EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE RUNNER GIRLS
By David Monti
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission.

(23-Dec) -- Do people want to know what two high school girls who run cross country have to say?  The answer is decidedly, "yes!"  The Runner Girls, who tweet under the handle @TheRunnerGirls, have attracted over 5600 Twitter followers with their keen, witty and sometimes sarcastic observations about distance running, food, team etiquette, and runner fashions.  Their followers include Lauren Fleshman, Mary Wittenberg, Neely Spence, Julie Culley, and Fawn Door (see below). Recent tweets include these gems:

. Just ate 25 pizza rolls.. I have to run in 45 minutes. This may end badly.

. Cross country does not have players. We are a breed of our own. We are runners.

. Does anyone remember when it was cool to wear Crocs to meets? Like 6 years ago but still.

The Runner Girls tweet anonymously, and even some members of their team don't know who they are.  All they'll tell us is that they live, train and race in a southern state.  Race Results Weekly interviewed them using a temporary e-mail account to protect their identities.  Even we don't know who they are.


Race Results Weekly: How did you get the idea for @TheRunnerGirls Twitter feed?  Was it a spontaneous thing, or did you discuss it for a while?  Tell us how it all came about.

The Runner Girls: We follow a lot of running anons (anonymous accounts) on our personal accounts. One day one of us was like, hey, we should make one and we started it immediately!  We like having a place to vent anonymously.


RRW: Are you surprised at how big your following has become, including many of the sport's best runners?  What's it feel like to be tweeting to such a large audience?

TRG: We never thought it would be this big.  We were just posting stuff that we say everyday to each other. We wanted a place to vent and it turned into something awesome.  Having all these great runners want to hear what we have to say blows our minds and for us it makes the running world seem so much closer because it shows that we all go through the same struggles and have the same thoughts!  Sometimes we feel like we have to tweet good stuff but then it's like we got here by tweeting our random thoughts so we guess we should keep doing what were doing.


RRW: What do your parents think of your on-line celebrity?  Are they surprised with how much interest there is?

TRG: Our Dads are really into it.  They talk about it all the time!  They've been really interested in running since we started and when they see we're having convos (conversations) with such talented runners they get really excited for us.


RRW: Do you think that you'll always remain anonymous on this feed?  Do you feel a real temptation to reveal your identities?  Are you worried that some of your teammates will "out" you?

TRG: It's more fun when people don't know who we are. Sometimes we wish people knew us, but that's a part of being an anonymous account.  It's personal, but everyone can relate to it.  We don't want it to be just about us.  A lot of our teammates don't know about the account.  We've only told a couple friends but its been slipped out to some others that it's us, so some of them do know but we don't want our whole team to know. We've decided to keep it mostly just between ourselves.


RRW: You are big fans of Fawn Dorr (@FawnDorr), the 400m hurdler.  What do you admire about Fawn, especially since she's not a distance runner?

TRG: We just admire Fawn's dedication to the sport.  Although she's not a distance runner, we can relate to all of her tweets.  She's always saying inspiring things and encouraging people she doesn't know to be the best they can be.


RRW: Tell us about some of your other favorite runners and why you like them.

TRG: We love Lauren Fleshman (@laurenfleshman). We think she's hilarious!  She's also just a great runner and we look up to her and aspire to be like her.  We also really like Jordan Hasay (@jordanhasay). We've been fans of hers since we were young and saw her run in Footlocker Nationals. We wish we could be as talented as she is! We got to meet her at NCAA nationals and almost died. Another college athlete we really like is Cally Macumber (@callymacumber). We met her at NCAA nationals and she is such a sweetheart. We absolutely love her and her awesome attitude. She's always got a huge smile on her face!


RRW: You have some strong opinions about clothing and make-up when it comes to what your teammates and opponents wear in either practice or competition.  Take us through some of your do's and don'ts.

TRG: Do's- Anything Nike is always acceptable. We also like Brooks and Saucony.  Don'ts- Shorts over leggings is a big no no; little kids do that. Don't wear a real bra under your sports bra; that's just begging for attention and it looks ridiculous.  Don't put tons if makeup on to go to a meet or practice. There's no need for it, and you end up looking just as terrible as everyone else.  Also, don't be too matchy matchy. Matching spandex sports bra and tank top? It's too much. Just go with the flow. It doesn't matter if you look good, it matters how fast you are. We love any type of braid as far as hair goes. Another no-go for hair is high pig tails.  They make you look like a small child, so don't do that. And do not wear UGG boots to a meet.. Just don't do it.


RRW: What's the worst fashion faux pas you saw this season on an opponent's team.

TRG: We once ran a race against a team that was wearing matching running skirts and home-made bows. It was kind of strange.


RRW: You often tweet about food, especially how hungry you get after running.  After a race or a hard practice, what are your favorite meals?

TRG: We love chocolate milk for a post run/race drink.  It's good for your muscles and it tastes great too!  We love everything pizza!  We're from the south so we love comfort food.  We could eat chicken and dumplings everyday! But sometimes after practice we feel all strong and we're like, "I'm gonna go eat salad!"


RRW: You're in high school now, but when you move on to college do you think @TheRunnerGirls will continue?  Do you plan to run in college?

TRG: We hope to continue the Runner Girls in college!  It's so fun for us and we wouldn't want it to end!  We both want to run in college. It's been a mutual goal of ours since we started running.  We're hoping to run for  D1 schools! (Hopefully get a scholarship).

PHOTO: The Runner Girls in a recent photo wearing Brooks gear they got from Fawn Dorr (photo courtesy of @TheRunnerGirls)

ENDS