‘If I hadn’t beaten all the men,
would this story have even got any light?’ Ruth Croft reckons we shouldn’t compare men and women
A blister was the most significant injury Ruth Croft suffered when she beat all entrants to win the Tarawera Ultramarathon 102km race in record time last weekend.
The West Coaster was proud to snap the women’s course record in a time of 9hr 21min 03sec and that, she says, should be considered a meaty news angle on its own.
The fact some media celebrated Croft, 32, beating the male runners doesn’t sit well. That, she explains, was the ‘‘wrong approach’’.
‘‘It was on the news and they made a story because I beat the men,’’ said Croft, one of the world’s best trail runners.
‘‘But it wasn’t looking at my result, individually. The question I ask is that if I hadn’t beaten all the men would this story have even got any light? Which I believe it wouldn’t have.
‘‘You can’t compare women to men. I feel that is the wrong approach.’’
So there you have it. While grateful to those media that made the effort to focus on her achievement, Croft wasn’t comfortable with the angle.
‘‘Women’s sport – it’s about seeing it for what it is,’’ she added.
‘‘I went in there competing against women and beating all the men was just an extra thing. What I was pleased about was to get the course record.
‘‘But at the same time I am super-stoked it even got on the news. That is great that trail running got some publicity because normally it doesn’t, really.’’
A professional trail runner, Croft is coached by six-time World Mountain Running Association champion Jonathan Wyatt and if all goes to plan – Covid-19 restrictions permitting – she will compete in a 100-mile (160km) race in California, US, in late June.
Having completed shorter races of marathon/50km distances over the last three years, Croft decided to up the ante before the Tarawera race.
And with the extra distance, came the discomfort. That’s just the way she likes it.
‘‘I haven’t been doing it in a long time, and it is just like this low-grade pain that you have put up with for so long.
‘‘With the longer stuff, it is just the unknown. It just becomes a lot more of a mental challenge. Which I like and prefer. I just wanted to do something and challenge myself, which I get a lot of motivation from.’’
Croft, who had represented New Zealand as a junior in track, cross-country and mountain running, and later moved to the United States on a track and cross-country scholarship for four years, completed the race with minimal damage to her legs and feet.
‘‘Actually, it wasn’t too bad. I am with adidas and with those shoes I had just one blister.’’
She also altered her nutrition plan, switching from gels to solid food: ‘‘Normally I just have gels and I feel God-awful afterwards, but I have tried to have solid foods, so hopefully the recovery will be a little bit better.’’
Having celebrated the victory with a few quiet ciders, Croft will focus on looking after her body over the next couple of weeks — that means jogging, biking and swimming until her recovery is complete, followed by preparations for the United States event.
She says more money has entered the sport in recent years, and usually spends half her year competing in Europe, Asia and the US.
‘‘I am fortunate that from the start I had sponsors from overseas. I believe if you are in New Zealand it would be very hard to get a New Zealand sponsor to financially back you.
‘‘If you can get over the races in Europe or the States, and do well on the international scene, then you can definitely make a living out of it.’’
‘‘The question I ask is that if I hadn’t beaten all the men would this story have even got any light? Which I believe it wouldn’t have.’’