Though it’s been through a couple name changes over the years, the well-knownRun for Women has taken place in Albany since 1979! Its most well-known name is theFreihofer’s Run for Women –I have never actually run this race myself, but I’ve been involved in some capacity for the last few years, and haveknown about this race since I started seriously running as a teenager. So, on the heels of this amazing event, I want to share some thoughts on how it’s more than just “another 5K”...and maybe someday we will run it together!
First things first: not many races give out an entire box of Freihofer’s cookies to all of the participants. WIN! Pro tip: put them in the fridge, then sandwich a cookie between two Wavy Lay’s potato chips – that salty-sweet combo is just incredible.
Second: why haven’t I run it? It’s not a philosophical or moral opposition to the race; there is no “bad blood”. It just so happens to conflict with one of my hometown races (& one I sponsor) – Charlton 5K – on most years, and that one is important to my family so it gets priority. Back in 2020, the races fell on different weekends and I was planning to run both for the first time ever, but … well, you know how that spring panned out. Again this year, they fell on different weekends; but I had just run at the Western States training camp & flown back on a redeye a few days prior, so I was in no position to try to race less than a week later.
Third: one of my teammates from high school & college ran FRW many times. She was a really talented high school & collegiate runner and she probably placed very high in the race, but I was very “green” in distance running at the time so I really had no concept of road racing. I remember her telling me how excited she was to have started near “her hero, Joanie” at the race. I thought, that’s cool … who’s that? Now I’d be like OMG THAT’S AMAZING!! She was referring to Joan Benoit Samuelson: former American record holder in the marathon, and 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist. The beauty of road racing is that you are often running on the same course & at the same time as the pros & celebrities – how amazing is it to cross the starting line with an Olympic champion!?
This leads me to #4: the elites. The Run for Women has always done a really nice job of bringing in not just local athletes, but national and international superstars. In recent years, they have dropped their international pool, but still draw some excellent competition from American women – and if you’ve been following the American women’s distance running stats in the last several years, you know they have really been crushing it!
And that leads me to #5: my involvement in the last few years. I’ve had the privilege of helping the race with hosting and transporting some of the elite women who come into our little city of Albany just for the race. (I’d like to add here that the athletes I’ve helped have done very well so I must have a real knack for this transportation thing). In the 20ish minutes that I have with each of these athletes, we start with small talk about the weather and how their flight was... and then – depending on the athlete – we dive deep! I’ve heard about fertility challenges & the craziness of being a parent; hot-and-cold relationships with food and exercise; long-term goals and dreams for their individual performances as well as the sport as a whole. Let me tell you, these conversations arereal. These women are normal human beings with normal human experiences and normal woman challenges – they just happen to also be really fast normal human beings. I feel so fortunate to snag a snippet of their time. While they likely would not remember me after about 24 hours, I can assure you that they have all made an impact on me in just that short time.
Finally, #6: it’s more than “another 5K”, which is the whole point of this post. TheRun for Women celebrates women of all ages, abilities, histories, backgrounds, races, sexual orientation – you name it. It is truly a run for women (and yes, this includes transgender women). There are mother-daughter & even grandmother-mother-daughter teams; competitive open & masters teams; high school athletes, professional athletes; and plenty of walkers & run-walkers – this race literally runs the gamut. To instill confidence come race day, there are training groups throughout the spring, led by experienced runners. New this year was a series of panel Q&A / presentations with local health & medical professionals (I was on two of them and had so much fun chatting with you all!) to provide additional support for the women getting ready for the race. TheRun for Women is not a race where you grab your bib, head to the line, run, finish, go home. It’s an event, an experience, a celebration of all of the amazing abilities that women possess.
So why all my hype about theRun for Women? Again, I’ve never run it – I’ve never even been there on race day to fully experience it. It’s just one that I have heard about from many friends and teammates over many years of my involvement in the running community. I assure you I am not being paid to write this blog post, and the race committee did not even ask me to share my thoughts publicly. I just really think it’s an incredible event, even in my “peripheral” roles. If you’re on the fence about signing up for a 5K, this would be toward the top of my list for a beginner!
Dr. Coach Megan
(PS don’t forget to refrigerate your cookies!)