The Equal Distance team was formed in the fall of 2021 with the mission of changing the NCAA Division I, II and III Cross Country Championship format to an equal distance of 8km for all genders.
The Equal Distance team includes some amazing superstars and pioneers of women’s distance running. Lynn Jennings the 1990, 1991, 1992 World Cross Country Champion, as well as the 1992 Olympic Bronze medalist in the 10,000m. Joan Benoit Samuelson the 1984 (and first) women’s Olympic marathon Gold medalist. Kathrine Switzer the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon (despite an attempt to be physically removed from the course) and women’s winner of the 1974 NYC Marathon. Molly Huddle is a 10 time NCAA All-American and former American record holder in the 5000m. Ben True was 6th in the 2013 World Cross Country Championships and 7th in this fall’s NYC marathon. Kara Goucher a three time NCAA Champion, 2008 and 2012 Olympian and silver medal winner at the World Championships and hosts an amazing podcast. Kasie Enman the 2011 World Mountain running champion.
These amazing individuals are asking the NCAA to end gender bias in Cross Country to ensure women feel equal in their athletic achievements. While boys and girls both run 5km in high school, the inequality of graduating collegiate men to 8k/10km and collegiate women only to 6km is outdated. With an almost 10 min. time gap between the 6km and 10km at the NCAA Championship events, the current format creates an entirely different race experience for men and women. It’s time for this to change and to create a schedule that ensures equality of competition and similar race experiences.
Our proposal went to the NCAA Div. I, II and III Cross Country committee’s in January of 2022. We were given a response on August 1st that they would not have equal distances for NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2023. The Equal Distance team didn’t give up. We sent a formal request to the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics, who took on our case. They replied in the summer of 2023 that they would send the proposal back to the NCAA cross country committees asking them to survey current athletes and coaches about the equal distance. They also wanted the cross country committee to confirm with the NCAA Medical advisory board that women can handle running longer distances.
The cross country committees re-convened in the summer of 2023 at the encouragement of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics. They were tasked with re-evaluating the equal distance proposal, as well as to consider surveying the athletes and asking the NCAA medical committee if increasing the distance for women would cause any health concerns. The committee issued their decision in the fall of 2023 that they once again refused to consider equal distances, as well as they would ignore the recommendations of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics and NOT survey the athletes and NOT send the issue to the NCAA Medical board.
This was a major blow to our cause and honestly felt incredibly narrow minded. With an encouraging email from my hero Kathryn Bertine I decided to keep pushing. If they were not going to do a survey, we would. In November of 2023 we created our own survey to actually see how the athletes feel about their current race distances. The results from this survey were sent to the USTFCCCA convention in December and to the NCAA Cross Country Committees before their January meeting. It was also sent to the NCAA President Charlie Baker.
Here are a few highlights:
89% of respondents have thought about the difference in distance between men's and women's cross-country races.
96% of respondents believe women can race longer than a 6km race.
86% of respondents believe women should be given the chance to run an 8km or 10km race
The most important response..
90% of respondents wanted the NCAA to do a formal survey asking the athletes about race distance.
In late January 2024 we got an email from the NCAA Championships Committee Chairs for Div. I, II and III Cross Country requesting a meeting. In early February 2024 we met with them and got the good news we had been waiting for. THE NCAA WILL SURVEY ALL DIV. I, II and III CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETES in the fall of 2024 asking them about race distance! A huge success for our cause.
We are now working on trying to get the word out about this important change. How can you help?
Molly would love to be interviewed for articles/podcasts or even do presentations. Do you have connections or ideas? Send their contact information my way.
We need sponsorship. Do you know a company or running influencer that might be willing to help push this initiative? Please let me know.
We need to give women the opportunity to try 8k and 10k races. Are you a coach who has been thinking about hosting an equal distance 8k or 10k this fall? Please reach out. I'm working with companies to provide some amazing prizes for your race!!!
Keep pushing the idea. Anyone you know in the college community, running community or athletes who are racing currently need to know why this change is so important.
Stay tuned for more updates.