Makenna Myler has always given her best on the track and on the roads. Now, she’s hoping to inspire others through the lessons that she’s learned in her journey.
The mom of two and Asics sponsored athlete created the Female Runner’s Guide to motivate and inform women based on her journey and her knowledge of the female ecosystem, and how they can apply it to their individual journeys.
In addition to running, Myler is also a running coach, and she’s been coaching for over five years. She created a training plan called Eight Weeks to Smolder, which is an eight-week training manual for those who are looking to run the half-marathon. It aims to help bridge the gap between mental and physical toughness, while also bringing a positive outlook to running.
In a recent conversation, Makenna shared more with me about the Female Runner’s Guide, her motivation behind it and more.
Dom: In your own words, explain The Female’s Runner’s Guide and why it’s an important blog for female runners.
Makenna: It’s a simplified version of everything I’ve learned being a female distance runner through menstruation and pregnancy and how to best use your body as a female athlete. It’s so important to work with your physiology, otherwise you are just fighting a rising tide. If you want to get the most out of your efforts and let your body adapt to the training you are putting it through, you have to KNOW your bodies give and take.
Dom: What led you to create the Female Runner’s Guide, and how rewarding has it been for you since you started it?
Makenna: I noticed huge improvements in my performances and training when I started to understand the ebbs and flows of my hormones. And after my first pregnancy when I ran a 5:25 mile 9 months pregnant there were so many comments of women putting themselves down in comparison that I decided there was a need for associating running with empowerment and not shame or weight loss. The running plan evolved into a guide for women to refer to as they go through so much change. Honestly just the mere fact of women understanding that the athletic mold they’ve been trying to fit into is broken and that there are more options and ways for them to succeed is so rewarding. Seeing women take that information and quite literally run with it spurs me on to learn more and hopefully relay more and more information to help everyone feel more capable and understanding in their own bodies.
Dom: In your experience with running and coaching – how important is the mental and emotional aspect of running and overcoming obstacles related to running, and how do you encourage and help others to overcome those challenges?
Makenna: Mental and emotional are deeply connected to your physical well being. A happy woman is a consistent woman. Sure you can have standout performances when you are mentally and emotionally not stable, but it’s not sustainable and can come at a great cost. When you are emotionally and mentally strong you show up consistently AND you can have standout performances. When others are having challenges I think it’s so important to always bring it back to the process and who you are becoming. If your goals aren’t helping you become the person you want to be, then get rid of them or give place less importance on them. Becoming brings so much more fulfillment than any outcome.
Dom: How has helping others through coaching and TFRG helped you, and have you had fun doing it?
Makenna: I absolutely love learning and love using my body as a way of learning with what works and what doesn’t. So even writing the field guide helps me solidify some of the things I’ve learned on the road or on the run. I’ve had so much fun figuring out fun ways to get people’s attention and keep it funny and relatable (hopefully ).
Dom: How has your personal journey helped you help others?
Makenna: The thing is I don’t feel like I am that special or different, which is awesome because I think my personal journey is so similar to what many women have gone through. It’s so easy for me to validate other women’s experiences of wanting to try harder and not knowing where or how to find answers of why their bodies aren’t working for them. I get it. So I really hope the information on the guide or what I post on my social media can help women see they have more potential than they give themselves credit for.
Dom: What do you hope that your impact will be through what you’re doing?
Makenna: Every single woman counts. I really hope that people change when they come to my website or social media. That they find one nugget of information that changes their trajectory, or their athletes, or their daughter, or their wives. I hope this rising tide of understanding the female body empowers women who have already been through it and trickles down to the developing teenagers so they can make the most out of their lives and stay healthy and active. My impact is hopefully to create more conversations for women who want that endurance outlet and help the culture around endurance sports to be more inclusive of women’s needs.
