Bethan Taylor-Swaine

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Bethan Taylor-Swaine

Hi there, I’m Bethan Taylor-Swaine, Architect of Wellbeing, PhD Student and Coach.

16/03/2026

This training cycle did not go as planned. I had such high hopes, then I twisted my sternum, I had to prepare for my viva, my husband got sick and I stacked it. Literally and metaphorically. While my last two 10kms went well there was no way I was going to enjoy 16km on trails, it just wasn’t happening. So I did the smart thing and dropped to the short distance (just over 5km). I wanted to enjoy my race, and I did. I was definately in it for the descents, and the route delivered (I’ll hike anything neg for a good descent), the terrain was the right amount of challenging and I was back just as Evie was getting bored of the event village! It was a good day.

08/03/2026

What’s the best way to mark International Women’s Day? Women coming together and taking up space.

has a very special place in my heart. I was involved in its planning and worked at the first event last year. It’s an event which is truely by women for women. Led by an all woman team which has really listened to stakeholders the series has become a place where all women can feel comfortable and supported, no matter what. I might be a bit biased, but this team really understands the problem, and it shows.

I can’t lie, it was a tough day on course. My leg has been a bit funny since a fall a few weeks ago and there was a point when I thought I might need to drop down. But the discomfort eased and I found my groove, letting me enjoy all 10km of this race’s amazing atmosphere before running straight into a hug with .ocaka at the finish line.

Big shouts to the whole team for making it an amazing day, I miss working with all of you so much!

04/03/2026

Of course I had thoughts on this one….

I do want to make clear that I think this one is on and the editorial decision to pull this quote in this context. But I do think we should talk about it as, once again, it positions the experiences of men as the default and that neglects the complex social barriers many women face in relation to running.

I also want to say that in the context of the wider article these comments make sense. The act of running is very simple, it is the noise that complicates things (something I talked about with when I was last on her podcast!). But even then our society is structured in such a way that something simple can still be challenging to access.

Finally, I come at this from the perspective of a feminist sociologist who is invested in understanding and dismantling barriers to participation, which does mean I put a particular lens on EVERYTHING 🤣

02/03/2026

Ive not talked about the USA men’s hockey saga because there’s been so much noise about it, but something I’ve noticed is that it’s women who’ve been left to sort out the mess. Few of the men involved have apologised, none (as far as I’m aware) have demonstrated any meaningful understanding of the issue. Yet it’s women answering questions which distract from their own achievements, smoothing things over for their sons and creating opportunities for men to be the butt of the joke. Men make bad choices, women deal with the fallout.

27/02/2026

Inspired by and some thoughts on shrinking bodies, wellness as a method of controlling women’s bodies and why if we want to change the world we need to be fed.

18/02/2026

Recently someone asked if I had a job or if feminism was my job. I'll assume they meant it in good faith, wondering how I make activism work financially, rather than implying I'd contribute more with a 'real job' – a topic for another time.

I do have a job (several actually) - I work in e-commerce (), I’m an academic, I freelance and consult, I dabble in social media and I’m a parent. I also have a lot of privilege - I’m part of a dual income household, we don’t have much debt, we’ve had financial support to buy our home and although we don’t have money to throw around we’re comfortable. I use that privilege to do the work that I do.

All the work I do is infused with feminism - I work in an all woman team for a woman owned small business, my academic work is explicitly feminist, I work with organisations which aim to address mvawg and close the sport gender gap. So in that respect yes, feminism is my job.

13/02/2026

Advocating for an end to public sexual harassment in run clubs is my passion. I’m driven by the stories women have shared with me and I feel really privileged to work with speaking out about this issue and offering run clubs tangible support to prevent harm in the first place. It’s amazing to see coverage of our work in thanks to and I’m so proud of the women who shared their stories (they know who they are) as well as for laying down the facts!

Involved with a run club and want to know more about the work is doing in this space? Get in touch, we’d love to chat.

11/02/2026

Someone left this comment on my (now very viral) post about Nike After Dark and it got me thinking (and chatting to lovely ) about whether it really is ‘just a bit of fun’ or whether it might not be as ‘supportive’ as we think. I have my own views, but I’m keen to hear yours first…

06/02/2026

I was really in two minds about whether to post this. There is a lot of noise at the moment about content creators and training related injuries, and I’m not sure how much of it is adding anything to the conversation. So much is driven by personal responsibility narratives and has a tone which can only be deceived as gloating about these women’s perceived ‘downfall’ it makes me incredibly uncomfortable. That’s not saying that I’m not concerned about overtraining or the impact of this type of content ( has an excellent reel on the subject) but I think it’s important to think about WHY people may end up training to the point of injury and what’s driving some of the reactions we’ve seen.

(also - and very excitingly - this is the first time I’ve applied the theoretical framework I used in my PhD to an example like this…I’m very proud)

05/02/2026

AD | Book Review 📚 31 Days - a zero bull-sh*t mindset masterclass for the modern runner by 📖

I won’t lie, I could have done with this book over the last few weeks while I prepared for/had an existential crisis about my viva. After her biography There Is No Wall, Allie is back with this practical and insightful book all about how to achieve the mindset you need to achieve your goals - something which has the potential to support more women to enjoy sport and exercise.

According to research by ASICS/University of Kentucky 45% of inactive women report they lack the confidence to exercise and more than 50% of women would like to exercise more. Supporting these women is complex, there are no quick fixes at a systemic level. However, individually there are things we can do to build our own confidence, and Allie Bailey is here to help.

I loved how concise and practical this book is, and that Allie doesn’t shy away from acknowledging that confidence takes work. It’s a fantastic addition to any runner’s bookshelf.

Thank you to and for gifting me a copy of 31 Days.

04/02/2026

My PhD journey from start to finish 👀

I know quite a few of you have been here since the very beginning, but for everyone who has joined along the way here’s the journey in full. It’s been a ride. When I started I thought I’d smash it out in 3 or (max) 4 years, me today is laughing 🤣 so much has happened since 2014 when the idea of studying women in running first crossed my mind and I decided to do an MSc which kicked this whole adventure off. It’s surreal to think that I’ve made it through (subject to minor amendments).

Thank you everyone for the kind comments, so many of you have given me so much support and encouragement over the years, it means the world ❤️

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http://www.bethantaylorswaine.com/

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