The Active Joe
Women are Actively Invited and Supported
Here at The Active Joe, it is important to me to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all athletes, free from unfair discrimination and where you can feel that you are celebrated for being yourself. Details about the 8 Driving Principles that drive how The Active Joe operates are available here...
The Active Joe is a woman-owned company, and it is owned by a woman who has a history of participation in trail and road running, from 5Ks to ultramarathons. She has seen the growth in women's participation in the sport of running, but there is still a lot of work to be done to bring more women into trail and ultra running especially. We actively pursue initiatives that bring more women to the sport and help them feel safe and included while they are participating in our events!
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Read on and we highlight which of our 8 Driving Principles are fulfilled by each of these items:
Inclusivity and a Welcoming Environment
Because women are actively invited, you will find that the participation by women is high when you're at our events. In ultramarathons, you can expect only 15-20% of the finishers will be female.
In contrast:
For Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run 2022, of those who completed at least a 100K distance, 40% were female.
For Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run 2023, of those who completed at least a 100K distance, 29% were female.
For our signature road race, New Years Double, for the 2022-2023 races, 57% of entrants were female (and 58% the year before that!).
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Clothing doesn't have a gender, and you should wear what feels most comfortable for you! In increasing inclusivity for all shapes, sizes, and gender identities, for several years now, we offer race shirts without gendered descriptions. We have moved away from the industry standard of “men’s” versus “women’s” sizing of race shirts. During registration, you have the option of “Relaxed Fit” and “Fitted” in all instances where the manufacturer is creating men’s versus women’s sized garments.
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Equity for Others - Because Representation Matters!
We are a Trail Sisters Approved event which includes offering menstrual kits at the aid stations on the tables and also offering podium and age group awards as deeply in female award divisions as in male award divisions.
In 2023, we implemented a Uterine Change Refund Policy at the Dinosaur Valley Endurance Run. So while some races have started to offer a Pregnancy Deferral Policy, we take it one step further to create even more equity when training and racing can come with extra complications for those with female reproductive systems because those individuals can go through physical and emotional changes that make training or racing more difficult to plan for and more difficult to accomplish! Our Uterine Change Refund Policy says that if you have an expected or unexpected start or end to a pregnancy after registering for the race and you need to cancel your entry, we'll refund 100% of your entry fee, not subject to our usual admin fee listed in the Refunds section. Email us and cite the policy - no additional info has to be volunteered, we trust our runners this offer won't be abused - and we'll get that refund to you. This will be rolled out to all of our races in 2024.
I'm Available To Listen!
If anyone has any questions or ideas, please contact me at Libby@TheActiveJoe.com