This is a blog I wrote because of the recent postings on LRC. Thanks guys for starting this dialogue. In my area, I see runners with issues on a yearly basis. It's super unhealthy and scary. I really have a problem with it because I am surrounded with old friends and ex teammates who also have these issues. Helping people with eating problems is very important to me. I will obviously not name names, but there are a couple of these athletes that are known on the national level and have been spoken about on these forums. Anyway, this is what I wrote. Sorry about the length, I just want to help the cause here and get my portion of the dialogue going:
I don't usually like to post about serious topics on here, but I just wanted to share something that I feel very strongly about. It's something that I don't think there's enough discussion about especially with men who don't typically have to deal with this problem around them. With a large portion of coaches being men, I think it's important to establish a dialogue that helps everyone to be aware of this issue and not just those who are dealing with it. We live in a society now where you're not allowed to talk about topics that others deem as sensitive and you're not allowed to mention words to people if they find it offensive. I guess what I'm getting at is that the sensitive topics need to be talked about because that's the only way to get people to understand them. Feel free to ignore this like any other form of click bait, but I think it's worth a read.
I'll never forget what it was like eating in the school cafeteria every day as a freshman in College. There were so many new people and kids to meet everywhere I looked. So many cliques and circles of students and athletes that bound together like tiny, miniature cults each day. With all of these people around, there was one girl in particular that really stood out to me. She was about 5'4 and about 90 pounds. I remember her distinctly because she used to stock her food tray to capacity every day for lunch and dinner. She was always reading glamour magazines and sitting by herself. She never smiled, she never looked around. She was hyper-focused on trying to eat as much as she possibly could. Little did I know, this was a mask for bigger problems.
The reason I want to mention her is because I used to make fun of her to my friends/teammates. I wasn't super aggressive or anything, I was just making comments here and there to the friends that I sat with. We all made fun of her. She became sort of a spectacle to us as we would see her every single day under the same circumstances. The worst part is I know that we weren't the only ones making comments. Everybody noticed, including that girl. I was only 17-18 years old at the time. I didn't fully understand what was happening and what she was going through. I don't think any of us did. As guys, I think it's easy to think, "Why doesn't she just eat more?" or, "It's all in her head." Well it doesn't work like that - not at all. It's difficult for people to grasp concepts that they'll never experience. I personally do not have issues myself, and I want to help, but I need to understand that I cannot understand. I think that's a good way to put it. I always want answers to everything and read voraciously about mental health issues with runners so you could imagine that this was very frustrating to me, but like I said, you just have to understand that you cannot ever fully understand what they're going through. I couldn't imagine what it was like to walk into the same place every single day knowing that you were going to be scrutinized and there was nothing you could do about it. Before I realized what was going on, she stopped showing up to the cafeteria. I never saw her again. I still think about her from time to time because I just want to know if she's okay or not. Maybe it's my guilt or maybe it's just me wanting to know everything, but I wish I had the knowledge and understanding at the time to at least attempt to lend a hand to someone else who was struggling. I can't imagine what it was like to feel so lonely and helpless at the same time. As far as I know, there was nobody there to step up and help her.
Anyway, the reason I'm writing this is because this is an issue I now encounter on a weekly basis, and if it's something I see once a week at a cross country meet, I can't imagine what it's like to deal with every single waking hour of every single day of your life. The sport of distance running is a unique sport where people stand around and watch athletes run circles around them. Spectators and coaches analyze and critique methods of racing and training as they watch these events take place. Coaches are constantly looking at body types and running form of young athletes. One thing that has stood out over the last few years to me as a coach at the high school level is the number of athletes (mostly all female) who tend to be on the skinny side. I know what you're thinking, "all runners are skinny," but it's different. There are symptoms and physical attributes that are visible to the eye and huge red flags. My point is that I think eating disorders are a very common thing in student-athletes as they are constantly dealing with stress and always seeking ways to improve themselves. Runners tend to look to other runners and try to figure out their secret to success. The biggest secret, however, is that most of these girls are trying to lose weight to an unhealthy extent just to reach some arbitrary running goal. It happens too often and it needs to be talked about.
Coaches need to be equipped with the ability to diagnose a potential problem and how to talk to their athletes about it in a way that addresses the gravity of the situation but also does not drive away that runner. The running community needs to talk about these issues and look out for each other. The very least you can do yourself is maybe educate yourself on the issue. Knowledge is power. I'm starting to see eating disorders come up more and more and the worst thing you can do to someone close to you about it is nothing. This problem is very serious and even a small, "is everything okay with you?" or alerting the coach of your concern can go a long way. I'm not going to go into too much of what I've read symptoms to be but I just wanted to post this for anyone who wants to read it. Educate yourself. Talk about issues like this and maybe you can help someone some day who needs it. Everyone thinks that someone else is going to do the speaking up for them, but if everyone thinks that way, then nobody will.