Emelia Gorecka is an international distance runner best known for her running with scoliosis, a genetic spinal deformity that causes curvature of the spine and host of gait related problems. When she’s not training she spends time helping to promote issues affecting female athletes. One movement she’s an ambassador for is FitrWoman. FitrWoman aims to help women make more informed decisions in sport using a specially developed app focusing on how previously ‘taboo’ subjects such as periods can affect performance.

Emelia is incredibly focused on listening to her body and what it is telling her and I am sure she will teach you a lot about listening to your own body and finding ways to build a support structure around your running to help you to build resilience.

Today’s Guest

Emelia Gorecka is a 24 yr old British middle and long-distance runner. She specializes in middle and long-distance running, racing in 1500 meters, 3000 meters, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters, as well as cross country running. She has congenital scoliosis, and wore a brace in her younger years to help reduce the curvature and prevent it from worsening.

What you will learn about:

• How she because a strong contender/runner as young as 11 yrs old and how she has continued to achieve and not burn out. She didn’t suffer her first injury until she was 21 yrs old.
• How having brothers taught her to make sure she got her share of the food and sweets.
• How she has learned when she feels ill or has an injury she asks herself why is this happening and what she can do to adjust and learn when to pull back and how to change what she is doing is influencing what she is feeling. How important it is to step back vs try harder.
• How she was diagnosed at age 13 with scoliosis, when she fell during a training session. Her back is shaped like a question mark as her spine has rotated. After a year she was placed in a body brace to help slow and correct the progression. She wore the brace 23 hrs a day for 3-4 yrs and could only train during that one hour a day.
• She believes the brace helped here build her own confidence in what she could accomplish, despite being very private in the beginning and hiding the fact that she had to wear a brace at all. But she learned to run well with it and learned to dare to be different.
• How the brace did cause restrictions in her upper body and its ability to move hr arms and back, as well as how she breathes.
• How stress fractures in her foot at age 21 caused her to learn to focus on how her body was moving and what was causing her to become injured. She changed coaches, changed how she viewed looking at what shoes she should run in, and how her foot strike needed to change. She spent the next year to year and a half working on her mechanics.
• Why she got involved with FitrWoman and what she thinks it can do to help other woman understand their bodies.

Inspirational Quotes:

I learned to dare to be different and still achieve.

You do it for you, you don’t do it for anyone else. If it doesn’t work out, I will know I have tried.

The people who inspire me are the ones I see day to day giving it their best and working hard.

Resources:

Last week's episode with Matt Davis 

Tina4Real Podcast 

Running for Real Superstars Community

Support Tina through her Patreon Page

Buy a Running for Real T-shirt, Tank, or Hat

Emelia on Instagram

Emelia on Twitter

Fitr Woman

Thank you to Bombas and Bodyhealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.