Women's Running, formerly Her Sports + Fitness is a magazine geared towards female running enthusiasts. Published 6 times yearly by Outside, it is the only women's-specific running magazine available in the North American market. [1] According to the publisher it was created "to serve a rapidly growing community of female runners". [2]
The magazine's editor-in-chief is Jen Ator, who was previously the fitness director of Women's Health for ten years. [3]
Before becoming Women's Running the magazine was first published in 2004 under the name Her Sports + Fitness, founded by former marketing executive and Martha Stewart apprentice Dawna Stone. Stone, also a triathlete, has said she got the idea to start an athletic magazine specifically designed for women after finding out Sports Illustrated for Women, her favorite magazine, was being discontinued. [4]
In 2004, Her Sports won the Florida Magazine Association's Charlie Award for "Best New Magazine." [5]
In 2008, Her Sports was renamed Women's Running, a change aimed at serving the growing community of female runners—a demographic also noticed by other industry magazines such as Runner's World. [6] [7] According to RunningUSA, the rebranding tripled newsstand sales and dramatically increased subscriptions. [8]
The magazine was redesigned in early 2012, unveiled for the first time in the March/April 2012 issue. The redesign included a new cover featuring celebrities and elite athletes, a "reader's corner" that featured issues popular on the magazine's social media websites, and the "parting shot" – dubbed "a sneak peek into the running life of a professional athlete." [9]
On June 1, 2012 Competitor Group announced their acquisition of Women's Running Magazine, WomensRunning.com, and the Women's Half Marathon Series for an undisclosed amount. [10] "This is a watershed moment for our organization as we greatly expand our media and event portfolio with a collection of powerful assets from which we will create the largest participatory platform in the world dedicated to female athletes,” said Scott Dickey, CEO of CGI in a press release. [11]
On October 12, 2017, Women's Running, along with other titles including VeloNews and Triathlete as well as book publisher VeloPress, were sold to Pocket Outdoor media. [12] Women's Running was purchased by Outside in 2021. [13]
In 2016 Amelia Gapin became the first openly transgender woman to be featured on the cover of Women's Running. [14]
The magazine has a nationwide circulation of 105,000 (unaudited). [15] The publisher estimates the readership to be 192,000. [2]
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included. The word is of Greek origin, from τρεῖς, 'three', and ἆθλος, 'competition'.
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run completed in that order, a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km). It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
Suzy Favor Hamilton is an American former middle-distance runner and escort. She competed in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics.
Sally Edwards is the CEO and Founder of Heart Zones, Inc. She is a best-selling and prolific author, serial entrepreneur, professional triathlete, motivational speaker, innovative app developer and a living legend. Edwards is a pioneer in modern women's sports. She supported and then qualified for the first women's marathon Olympic Trials in 1983. She is one of the original founders of the national governing body of triathlon, USA Triathlon. Edwards has been inducted into two Hall of Fames: the Triathlon Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Sacramento Running Hall of Fame in 2016. She has authored the first books written on subjects including triathlons, training with a heart rate monitor, indoor cycling with wearables, sports snowshoeing, school PE curriculums using wearable devices, and 6 subsequent books on the sport of triathlon. Altogether, Edwards has written 25 books in her effort and her focused mission to get America fit.
Deena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is also an eight-time national champion in cross country.
Sarah Reinertsen is an American Paralympic triathlete and former track athlete. She was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a bone-growth disorder; her affected leg was amputated above the knee at age seven.
Endurance training is the act of exercising to increase endurance. The term endurance training generally refers to training the aerobic system as opposed to the anaerobic system. The need for endurance in sports is often predicated as the need of cardiovascular and simple muscular endurance, but the issue of endurance is far more complex. Endurance can be divided into two categories including: general endurance and specific endurance. Endurance in sport is closely tied to the execution of skill and technique. A well conditioned athlete can be defined as, the athlete who executes his or her technique consistently and effectively with the least effort. Key for measuring endurance are heart rate, power in cycling and pace in running.
Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego is a Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the silver medalist in the same race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has a personal record of 30:38.35 minutes for that event and her 5000 metres best of 14:30.42 minutes makes her the second fastest Kenyan woman for the distance.
Kimberley Smith is a New Zealand middle-distance and long-distance runner who retired in 2016.
Kathrine Virginia Switzer is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator.
Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI) is a privately held, for-profit, sports marketing and management company based in Mira Mesa, San Diego, California. The company owns and operates over 40 large scale running, cycling, and triathlon events; of which includes the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series.
Lauren Fleshman is an American runner, coach, author, and retired professional track and field athlete. She was the U.S. 5000 meters champion in 2006 and 2010, and competed at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2003, 2005, and 2011. In the 5000 meter final of the 2011 IAAF World Championships she finished in 7th place, equalling what was at the time the highest ever finish by an American woman in that event.
The running boom of the 1970s occurred in high- and middle-income countries. It was particularly pronounced in the United States and occurred in other countries including the United Kingdom and other European countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Joetta Clark Diggs is a retired American track and field champion, specializing in middle distance running. She ran for more than 28 consecutive years never missing an indoor or outdoor season, with her races being in the 800 meters and 1500 meters. A 4-time Olympian in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000, she competed in every outdoor USA Championships or Olympic trials between 1979 and 2000, winning five outdoor championships. Indoors, she was in the national championship race in 18 of the last 19 years, winning seven times. Clark Diggs was ranked in the top 10 in the world since 1991. Moreover, in 1998 at age 36, she was ranked number four in the world. This was her best ranking out of six such appearances.
Women's sport in Saudi Arabia has been a controversial topic for many years due to the suppression of female participation in sport by conservative Islamic religious authorities.
Altra Running, commonly known as Altra, is an American manufacturing company engaged in the design, development, marketing, and sales of athletic shoes for road running, trail running, and general footwear. Since 2018 Altra is owned by VF Corporation, an American global apparel and footwear company with other brands like Icebreaker, The North Face, Vans, JanSport, Eastpak and Timberland.
Betsy Saina is a Kenyan-American athlete in long distance running. She was born in Kenya and now competes for the United States.
Abbey Cooper is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Cooper is the most decorated Ivy League athlete in track and field and cross country running. She is the first Dartmouth female distance runner to win an NCAA title. She won a total of seven NCAA titles in her career. In 2014, she became a professional runner for New Balance.
Rebecca "Becky" Lavelle is an American former professional triathlete, race director, runner, and coach. As a professional triathlete, she has had over 50 career wins in Olympic and Half-Ironman distance races.
Outside Inc., formerly called Pocket Outdoor Media until February 2021, is an American company focused on sports and recreation, fitness and nutrition. It has various ventures such as Outside magazine, Outside TV, the Gaia GPS and Trailforks trail mapping apps, Climbing magazine, Peloton magazine, Rock & Ice magazine, Women's Running magazine and Yoga Journal. The company is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.