The Female Runner's Body, Reclaimed: The Science and Sociology of The Women's Running Academy

Understanding the unique needs of the female runner's body is essential for effective, sustainable training. At the Women’s Running Academy, we go beyond generic workout plans to create programming that supports female athletes through strength training tailored to their anatomy, physiology, and lived experience. This article dives into what makes our approach different—and why recognizing the specific needs of the female runner's body is key to unlocking better performance, resilience, and confidence.

Beyond the Body: Why Women’s Running Academy is *For Women Only*

This past week I’ve been doing a lot of behind the scenes work on my Women’s Running Academy membership. I’ve been updating the formatting of all the workouts so that they are more seamlessly “plug & play” through the app. This membership has been running on this platform for over 4 years now (up until now, it’s been invite-only to my former 1-on-1 clients and those who completed my 12-week mentorship), so there’s A LOT there!

It’s been tedious work to be honest. AND it’s gotten me really excited! There is so much good stuff in there, some that even I haven’t seen in a while. I’ve saved a couple of gems to work back into my own training and I can’t wait for you to try out this programming!

One big question I always get is, why is the Women’s Running Academy just for women? Or what makes the Women’s Running Academy specific to women?

While female-specific anatomy and physiology are key components, the reasons go much deeper. In a world where women are constantly asked to shrink themselves—physically, emotionally, and energetically—for the benefit of others, having a space dedicated to their personal athletic goals is vital. This isn’t just about workouts—it’s about claiming space and prioritizing ourselves.

The Women’s Running Academy is a monthly membership that provides streamlined running programs paired with intentional strength training. These aren’t just any training plans—they’re crafted specifically for female biomechanics, physiology, and the social contexts in which women live. It’s about recognizing that everything from our pelvic structure to cultural messaging shapes how we move, recover, and thrive.

Let’s explore the three foundational pillars that make this work so uniquely powerful:

1. Smart, Run-Supportive Strength Work that is specific to the Biomechanics of the Female Body
   
   
2. Integrated with your training in the Context of Female Physiology
   
   
3. Informed by the Context of What It Means to Be Female in This World

Specific Biomechanical Considerations for the Female Runner’s Body

Before I dig deeper into this one, it’s important to note: anatomical variation exists along a spectrum. Not all of these are exclusively unique to women AND not all women fall on this end of the spectrum

I recently heard the phrase “labels help triage, but biology flows” and I think that’s a perfect way to describe how we approach this in the Women’s Running Academy. Many women share certain structural tendencies and we use that as a starting place to inform your programming while you learn specifically how to support YOUR unique body along the way. Some of those tendencies that inform are training are:

• Pelvis shape
• Core function
• Muscle mass
• Relative connective tissue laxity
• Breast tissue

Exercise selection and intentional cuing to support these pieces is directly integrated into the Women’s Running Academy programming.

Pelvis Shape:

Females tend to have a narrower infrapubic angle, a wider pelvic inlet (those “childbearing hips”) and a more narrow pelvic outlet. From a running mechanics perspective, this structure makes it harder to access internal rotation during mid-stance—the phase in your stride where maximum force is exchanged between you and the ground.

This means we often need to focus more on:

• Improving internal rotation
• Building force production during mid-stance
• Creating length and function in the glutes and posterior pelvic floor

Core Function:

A narrower infrapubic angle also tends to pair with a narrow infrasternal angle—the angle beneath your ribcage. This affects core muscle recruitment and the way we use our diaphragm (our key breathing muscle). In general, women may benefit from more targeted training of the internal obliques for more of a bottom up core engagement and to support trunk stability and rotational control, while taking care not to grip down with upper rectus abdomis muscles. In my experience, this also plays into the “context of what it means to be a female in this world” message of being smaller and tendency to suck it in because of it (hint: this does the opposite of what we need for our core and pelvic floor).

Muscle Mass:

Add to this the natural difference in muscle mass between men and women. On average, men build and maintain muscle more easily. That muscle supports force production, while protecting joint and bone health. For women, developing and maintaining muscle requires more intentional strength training—and even more so as we age.

Unless you live under a rock or found a completely different corner of social media to live in, you know that women are being told more and more to “lift heavy.” We need to focus more on relatively heavy lifts with reps in the 5 - 8 range (and feeling like that’s close to all you could do at the weight), not the lighter weight with reps in the 15 - 20+ range. By the way, we can still build muscle with those higher rep schemes but when we are also trying to balance it with our running, lower volume (fewer reps) with higher intensity (heavier weight) tend to be better.

It’s not just about “lifting heavy” though. It’s about doing it in a way that works with your body.

Many women are told to lift heavy but find the movements don’t feel good. Why? Partly because of some of the reasons stated above. Generating force into the ground to actually lift something heavy requires internal rotation and bottom up pressure management through the core, you now know can be more difficult given our anatomical structure. Knowing this lets us train smarter, not harder, intentionally building up to those heavy lifts in a way that works with our bodies!

Connective Tissue Laxity:

Many women, especially those with narrower frames, tend to have more laxity in their connective tissue. More mobility isn’t always better!

In my experience some of the bendiest, most flexible runners actually tend to be the stiffest in a few specific places in the body - usually feet, calves, ribs, pelvic floor and neck. The body needs stiffness, stability, and safety (all 3 plus awareness of the body in space). With a bit more connective tissue laxity, muscles overcompensate, creating that chronic “tight” feeling. Instead of stretching, we often need to build strength and support so our bodies feel safe and can let go of protective tension.

Breasts:

Whether you’re part of the “itty bitty titty committee” (I’m the proud president! Really. My high school best friend’s mom bestowed that title upon me) or have heavier breast tissue, it matters. Larger breasts and/or tight sports bras affect posture, breathing, rotation, and ribcage mechanics. All of this influences your running stack and efficiency. In the Women’s Running Academy, I program chest-opening and upper-back mobility work to account for these variables—something male-centric programs typically don’t address.

And of course, pregnancy and postpartum bring even more extremes to these patterns. I often describe pregnancy and postpartum as revealing “invisible ink”—they highlight pre-existing tendencies, not necessarily create entirely new issues. Training with this awareness benefits all women, not just those in childbearing seasons.

Specific Considerations for the Physiology of the Female Runner’s Body

Moving beyond structure, we also have differences in hormones and in many cases menstrual cycles. One of the big conversations in women’s training right now is cycle syncing—adjusting your workouts based on your menstrual cycle phases. While I don’t advocate for cycle syncing specifically (it unnecessarily sets us up to struggle with consistency in our training), I do believe in cycle awareness.

Understanding your unique hormonal rhythms allows you to:

• Anticipate performance dips, especially in the late luteal phase
• Prevent burnout by adjusting fuel and hydration
• Prepare mentally for variations in energy and mood

Some women also experience pelvic floor symptoms tied to their cycles—these may spike either in the late luteal phase or around ovulation. Again, knowing your body’s patterns lets you adjust your support strategies with more pelvic floor–supportive work during those windows.

As we age, we also encounter perimenopause and menopause—a transition that demands different priorities:

• Fueling becomes (even more) crucial for hormone balance
• Strength training becomes essential to combat muscle loss and support bone health
• Body image challenges may arise due to shifting body composition

This isn’t just about physiology—it’s about sociology. Women often internalize pressure to shrink or eat less in response to these changes, but the truth is we need more support, not less. Nutrition, strength, recovery—all become non-negotiables.

Conditions like PCOS and endometriosis also play a role, and while they’re beyond my professional scope, they must be acknowledged. If training feels off and “one plus one no longer adds up to two,” it’s not a sign to push harder—it’s a sign to advocate for yourself, ask questions, and get support.

The Women’s Running Academy community is here to provide some of that support. It starts with learning to understand your body and what it’s telling you - tuning in.

Specific Considerations in the Context of Being Female in This World

We live in a world that tells women to take up less space, eat less, do more, be more, be quiet and be humble, —all while looking a certain way. This constant pressure fuels diet culture and body image struggles, which I believe are ultimately the biggest injury and performance risk facing female endurance athletes.

Because, if you’re not eating enough, nothing else works.

In Episode 21 of the Women’s Running Lab Podcast, I discuss this more deeply, including a compelling stat from a 2022 Boston Marathon study: 43% of female athletes studied showed signs of low energy availability (LEA)—meaning they weren’t consuming enough food to meet the demands of their training and racing. That’s nearly half! And those with LEA were two times more likely to have needed medical intervention during the race and miss training days due to injury or illness. That’s not a small number—it’s a major issue that deserves our attention.

Behind this major issue, we cannot talk about smart training without talking about the emotional labor, the cultural expectations, and the mental load that so many women carry with them into every run, every workout, and every attempt to show up for themselves. The truth is, training doesn’t happen in a vacuum. These factors matter.

The Mindset Shift of Showing Up for You

One of the most powerful transformations I’ve seen among longtime members of the Women’s Running Academy is the mindset shift around slowing down to truly show up for yourself. One member recently said that the biggest takeaway for her wasn’t a specific exercise or milestone—it was learning to stop rushing. To stop doing just to get it done. To stop crossing off tasks without ever being present in her body.

It’s about being human while training, not just going through the motions.

Women often grow up being told to please others, to take care of everything and everyone before themselves. So carving out space for your goals? That’s radical. And it’s essential. Inside the Women’s Running Academy, we make space to do just that—to drop the noise and show up for you and your goals.

Breaking Down Double Standards

Female athletes face constant double standards: Be strong, but not bulky. Be confident, but not arrogant. Be competitive, but not too aggressive. Be committed, but make sure you’re still smiling and agreeable while doing it. It’s exhausting.

We need spaces that allow women to show up as their full selves—without having to navigate these conflicting messages.

I often come back to a quote from Catherine Danieli that says:

“Nothing, nothing is more threatening to patriarchy than a woman who loves herself, and believes that she is enough, and a woman who doesn't have to justify or defend her choices or her experiences, and most of all a woman who doesn't look outside of herself to find her self worth.”

Inside the Academy, we create room for that kind of self-love and confidence. We have monthly coaching calls where things often get real. We can always count on one of our OGs, Sarah, to type “Down with the Patriarchy” in the chat when one of us starts to “should” all over ourselves. These conversations are part of the work. Because again—your training doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

Safety, Exclusion, and the Realities Women Face

Let’s also name the realities that many women face just trying to get a run in. Safety concerns limit when and where you can train. If you only have time to run early in the morning or late at night, and you don’t feel safe doing that outdoors, then your only option might be the treadmill. These are not small barriers—they’re significant and need to be addressed. And they’re unique to the female experience.

Then there’s the historical exclusion of women from sport altogether—less research, less representation, fewer resources. And the exclusion doesn’t stop at cisgender women. Let me be clear: The Women’s Running Academy is for trans women too.

Anatomy and physiology exist on a spectrum. Excluding trans women doesn’t “protect” women—it just further entrenches the policing of all female bodies. And it harms everyone in the process.

Autonomy: The Heart of It All

Inside the Women’s Running Academy, we talk a lot about tuning in to your body—not tuning out. Understanding your signals. Learning your body’s language. Honoring your needs and advocating for them.

This is more than training. This is about stepping into your power.

Especially now, in a political climate where body autonomy is under threat, the ability to know your body, trust it, and make informed choices about it is everything. I know the body autonomy issues many women are facing right now are astronomically bigger than running AND…

Every opportunity we take to live fully for ourselves and our goals matters.

Every little informed choice we make about how we move in, talk about, and support our bodies matters.

While strength programming, rooted in the biomechanics of the female body, is the main deliverable of the Women’s Running Academy membership, we can not leave out the context - your physiology, and just as importantly, the lived experience of being a woman in today’s world.

The Women’s Running Academy is your one-stop shop for:

• Strength training designed specifically for female runners
• Smart, efficient, and streamlined running programming
• Continued education to support your training in the context of your anatomy, physiology, and psychology
• A community where your body, your experiences, and your voice matter

Click here to learn more.

I’d love for you to join us!

Next on Your Reading List:

Finding Your Stride: How to Adjust Your Run and When to Stop Running During Pregnancy

How to Strengthen Hips for Running: Drills for Better Running Economy

Why Is My Upper Back Sore After Running? Posture and Breathing Tips to Help