Equal race distance for all genders
About the Equal Distance Team
The Equal Distance Team was founded by Saint Michael’s College Nordic Skiing and Cross Country Coach Molly Peters in 2020 during the beginnings of a global pandemic. As many people baked bread and hoarded toilet paper she decided instead to put her full effort into trying to get her NCAA athletes equal distance races for Nordic Skiing and Cross Country running. Molly was inspired by the amazing book STAND by Kathryn Bertine, who chronicles her fight for a Women’s Tour de France. The book states “the journey toward equal opportunity is always worth the struggle.” These words inspired Molly to put away her fears and STAND up for equality for her athletes.
For years she had been asking for these changes within the sports that she coaches. Molly strongly believes in equality of competition and that sport should be empowering for women and girls. The majority of women’s race distances at the NCAA level are significantly shorter than men’s -- often half the distance. This discrepancy in race distance reinforces antiquated gender expectations about what female athletes are – and, more importantly, are not -- capable of doing. It also creates an entirely different race experience for each gender. This discrimination is not good for these sports or for the racers.
In the fall of 2020, she started by reaching out to her fellow Nordic ski coaches to form the #SkiEqual Team. They wrote proposals asking US Ski and Snowboard for equal distance races, as well as to the NCAA Ski Committee asking for an equal Championship format. The Ski Equal team was on a mission. After two years of pushing our initiative, opinions were starting to change. Many organizations hosted equal distance races, the Head U.S. Ski Team Coaches and their star athlete Jessie Diggins signed on. People were listening and we were finally making progress.
In the spring of 2022 we got the news that we had been waiting for. The Federation of International Skiing (FIS) had voted YES on a proposal to change the distances of the World Cup races, so that they would be EQUAL. The Equal Distance team celebrated. The effect was immediate, as the new formats trickled down from the World circuit to U.S. Championship events. All World Cup races, Junior Worlds, U23 World Championships, Youth Olympic Games, US National races, Junior National races would be equal. Additionally, it was decided in the summer of 2023 that the next Olympics, World Championships and the NCAA Championship races would all be equal. Victory!
In the fall of 2021, with less time but just as much gumption, she pursued her initiative to get equal distances at the NCAA Cross Country running Championships. She started a successful petition. She also put an equal distance proposal before the Div. I, II and III NCAA Cross Country Committees in June of 2022. She, along with some very big names in the running community asked for an 8km race distance for all genders that compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
The equal distance proposal was rejected by the Cross Country Committees in the summer of 2022. See rejection letter here. The letter contained no logical reasons for unequal distances. For this reason, Molly was encouraged by her former Athletic Director to reach out to the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics to help push her initiative further within the NCAA. The committee responded by letter in the summer of 2023 and sent the proposal back to the cross country committee’s asking them to survey athletes and coaches about the change. The committee also recommended that the sport committees consider engaging with the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports about whether adjusting the race distances would raise any health and safety concerns for women student athletes. (yes, you read that correctly).
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 we decided to keep pushing. The next step has been to create 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 Committees before their January meeting.
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 and Alliances committee chairs for Div. I, II and III Cross Country requesting a meeting. In early February we met with them and got the 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?
I 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.
Molly was an NCAA All-American in Nordic Skiing and the 1500m in Track and Field for Middlebury College in 1997. She has a son and daughter and an awesome supportive husband. There is nothing Molly wants more than to have her 17 year old daughter and 13 year old son go to college and have the opportunity to race equal distances!
Please join her in asking for this important change!
