May is Mental Health Awareness Month. And at TrackGirlz, we think it’s time we talked about it. Honestly, openly, and from the heart.

Because here’s what we know: we built this community around Sisterhood, Empowerment, and Track & Field. We talk about Boldness, Resilience, Authenticity, Vision, Excellence, Unity, and Poise as our core values. We encourage every girl to BRAVE UP and run after her dreams. But none of that is possible if we’re not also talking about what’s happening on the inside.

So let’s talk about it.

Running can heal you. But it can also hide things.

For so many of us, the track is therapy. It’s the place where the noise quiets down and it’s just you, your lane, the sand pit, the throwing circle. Running gives us our confidence. Jumping gives us something to hold onto when everything else feels uncertain. Throwing gives us our people.

We believe that. We’ve lived that.

But we also know the other side. The side where a bad race wrecks your entire sense of self-worth. Where rest days feel like failure. Where the pressure to perform slowly chips away at the joy that brought you to this sport in the first place. Where you use this sport to avoid dealing with what’s really going on.

Both things can be true. Track and Field can save you and stress you. Love you and exhaust you. And part of being authentic, one of our deepest core values, is being honest about that.

Resilience isn’t about never struggling.

We talk a lot about Resilience here at TrackGirlz. Being relentless in your pursuit of success. Persevering through all challenges. But we want to be clear: resilience doesn’t mean pretending you’re fine when you’re not. It doesn’t mean pushing through at the expense of your mental health.

True resilience, the kind we aspire to, means knowing when to ask for help. Knowing when to rest. Knowing that showing up for yourself emotionally is just as important as showing up for practice.

Some of the bravest athletes in the world have modeled this. Simone Biles stepping back at the Olympics. Naomi Osaka walking away from press conferences. Athletes at every level saying “I’m not okay right now.” That’s not a weakness.

Poise under pressure, on and off the track.

Our value of Poise asks us to keep our grace under pressure and trust the work we put in. And while we often think of poise in terms of a race, staying calm in the blocks, executing when it counts, poise applies to our mental health too.

Grace under pressure means giving yourself permission to feel what you feel. It means not performing wellness when you’re struggling. It means trusting that your worth isn’t determined by your performance, your time, or your place.

Rest is not weakness. It’s part of the work.

One of the best things a TrackGirl can do is rest and mean it. Not just physically, but mentally. Giving yourself permission to step off the track or field and just be a person. To sit with your feelings. To ask for help. To say no to the things that drain you.

Recovery isn’t just ice baths and foam rollers. It’s journaling. It’s crying. It’s talking to someone you trust. It’s showing up to your mental health with the same intentionality you bring to your training.

Your mental health is part of your training. Full stop.

To our TrackGirlz community:

This month, we want to hear from you. What has running, jumping or throwing taught you about your mental health? What are you still figuring out? What do you wish someone had told you earlier?

Because the more we talk about it, openly, authentically, without judgment, the less alone we all feel. And that’s exactly what this sisterhood is for.

You don’t have to have it all together to be a TrackGirl. You just have to keep showing up. For yourself first, the track and field second.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out. Help is always available.

United States Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988, available 24/7 Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741, free and confidential 24/7 NAMI HelpLine: Call or text 988, or visit nami.org SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357, free and confidential 24/7

Global Find A Helpline: findahelpline.com, a free directory of verified crisis lines in 175+ countries: iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres, connects you to crisis centers worldwide Crisis Text Line (also available in Canada, Ireland, and the UK): crisistextline.org

You are never alone.