I was quite small and thin for my age when I was thirteen. That’s when I started running
I first made the connection that the fast runners were the skinny runners when a girl who I used to beat all the time beat me after she lost a lot of weight. I thought if I could stay small I would run faster, so I avoided fat.
I didn’t pay attention to the girls who were bigger and stronger, but those girls continued to compete throughout college and then into the professional world, while the skinny unhealthy girls usually fell off the map. In fact, the girl I mentioned had career ending stress fractures less than a year later.
My hip and spine both have low bone density. I suffered amenorrhea for nearly eight years. If I had been shown pictures of women in walkers or had known about Athletic Energy Deficit, I might have changed my behavior sooner.
As I fixed the energy deficit, my running improved dramatically. I was named Duke Athlete of the Year my senior year of college.
Help me get this message out to young kids—Fuel Your Sport. It worked for me.
Clara Horowitz-Peterson, Runner, NCAA 5-time All-American National Cross-Country Medalist and Duke University Athlete of the year 2006.
