Sports Bra Squad To Run Through Boston Saturday

BOSTON, MA — It's summer in Boston and that means the shirts are coming off for runners. Well, there's a lot of shirtless fit men running around the Charles, at least. The hot weather can also mean a lot of runners (men and women) sweating and suffering the heat under tanks or t-shirts, for fear of showing off a body that isn't what some might deem perfect.

Enter the "Badass Lady Gang" tomorrow. Local organizers expect as many as 300 to 500 people to join a sports bra run along the Charles in the name of fearlessness when it comes to body image.

Brookline's Jenna Deutsch is friends with Kelly Roberts (of the Run, Selfie, Repeat blog), who deemed Saturday, June 24 National#SportsBraSquad Day. When Deutsch saw that Roberts was calling on woman to organize a sports bra run this year and cities from New York to California were in, she texted her asking if anyone was leading a similar run in Boston. Roberts paired Deutsch up with runners Erica Holt and Whitney Luken. And the trio set to work getting a run ready for Boston.

"It's to help women everywhere see that they're beautiful the way they are and don't need to cover up their bodies with a shirt," said Deutsch.

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Deutch said she started running in her sports bra during early morning workouts with the November Project Boston, a free inclusive fitness movement.

"I was lucky to start when no one was there to judge me. The point of this run is to get everyone to do it together and see that nothing bad is really going to happen," she said.

For women, running in a sports bra can be terrifying. But when you’re surrounded by a Badass Lady Gang, it's a tiny bit easier.

"It's not about showing off our bodies or trying to look sexy in a sports bra (though obviously, you do look amazing); running in our sports bras is about showing the world that our bodies are strong as hell and we should be proud of them no matter what!" reads the invite.

The 5k run/walk is labeled casual and will move along the Esplanade. At the end there's a yoga class and then there's free granola bars and a discount for anyone who shows up in just their sports bra to Mother Juice on Newbury Street.

WHAT IS THE SPORTS BRA SQUAD?

The #SportsBraSquad started as a way for women to ditch their shirts along with their insecurities, and show the world what strength looks like, according to RunSelfieRepeat and Oiselle. In 2015, the National Eating Disorders Association found that 70 percent of women don’t like their bodies, wrote Roberts on the blog. "That’s a disappointing and frustrating statistic and the best way we can combat women’s negative self-image is to change the way we see strength."

ABOUT THE RUN IN BOSTON:
While the run is geared toward woman shedding insecurities all genders who support the move are welcome.

They'll meet as a group at the George Washington Statue in the Public Garden at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, get rid of shirts (though it's not mandatory), and run a casual 3 miles along the river.

The route will head north on Arlington Street out of the Garden and take the footbridge over to the Esplanade. From there, they'll run past the Hatch Shell, the Sailing Center, and the Ebersol Baseball Fields before looping around and running along the river to the end of the Storrow Lagoon and heading back toward the Garden. (RouteMap here.)

The group will end at the George Washington Statue in the Garden for some celebratory high fives (and probably hugs).

RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-sports-bra-run-boston-tickets-35142923430

Images via Jenna Deutsch with permission