RESEARCH:
Back of the Pack Report

Finish lines change lives. It’s not just about completing a race; it’s the culmination of hard work in training, a sense of achievement, a shared community experience and so much more. We want everyone to experience the joy of crossing a finish line.

 

However, we know from conversations with our community that this often isn’t the case. Poor back‑of‑the‑pack experiences deter women from entering again (or even entering in the first place), reduce self‑esteem and detract from the joy they should have in finishing.

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We have collated feedback from our community to form an accurate reflection of what the back-of-the-pack race experience is really like. From this, and through in‑depth conversations with race directors and event organisers, we have created a series of additional race guidelines that are freely available for any race to download and implement, highlighting best practice for supporting athletes in the final third of the race field.

 

While SheRACES’ mission is to improve the race experience for women, and to advocate for female athletes at all levels, a better back‑of‑the‑pack experience benefits everyone, of any gender, age or ability, and creates the truly inclusive events we want to see.

 

Thank you to every athlete who has shared their race experiences with us and every event organiser who has supported us. A particular thank you to running author and Runner’s World columnist Lisa Jackson, who has been actively involved in this research and has given her expert opinion after proudly finishing last in 25 marathons!

 

Please support us by sharing these guidelines with events – encouraging those who already are supportive to shout about it, and suggesting improvements to races that simply might not be aware of where they fall short. These guidelines are a living document – we are always looking for new ideas to support athletes, so please share yours at hello@sheraces.com