Size Inclusion in Endurance Sports: Creating Communities Where Every Athlete Belongs
You train consistently. You show up for early morning workouts. You put in the miles, the intervals, the recovery sessions. You're committed to your sport.
And if you're an athlete in a larger body, you've probably also navigated challenges that have nothing to do with your actual performance: struggling to find gear that fits, facing assumptions about why you're participating, or being the only person who looks like you in race photos.
Here's what research shows: Athletes of all body sizes participate in endurance sports for the same reasons—performance goals, mental health benefits, community connection, and the joy of movement. Yet size-based barriers continue to exclude talented, dedicated athletes from full participation in the sports they love.
During her keynote at the 2025 Skadi Athlete Summit, Marley Blonsky, co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes, shared evidence-based strategies for dismantling these barriers and building truly inclusive endurance sports communities. What follows are some of our key takeaways for athletes, coaches, and event organizers committed to making endurance sports welcoming for every body.
The Myth That Won't Die: Athletes in Larger Bodies and Weight Loss
One of the most persistent, and damaging, assumptions in endurance sports is that athletes in larger bodies participate primarily for weight loss.
The reality? Athletes across all body sizes engage in sport for an incredible variety of reasons: the challenge of competition, the satisfaction of achieving personal goals, stress management, improved mental health, and the sense of belonging that comes from being part of an athletic community.
Research in sport psychology consistently demonstrates that intrinsic motivation—doing something because it's inherently rewarding—leads to greater long-term adherence and performance improvements than extrinsic motivation like changing one's appearance.[1] This principle applies whether you're building sustainable training habits or working toward competitive goals. When we assume athletes in larger bodies are only there to lose weight, we strip away their agency, overlook their legitimate athletic goals, and create environments where they feel like they don't truly belong.
This pattern matters because our internal assumptions affect how we treat people—even (and especially) when we're not aware of them. When event organizers, coaches, or fellow athletes assume someone is brand new to the sport or their primary goal is weight loss (simply because of their body size), it changes the conversation. Instead of discussing race strategy, pacing plans, or performance goals, the focus shifts to calories burned and body transformation—a narrative that many athletes in larger bodies explicitly reject.
Understanding the Real Barriers to Participation
Size inclusion isn't just about being nice or politically correct. It's about recognizing and removing concrete barriers that prevent capable, committed athletes from full participation. Research on barriers to physical activity among individuals in larger bodies identifies several key challenges:[2]
Limited Availability of Size-Inclusive Gear
Try finding cycling bibs, running shorts, or tri suits that go beyond a size XL. For many athletes, standard athletic gear simply doesn't fit—and when it doesn't fit properly, it can cause chafing, discomfort, and even safety issues. The gear gap isn't just inconvenient; it sends a message about who "belongs" in these sports and who doesn't.
Assumptions About Athletic Ability
Research on weight stigma in sports shows that athletes in larger bodies frequently face assumptions that they're beginners, slower, or less committed than their smaller counterparts, regardless of their actual training history or performance level.[2][3] These assumptions affect everything from how coaches interact with athletes to how race photographers distribute their attention during events.
Lack of Representation
When athletes in larger bodies look at race marketing materials, brand ambassadors, or podium photos, they rarely see bodies that look like theirs. This lack of representation communicates, intentionally or not, that endurance sports aren't meant for everyone. Representation matters because it shapes our sense of possibility and influences confidence in meaningful ways. When you can see yourself reflected in a sport's culture, you're more likely to believe you belong there.
Event Structures That Unintentionally Exclude
Many endurance events include policies or structures that create additional barriers: finish lines that close before back-of-pack athletes arrive, aid stations that run out of supplies, or course support that disappears after the first wave of finishers.[3] These structural issues communicate whose participation is valued and whose is merely tolerated.
Creating Inclusive Spaces: Practical Strategies That Work
Start by Listening
The most important step toward meaningful inclusion is the simplest: ask athletes in larger bodies what they need.
Instead of making assumptions about preferences, concerns, or goals, create opportunities for direct input:
Survey participants about gear preferences and sizing needs
Ask about concerns regarding routes, pacing, or course accessibility
Solicit feedback on ways to create more welcoming environments
Listen to suggestions without becoming defensive
This approach aligns with research on inclusive organizational practices, which emphasizes that effective inclusion strategies are co-created with the communities they're designed to serve, not imposed from the outside.[4]
Communicate Clearly and Transparently
Ambiguity breeds anxiety. When athletes don't have clear information about what to expect, they're less likely to participate—and this effect is amplified for athletes who've experienced exclusion before.
Provide detailed information about:
Expected pace ranges for group activities
Distance and elevation gain for events
Finish line and aid station operating hours
Support available throughout the course
One critical language shift: avoid using "beginner" as code for "slower." Plenty of experienced athletes have slower paces, and plenty of beginners move quickly. If an event is designed for skill development, name that explicitly. If it's simply a slower-paced event, describe the pace range without labeling participants.
Keep Finish Lines Open and Aid Stations Stocked
Nothing communicates "you don't really belong here" quite like showing up at a finish line that's already been disassembled or an aid station that's run out of water.
Ensure that all event infrastructure remains in place and fully functional until the last participant crosses the finish line. This isn't just good customer service—it's basic respect for every athlete's effort and participation.
Similar to building consistency in your training, creating consistent, reliable event experiences for all participants strengthens the entire endurance sports community.
Represent Reality in Marketing and Media
With approximately 73.6% of American adults classified as overweight or obese according to recent CDC data,[5] accurate representation should no longer be aspirational. It needs to reflect the actual composition of endurance sports communities.
Action steps for better representation:
Include athletes of diverse body sizes on social media and in marketing materials
Ensure race photographers capture images throughout the pack, not just at the front
Feature stories and testimonials from athletes across the size spectrum
Highlight achievements that aren't tied to body transformation
Just as athletes benefit from building authentic motivation rather than external validation, athletic communities thrive when they celebrate diverse definitions of success and achievement.
Build Supportive Community Dynamics
The structure of group activities can either support or undermine inclusion. Small changes make significant differences:
When regrouping during rides or runs: Ensure that athletes who've been working harder to keep up get adequate rest time before the group moves on. The athlete who just completed a hard effort to catch up needs recovery time—not an immediate departure.
Create events focused on completion, not competition: Not every event needs to be a race. Completion-focused events celebrate the achievement of crossing the finish line, regardless of time.
Establish clear community standards: Make it clear that weight-based comments, diet talk, and fatphobic language aren't welcome. When these norms are established and enforced, athletes in larger bodies experience less anxiety about participation.
These strategies parallel the psychological safety principles that create high-performing teams across all sports.
Addressing Internal Bias: The Uncomfortable Work
Creating size-inclusive spaces requires examining our own biases—and that's uncomfortable work. Research on implicit bias shows that even people who consciously reject size discrimination often hold unconscious biases about body size and athletic ability.[6] These biases affect how we perceive effort, interpret performance, and interact with athletes.
Steps toward reducing bias:
Recognize when you make assumptions about an athlete's goals, abilities, or training history based on body size
Challenge fatphobic language when you hear it, even (especially) when it's presented as "health concern"
Question whether the same standard or expectation would apply to athletes in smaller bodies
Educate yourself about Health at Every Size (HAES) principles and weight-neutral approaches to athletic performance
This internal work connects directly to building self-compassion—we can't create truly compassionate, inclusive communities until we've examined our own biases and assumptions.
Why This Matters: The Bigger Picture
Size inclusion isn't a niche issue affecting a small subset of athletes. With approximately three-quarters of American adults in larger bodies,[5] failing to create size-inclusive spaces means excluding the majority of potential participants.
But beyond the numbers, this work matters because athleticism comes in all sizes. Talent, dedication, and competitive drive aren't determined by body composition. When we create barriers to participation based on body size, we lose the contributions, perspectives, and performances of athletes who have every right to be there.
Every athlete deserves to experience the pride of crossing a finish line, the satisfaction of achieving a personal goal, and the joy of being part of a supportive athletic community. Creating size-inclusive spaces ensures these experiences are accessible to everyone who wants them.
Moving Forward: Your Role in Building Inclusion
Whether you're an event organizer, coach, team captain, or fellow athlete, you have a role to play in creating more size-inclusive endurance sports communities.
Start here:
Examine your own assumptions about body size and athletic ability
Support brands and events that prioritize size-inclusive gear and policies
Communicate clearly about event expectations and accommodations
Advocate for representation of all body sizes in your athletic community
Foster community dynamics that celebrate every athlete's journey
Speak up when you witness size-based discrimination or fatphobic language
These aren't just nice-to-have additions to endurance sports culture—they're essential elements of building athletic communities that truly live up to their stated values of perseverance, dedication, and achievement.
Navigating endurance sports in a larger body often means managing additional psychological challenges: performance anxiety, external judgment, imposter syndrome, or the mental load of constantly advocating for your own inclusion.
At Skadi Sport Psychology, we specialize in helping athletes develop the mental resilience needed to thrive, regardless of body size. Our sports-informed therapists and mental performance consultants understand the unique challenges endurance athletes face and provide evidence-based strategies for building confidence, managing anxiety, and cultivating sustainable performance.
Whether you're working through fear of judgment, building mental toughness, or strengthening your athletic identity, we're here to support your journey. Not sure if sport psychology is right for you? Learn more about how long sport psychology typically takes and how to find the right provider. Ready to get started? Book a free consultation call to learn how we can help you perform at your best.
References
[1] Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
[2] Sniezek, T. (2021). Running while fat: How women runners experience and respond to size discrimination. Fat Studies, 10(1), 64-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/21604851.2019.1664913
[3] Ayala, E. E., LaBore, K., Kates, J., & Flynn, P. Microaggressions and marginalization in recreational cycling: Understanding experiences of women and gender diverse cyclists. Manuscript in preparation.
[4] Gurgis, J., Kerr, G., & Battaglia, A. (2022). "What we think we know": Para athletes' perceptions of safety in sport. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 46(1), 3-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/01937235211029551
[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Adult Obesity Facts. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
[6] Sabin, J. A., Marini, M., & Nosek, B. A. (2012). Implicit and explicit anti-fat bias among a large sample of medical doctors by BMI, race/ethnicity and gender. PLoS ONE, 7(11), e48448. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048448
