
    I have several friends who have shared her post saying that body shaming needs to stop and that runners should not develop eating disorders in order to "look fast". But I don't think that was what Schulist intended. She dropped weight, she ran fast, she was unhealthy. She had to make a decision that all of us make to some extent, "How much should I risk my body in order to run my best?". She realized that it was not good for the long term, made a change, and luckily was able to maintain about the same performance.
    Anybody who makes this about image is projecting a cause on this that is not there, it is about PERFORMANCE. If she had been running slower after losing weight, I guarantee that she would have purposely put on weight immediately, even at the expense of her "image".

    While I agree that it is mainly about performance and I'd say you are right on body shaming I do believe that image is important and that was her point which I think got across. What she meant was she felt like she had to look a certain way otherwise her performance was not going to be there. So she would look herself in the mirror everyday for 2 years probably and think "Not quite to what I was in 2014, guess I'm not going to do that well today." That's a combo of image leading to performance which I think is what these people go through.
  • Skepticle
    3 years ago 12/10/2016 12:41pm CST
    re: Indoor?
    Forum Index
    I have the opposite problem- look fantastic, but run slow as #[email protected]$
  • vivalarepublica
    registered
    3 years ago 12/10/2016 2:02pm CST
    re: Skepticle
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    Good story. I hope more people come forward with similar experiences. It's better to be happy and healthy than to be good.