286. Finding Strength in Struggles: Bailey Kowalczyk's Story of Mental Health and Running

<p>Bailey describes herself as a dedicated friend and dog mom, runner and science nerd. Born into a running family, the sport is in Bailey’s DNA, and today she competes as a professional trail runner for Nike. Bailey opens up about struggles with an eating disorder, toxic coaching and team cultures, and her identity as a runner. </p> <p><br></p> <p>In this episode we talk about:</p> <p>-navigating an ever evolving running identity </p> <p>-being fuelled by curiosity and the unknown </p> <p>-the impact of coaching relationships: both good and bad</p> <p>-mental health struggles and recovery growth</p> <p>-running at an elite level, happy and healthy: competing can be fun!</p> <p><br></p> <p>TW<strong>: </strong>This episode does discuss eating disorders and recovery, so if that&#39;s something that can feel triggering for you, we understand if you need to skip this one. We&#39;ll be here for you next week!</p> <p><br></p> <p>Follow Bailey on Instagram @baileykowalczyk and For The Long Run @forthelrpod </p> <p>--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/forthelongrun/support </p> <p>Past guests on For The Long Run include: 177. Molly Seidel; 226. Mike &quot;Kofuzi&quot;; 228. Kara Goucher; 59. Shalane Flanagan; 234. Camille Herron; 198. Courtney Frerichs; 229. Jes Woods; 207. Tyler Andrews; 197. Dean Karnazes; 206. Katie Arnold; 220. CJ Albertson; 153. Joe Holder; 199. Kelly Roberts; 188. Gwen Jorgensen; 205. Emily Abbate; 209. Sara Vaughn; 174. Nick Bare; 97 Amelia Boone; 101. Courtney Dauwalter, 219. Dylan Bowman; 191. Matt Chittim; 200. David Roche; and more!</p> <p><br></p> <p><strong>Skratch Labs</strong></p> <p>We are proud to be sponsored by Skratch Labs, a local, Boulder-based sports nutrition company.</p> <p><br></p> <p>You can grab energy bars, energy chews, hydration mix, recovery drink mix, and super high-carb drink mixes for your big days from Skratch to fuel your training and upcoming adventures. Get 20% off your order with the code FTLR20 when you shop through <a href="https://www.skratchlabs.com/?dt