Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World

Fleshman learned that her foot was broken. She took 12 weeks to heal—longer than anticipated. She wondered whether she should have stopped cross-training before the Olympic Trials and just rested; she now believes that she was suffering from RED-S symptoms.

Fleshman was ashamed of her poor form when she went back to train at Stanford. She traveled around the country in her van, continuing her training at different locations while also hearing about other female athletes’ experiences with disordered eating and injuries.

Fleshman got back to a level of fitness to be competitive; she placed well in a number of international meets, qualifying for the World Championships. Before the event, Fleshman started fixating on her weight compared to smaller athletes around her. She had a disappointing race.

A training group started in Mammoth Lakes, and Fleshman joined it, but she left soon after when the group’s tendency to overtrain relentlessly left many injured and feeling defeated. Fleshman got a bone fracture and needed to take time out, only recovering when she stopped cross-training and allowed her body to rest.

Fleshman realized that she missed Jesse. She saw examples of athletes around her balancing romance with their athletic careers. She and Jesse got back together and then got engaged.