June's Monthly Muse: Lydia O'Donnell

This month’s muse is the talented Lydia O’Donnell, a professional runner and Nike run coach. The international running stage has previously only shone light on male athletes but Lydia is turning this sport on its head and inspiring many young women to get into running. Lydia is inspiring not only because of her sporting achievements (she recently placed 20th at the New York Marathon!) but also because of the way she advocates running. Her philosophy? Running is for everyone, all bodies and all abilities. In this interview we spoke about her own experience of “elitism”   in the sport, why women (especially runners) need to eat carbohydrates and how she deals with her monthly as an elite athlete.

Lydia, you recently wrote an article for Tempo Journal titled “The Perfect Running Body”. In this article you spoke about your history of body image concerns in the sport of running as well as challenged the popular belief that a fast runner  has a specific “body type”. Can you comment further on your experience of body image concerns in this sport?

Body image is a hot topic today not only in running, and not only in sport, but in our day to day lives. It is just more prevalent in sport, and in particular running because our bodies are seen as the tools of our job therefore people feel more compelled to comment on them. The expectations around how we should look, how much fat, or muscle we should carry as a female athlete is put on us by the running society as there is this unacceptable notion that ‘skinny’ is ‘fast’. Even I used to comment on athletes being ‘so skinny and fast’ which is the completely wrong concept to portray, especially to young athletes.

I have been a high school coach of a girls school for about 5 years. I have watched young children grow into amazing strong athletes. When working with and inspiring teenagers it is so important to tell them the right message. My priority for my athletes is that they love the sport and enjoy what they are doing. To not make them believe they have to look a certain way or be a certain weight to be successful in our sport. Being strong and embracing your natural build is not a bad thing at all. Having muscle to protect our bones actually makes us less prone to injury and a more sustainable runner.

When it comes down to it, no matter if we are a naturally lean and skinny runner, or a more muscular and built runner, there is no right that anyone, no spectators, no competitors, no coaches, has to comment on the way we look. The way we perform as athletes is based off speeds and times, and that is what we should prioritize when we see ourselves as runners. Not by comparing our bodies to other athletes builds. Concentrate on what we have and appreciate what our bodies can do. Not what they look like.

Given the pressure many women may feel to look a certain way or be a certain size (whether it be from society or their specific sport- we know these pressures are not experienced solely by runners) it comes as no surprise that women succumb to dieting pressures. In recent years we have seen the rise of low carbohydrate and ketogenic diets as well as intermittent fasting which is dangerous for women whether or not they are runners. Can you tell us why carbohydrates are important for maintaining your health and why you often stand up and speak about the importance of this food group among your followers?

I am no nutritionist or dietitian. I have been one of those women getting sucked in to ‘fad’ diets and testing and trying different ways to ultimately lose weight to fit this particular ‘mould’ that I thought a runner should look like. I tried skipping meals, intermittent fasting, eating no carbohydrates for 6 months – all which failed and led me to sickness and injury.

Carbohydrates are the key source of energy as a runner and as a women they food group is important for all of us. There is this idea that carbs are ‘bad for us’ or that carbs make us fat, but what people don’t realize that eating the right carbs at the right times can actually make us function more efficiently and ultimately make us better athletes. 

In 2016 I was influenced by the world around me (friends and social media) that I should cut carbs to become more lean. I cut out almost all carbohydrates and was living on a high fat, high protein diet. Initially I lost weight, maybe 2-3 kilos, but immediately felt tired and lacking energy in training. Within 6 months of not eating carbs I began to put even more weight on than I had lost, my period disappeared, my hair was falling out and my skin broke out. I was falling to pieces as I was still trying to train at a high level with no proper energy source. I ended up burning out from fatigue and had to take 3 months out of serious training to let my body heal.

Now I am a big believer that  a balanced diet, especially as an athlete, is important. A little bit of everything is good for you. And I understand some people have beliefs or views on particular food groups and I totally respect that. But carbohydrates are definitely one that I think all of us women should be eating.

For those of you who aren’t aware, the Female Athlete Triad is a condition where under-fueling leads to loss of your period and can be the beginning of a variety of health concerns such as more frequent injuries, stress fractures and a loss of bone mineral density. Lydia, can you tell us more about your views on period health? Is your monthly friend or foe when it comes to health and performance as an athlete?

The FAT (female athlete triad), now similarly known as RED-S (reduced energy deficiency syndrome) is very common among runners. Growing up as an athlete I have sadly watched so many young runners that were forced to quit the sport due to injuries. Injuries that have shown later in life as a result from under-eating and under fueling for the amount of training they were doing as a teenager. 

For females in particular, the amount of energy we consume to not only fuel our bodies for training, but especially when a teenager the added energy required for growing is so important to be healthy, to go through puberty and to build strong bones. It is known that girls who under fuel can disrupt their menstrual cycle which is sadly very common in our sport. Many girls think it is ‘normal’ to lose their period, but have no idea that their body is actually screaming that something is wrong. At no point should we think it is okay to miss periods – especially long term.

I look at my monthly that it is a sign that I am healthy. Of course it doesn’t make training easy and it can be very inconvenient at times, but the fact it is regular and I am on no medication to force it to come, means my body is in sync and my systems are functioning the exact way they should be. It gives me confidence to know I am in shape to train hard and race well without the added risk of getting injured or sick.

Want to learn more about Lydia? Lydia provides affordable, tailored running programmes specific to your goals and abilities (I can vouch for these as a paying customer!) which you can enquire about here. Her Instagram (@lydiaodo) is also a must follow not only for running inspiration but also for more important conversations like we’ve had today.