The 135 Challenge Blog
Today’s coverage of women’s sports lacks depth and development. We’re missing the narrative. We’re missing the characters. We’re missing the whole story.
Sports coverage needs dynamic characters.
People who love sports love more than just the game. We follow athletes and teams because we can follow the storylines. We know and identify with the characters.
Tom Brady, an underrated underdog turned top dog.
LeBron James, the redeemed king.
Cristiano Ronaldo — hero or heel?
But most people don’t know the characters in women’s sports.
Media coverage of women’s sports is so slim and surface-level that unless you are already a superfan, you probably don’t know much about even the top women athletes in the world.
Without developing the characters and narrative, it’s almost impossible for the average sports fan to become invested in the stories, the characters, and the narrative of the athletes and their teams.
With the 135 Challenge, I’m trying to change that.
For the next 135 days, I’m spotlighting one important woman in sports every damn day while training for the Badwater 135 mile race.
Many of these women inspire me, and I believe that if you knew more of their stories, they’d inspire you too.
My goal is to tell you who these athletes are—their athletic accomplishments & character archetypes—so you follow their stories, long after my race is run.
March 7th - July 19th, 2021
135 Badass women & 135 days of training for the Badwater 135.
While training for this year’s Badwater 135 footrace, I’m spotlighting 135 women in sports.
You better recognize.
Kendall Coyne Schofield - The Innocent
Day 36/135. Kendall Coyne Schofield is a speedy forward for the US Women’s National Hockey Team, who has broken barriers by playing with (and better than) the boys her whole life.
Amanda Chidester - The Hero
Day 35/135. Amanda Chidester is an explosive hitter and one of the most outstanding players for Team USA softball. Behind the plate, she calls pitches. At bat, she annihilates them.
Sydney Leroux Dwyer - The Joker
Day 34/135. Sydney Leroux has a great personality and sense of humor. But as a Black woman in sports, and a mom of two, she’s also not afraid to tackle the hard issues or loose balls.
Jessica Long - The Orphan
Day 33/135. Jessica Long is the most dominant paralympic swimmer in history. An unlikely hero, hers is a story of triumph, not tragedy.
Haylie McCleney - The Sage
Day 32/135. Haylie McCleney is more than just a star for Team USA’s softball team. She’s also a brilliant student, whose brain helps her on the field and beyond.
Dara Torres - The Magician
Day 31/135. Dara Torres is a living legend. A timeless, ageless fixture of women’s Olympic swimming who made 2 comebacks in 28 years. She’s magic.
Michelle Wie - The Sage
Day 30/135. Michelle Wie took the golf world by storm in her youth. Now, she’s got a whole new reason to play, win, and grow.
Midge Purce - The Creator
Day 29/135. Midge Purce has a promising career ahead of her in soccer AND off the pitch. At just 25, she's already using her voice to fight for gender equity and racial justice.
Missy Franklin - The Sage
Day 28/135. After her Olympic debut at age 16, Missy Franklin had 5 medals and her whole career ahead of her. But after deciding to compete in college instead of going pro, her body started to rebel.
Christiane Endler - The Magician
Day 27/135. Christiane Endler is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. She defies physics and limits of the human body, and has brought the Chilean National Team and PSG to new heights.
Kim Ng - The Hero
Day 26/135. It’s Opening Day for the MLB, and we’re celebrating Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng, who has worked for 30 years to finally become the first woman to become GM in a men’s Big Four league. What a hero.
Ibtihaj Muhammad - The Sage
Day 25/135. Ibtihaj Muhammad is more than just an Olympic bronze medalist fencer. She’s working hard to change perceptions of what athletes look like, wear, and worship.
Courtney Dauwalter - The Magician
Day 24/135. Courtney Dauwalter is an elite ultrarunner, who not only runs hundreds of miles, but does it so fast that she makes it seem impossible. Like her win of the Moab 240, in which she beat the 2nd place finisher by over 10 hours.
Marta - The Creator
Day 23/135. Marta is the most recognizable player on Brazil’s women’s national team. She faced and overcame incredible odds to become one of the best players in the world. But now, it’s someone else’s turn to take possession of the ball and run with it.
Laurie Hernandez - The Innocent
Day 22/135. Laurie Hernandez was the youngest member of the entire U.S. delegation to the 2016 Rio Olympics. That didn’t stop her from winning a gold and silver medal for her contributions to gymnastics legends, The Final Five.
Caitlin Clark - The Rival
Day 21/135. Caitlin Clark is BALLIN. She’s the nation’s leading scorer and assist leader, but still gets second billing compared to Paige Bueckers. Is there room for 2 freshmen point guard sensations in this storyline?
Mikaela Shiffrin - The Creator
Day 20/135. Mikaela Shiffrin is the most decorated alpine skiing athlete of all time. And she’s only 26, with nothing but slalom downhill in front of her.
Dalilah Muhammad - The Ruler
Day 19/135. Dalilah Muhammad owns the world record for the 400m hurdles. But her competition is getting closer, which means Muhammad just has to work harder to keep that crown.
Hilary Knight - The Rebel
Day 18/135. Hilary Knight is one of ice hockey’s most dynamic forwards and prolific scorers. But instead of focusing on the game, Knight is working toward building a sustainable women’s pro hockey league.
Julie Ertz - The Innocent
Day 17/135. Winning makes Julie Ertz happy. As one of the most physically dominant soccer players in the world and center mid for the USWNT, Ertz controls the flow of the game, is great in the air, and sacrifices her body for the ball.