Prior to transitioning, I was a runner, and still technically call myself one. I’ve done eight half marathons, a full marathon, an ultra marathon, and more five or 10 K races than I care to count.

I've been running on and off since I was 11 years old, and when I was in high school, and in the hot summer, when it was probably 25-30 degrees celsius, the men ran without a shirt but wore longer shorts that were either at the knee or below the knee. Whereas the women wore super short shorts and sports bras to deal with the heat.

I did everything I could to blend in, including wearing what other guys wore in order to make sure that I wasn't perceived as transgender back then, because the world 20 years ago was a much harsher place.

I was 15 when I really figured out I was transgender, and I was in denial of it for so long that I did everything I could to stay away from it.

When I was in my 30s, I used running as an escape from a lot of depression, dysphoria, and anxiety that I had developed and had masked down, hidden and suppressed for so long. I didn't really get much euphoria from it but it was a very good distraction at that point.

Running hasn't really impacted my gender, but my gender has impacted running in the sense that a lot of venues still aren’t trans or non-binary friendly.

Just recently, the Boston Marathon Association, which is the governing body over the Boston Marathon, openly stated that they were creating a non-binary category for their runners and basing their qualifications on the ladies trial times.

I immediately contacted the nearest Boston qualifier race and talked to their race director. They were aware of what Boston did, but they wouldn't change anything up until 2024, for reasons more of a cyclical nature because they’d already gotten everything ready for the race for next year.

Continued…