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Jayne Shares Some Snarky Thoughts...

Saturday, 18 May 2024 00:10

ED. The MTN guys have been big fans of Jayne Williams, aka The Slow, Fat Triathlete, for quite a while. We came across this interview with Jayne last week. Check it out.

By Teresa Bergen (OutdoorssWire.com)

It’s been 20 years since the book “Slow Fat Triathlete: Live Your Athletic Dreams in the Body You Have Now” first came out. Author Jayne Williams combined personal stories, practical tips, and hilarious anecdotes to inspire people who had never thought of themselves as athletes to run, swim, and bike. Outdoors Wire caught up with her to get her current insights on running in the body you have. Here’s what she had to say about self-acceptance, health, and finding a balance between a Zen mindset and her snarky side....

Outdoors Wire: Has the running world become more inclusive since you published “Slow Fat Triathlete”?

Williams: I believe it has. Since the explosion of social media, I see a lot of diverse runners and triathletes and hikers. It’s great to see more people of color, as well as more people who are larger-size or fat. I identify still with the fat word because I don’t think it’s a negative. I think it’s just a descriptor. Like tall or short or blonde or brunette. So that’s really exciting to me. And I know for sure that some of the folks who first read “Slow Fat Triathlete” now have their own businesses coaching other folks who don’t know that they can do athletic things. So that’s pretty inspiring for me.

I don’t do endurance sports anymore. I have some chronic health issues that preclude that. But I also want to say that if I were out there in the world right now, I’m certain there’s a long way to go in terms of full inclusion and acceptance of different body sizes, different backgrounds. I think running and triathlon and long-distance swimming are still primarily white, middle-class, and upper-middle-class sports. But there are changes. There are breezes of change.  READ MORE