WHEN A WOMAN PASSES A MAN DURING A RACE, ON THE ROAD OR TRAILS, IT’S CALLED GETTING “CHICKED.”
It’s a throw-away comment saying “I can’t believe a woman just passed me,” but it pounds into the head of every female as she runs every step forward in the race.
Though it goes without saying, it bears repeating and repeating and repeating again: there are women out there who can and will school men in a footrace. Research has supported that notion, and there’s a cult following of women trail runners that strengthen the sport through their dedication and passion. But still, there are significantly fewer women running on the trails than on the roads.
Atlanta-based trail runner Erin Hannen sat down to talk with Dawson Wheeler, Rock/Creek’s owner, about the stark disparity between men and women in trail running. Then came a survey to 700 women runners about their interests and reasons for trail running only to find that there were a lot of different thoughts about what encourages women to choose trails over roads.
So Erin called around to some of her trail-running contacts. Some are a part of the Chattanooga-based Rock/Creek Women’s Running team. Some are women from throughout the region she’s met at races as she’s become more involved in the trail-running community. THe more she talked, the more she realized she needed to host a gathering where a range of experienced trail runners could come together and brainstorm. A cabin-in-the-woods type weekend, shut off from the real world, where they could come together and bond over 100 milers and treacherous trails.