Healthy Running Through Female-Focused Research and Lifelong Passion

For Women’s History Month, the latest episode of NYRR’s Habitual Routine podcast features two amazing interviews with experts on women’s running. First, Coach Annick Lamar talks with Dr. Ellen Casey, an associate attending physiatrist in the department of physiatry and the Women's Sports Medicine Center at Hospital for Special Surgery, about the science of period tracking. NYRR’s Shaquana Bell then interviews NYRR Striders and Team for Kids coach Asteria Howard about her life in sports, education, and coaching people of all ages and abilities.

Coach Annick produced the episode; you can listen to it, learn more, and subscribe to Habitual Routine.

We chatted with Coach Annick about what she learned and what these topics and guests mean to her.

Coach Annick, you produced Lap 2: The How and Why of the Women’s Running Experience with Dr. Ellen Casey and Asteria Howard. Why did you choose to discuss period tracking?

We knew this would be a “women-focused” episode to celebrate Women’s History Month and I really wanted to talk about the realities that affect women runners. It still feels off-the-table to talk about periods outside of women-centered spaces. I went back and forth in my mind for a hot second about whether to center an episode around the menstrual cycle because, like so many of us, I was socialized to hide tampons in my palm while going to the bathroom. This episode felt like a celebration where I got to throw tampons on the air.

What is period tracking and why is it important?

Period tracking is keeping a record of your menstrual cycle symptoms and comparing them to the ebbs and flows of your hormones. After a few months, you’ll start to notice trends and you can plan workouts for when you’re at your best and work to reduce the symptoms for the days you feel worse. The more we learn about periods, the more we learn that they aren’t detrimental to performance!

Why has there been so little research on women runners, and is that changing?

Stigma, devaluing of our physiology, and the normalization of men—in research, men are treated as the default research subject while women’s menstrual cycle has been positioned as likely to confuse the results. So many sport studies that come out still use only men as participants.

However, there is hope. Women’s physiology is being increasingly studied thanks to some excellent researchers who have recognized the gap in research.

What research are you most jazzed up about?

Research focused on the role of menopause on sports performance! It’s understudied and essential to coaching runners of all ages. We know that women become increasing invisible to society as they age, and this area of research has followed suit. And yet, I see phenomenal athletes lifting heavy weights and crushing miles in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and older. They deserve research that understands their unique physiology as it relates to the sport they love.

What stayed with you about this episode?

You think girls aren’t competitive? Listen to Coach Asteria and you’ll get a re-education on what powerful girls are capable of.

I was fortunate to hear her story a few years back. We were working a Rising New York Road Runners youth event and we were taking a lunch break. We started to talk track and I found myself star-struck. I kept saying inside my head, “Holy hell, how did I not know this about her?”

When it came time to pick an interview guest, I knew I wanted Coach Asteria—she’s a running expert and a master storyteller.

Subscribe to Habitual Routine to listen to this and many other episodes.