Melody shares her decades of love for lacing up, and what inspires her to keep moving forward. “My name is Melody Fairchild. I’ve been called the “greatest female high school distance runner of all time.” One would think that with a title like that, I would have been a sure thing to achieve the big dreams that such prowess spawns in the heart and mind of a young athlete. That is not my story. But what I’ve come to know now is that it doesn’t matter.” Read the full article in Woman’s Running, February 2021, by Melody Fairchild

Melody Fairchild was quoted in a Runner’s World article on girls sports. “Fairchild has a perspective on Cain’s story few others possess—she was also heralded as a young phenom, at Boulder High. Though Cain has since broken her record of 9:55.92 in the two-mile, Fairchild will always be the first American girl to break 10 minutes at the distance.” Read the full article in Runner’s World, November 27, 2019, by Cindy Kuzma

“As a youth running coach and director of Girl’s Running Camp, an overnight camp designed specifically for female adolescent runners, Melody Fairchild practices the pillars of the Positive Coaching Alliance and prioritizes talking to her athletes about good nutrition and maintaining positive attitudes.” Read the full article in Runner’s World, November 25, 2019

“Melody Fairchild, director of the Boulder Mountain Warriors youth running club, says parents of younger children should be cautious of any program that practices more than three days a week. Fairchild, who was a high school runner, doesn’t advise kids younger than 11 to focus on a single sport. “Multisport athletes are more well-rounded mentally and physically,” she says.” Read the full article in the Washington Post, November 15, 2019

Goals are part of youth running. There are classroom goals, like tracking on a map the miles run during PE or recess, a journey to a landmark or across the country. There are goals built around earning awards, the finishers’ medal, or the T-shirt or water bottle. And, of course, goals set by a coach or parent for the child to aspire to; a faster time or completing some run, or winning a trophy as the best team in some local race. Read the full article in Children’s Running

Thank you, Mary Cain, and each and every person who has spoken out about abuse.  On the heels of a poignant video co-produced by Lindsay Crouse of The New York Times, we say systematic mistreatment of female athletes must stop.  That’s why @elizabethwcarey and I @Melodyfairchil2 wrote GIRLS RUNNING, a forthcoming book from Velo Press. A comprehensive guide for young athletes, it’s inspired by my  running journey—including my 2-mile record, which Cain broke in 2013.  Our aim? Empower athletes. Provide a toolkit that girls can use to cultivate a life-long healthy relationship with running. Advocate for sound training and coaching principles, and for more female coaches.  Despite the persistence of an archaic paradigm, a new narrative is brewing. It’s time to surge forward, together. We…

I Was the Fastest Girl in America, Until I Joined Nike Mary Cain’s male coaches were convinced she had to get “thinner, and thinner, and thinner.” Then her body started breaking down. Read the full article Photo: New York Times