Women in Sports Media and Running Storytelling w/ Ashley Mateo and Olivia Witherite
The Running Explained Podcast
Running Explained
4.6 • 534 Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2026
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this special Women’s History Month episode of the Running Explained Podcast, Coach Nick and Coach Amanda sit down with Ashley Mateo (RunHer Magazine) and Olivia Witherite (OnBase Collective) to explore the evolving landscape of women’s running and sports media.
They dive into storytelling in the sport, the rise of women-led platforms, and why representation, fair pay, and media coverage still need major progress. From building brands to navigating the influencer era, this conversation unpacks what’s working, what’s broken, and where women’s sports are headed next.
Are you part of a Run Club that has helped you feel included. One that is giving back to it's community and making it a better place. One that has helped you love running more? We want to feature some of the run clubs who are doing just that, making running a better place in their communities. So submit your run club here at this link Run Club Submission
(00:00) Introduction to Women in Sports
(03:33) Personal Journeys in Running
(06:14) The Shift from Participation to Influence
(09:19) The Importance of Print Media
(12:14) Building OnBase Collective
(15:07) Creating and Controlling the Narrative
(18:03) Financial Independence in Women's Sports
(20:50) The Role of Community Support
(23:47) The Popularity of Women's Running
(26:52) Camaraderie in Women's Running
(29:34) Frustrations in Running Media
(32:34) The Future of Women's Sports
(41:20) Media Literacy in Sports Content
(44:24) Gender Representation in Sports Media
(47:38) The Role of Influencers in Running Media
(50:19) Brand Responsibility in Sports Marketing
(51:04) Addressing Online Harassment in Sports
(54:29) Empowering Women in Sports Media
Olivia Witherite is an amateur runner and social media marketer in the running space based in Brooklyn. She took up running in her late 20s and hasn't looked back since. Currently, she runs with both the Brooks Running Collective and Dashing Whippets Running Team. She is the owner of On-Base Collective, a social media strategy and brand marketing agency, and currently is the head of content at ATHLOS, an innovative women's Track & Field league.
Ashley Mateo is the founder and editor of RUNHER Magazine. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Runner's World, and TIME. She is also a certified running coach based in Denver, CO.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In honor of women's history month, Roney Explained podcast was delighted to have Ashley Mateo |
| 0:08.9 | and Olivia Witherite on to talk about their respective businesses that they've built themselves. |
| 0:18.5 | And where we are in women's sports, we dived into how they went from being |
| 0:26.2 | runners and being active participants in the sport to building something on their own. What I loved |
| 0:32.5 | most about this conversation was how honest they were. We talked about how it's, who has historically controlled the narrative and running, where |
| 0:42.6 | the gaps were, what financial independence looks like for women in the industry, and what |
| 0:51.5 | frustrates them as not only business owners, but as women in sport? |
| 0:58.5 | This was a very honest conversation. |
| 1:01.4 | You better buckle up and get ready to listen to these inspiring, powerful and thoughtful conversations from Ashley and Olivia. And I know that everyone will get something out of it. |
| 1:16.6 | Hey, Coach Nick here. Before we get started, I wanted to mention our run club series that's coming to the podcast. |
| 1:21.5 | Are you a part of a run club in your city? Does it feel welcoming and inclusive? Does it help you feel like you belong when you started running? |
| 1:29.3 | We want to hear about it. We want to hear about the run clubs that are giving back to their communities, the run clubs that are making their cities a better place. |
| 1:37.7 | And we know there's a lot of them out there. We know run clubs get a bad name. So if you are part of run club, it's really doing great work. This has really helped you |
| 1:44.5 | love running. Check our show notes and submit your application and we're going to review them. |
| 1:48.6 | We're going to have some amazing running clubs on later this year. Enjoy the episode. Welcome to |
| 1:53.2 | the Running Explain podcast, your go-to resource for learning the how, what, and why of running |
| 1:58.4 | so you can train smarter, race stronger, and actually enjoy |
| 2:01.5 | the process with a more human approach. We're your host, Coach Amanda Katz. |
| 2:07.4 | And Coach Nicholas Stava, and in honor of Women's History Month, we have a dual guest, |
| 2:12.5 | our first two-guest episode, talking about women in sports. And we have with us here, Ashley Mateo, who is founder |
| 2:19.9 | of Run Her magazine and Olivia Witherite, founder of OnBase Collective, and both these women |
| 2:25.4 | are doing amazing things in women's sports right now. So thank you both for joining us. |
... |
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