The Hidden Struggles of Endurance Athletes and Eating Disorders in Runners with Stephanie Roth-Goldberg s6e5
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Eating Disorders in Runners: Understanding the Warning Signs and Finding Support
Endurance sports are often associated with discipline, dedication, and mental toughness. But within the running community, conversations around eating disorders in runners and disordered eating are becoming increasingly important. While many runners pursue the sport for health and personal growth, the culture of performance and body comparison can sometimes create unhealthy relationships with food, training, and body image.
In a recent episode of the Running Explained Podcast, psychotherapist and eating disorder specialist Stephanie Roth-Goldberg joined the conversation to discuss how eating disorders and disordered eating can appear in endurance athletes. She explains that many people outside the sport assume runners only struggle with restrictive eating patterns. In reality, eating disorders among athletes can take many forms, including binge eating, binge-purge cycles, and rigid food behaviors that may not meet full diagnostic criteria but still impact health and performance.
One of the biggest challenges is that these behaviors can be normalized within endurance sports. Runners often hear messaging that lighter bodies perform better, or that pushing through discomfort is necessary for success. While discipline is part of training, Roth-Goldberg emphasizes the importance of recognizing the difference between healthy dedication and harmful rigidity around food and exercise.
Early warning signs can include tying food intake directly to training volume, anxiety around rest days, ignoring injury signals, or constantly comparing body size to other runners. These patterns can gradually lead to health issues such as injuries, fatigue, hormonal disruptions, or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S).
The key message is simple but powerful: if something feels off, it is worth addressing early. Seeking guidance from coaches, sports dietitians, or mental health professionals can help runners build a healthier relationship with training and nutrition while continuing to enjoy the sport for years to come.
Click below to listen to the whole conversation, you will love it!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
04:31 Understanding Eating Disorders in Endurance Sports
07:14 Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorders
10:16 The Impact of Eating Disorders on Athletes
12:57 Recognizing Signs of Disordered Eating
16:11 The Role of Coaches in Athlete Health
18:59 High Performance and Mental Health
21:47 The Importance of Proper Nutrition
24:49 Social Media's Influence on Eating Habits
27:32 Resources for Healthy Eating
33:44 Understanding Healthy Training from a Psychological Perspective
39:29 Navigating Medical Clearance and Recovery in Sports
51:20 Seeking Help: When to Consult a Therapist or Dietitian
55:00 Personal Insights: Advice and Surprises in Therapy
Key Takeaways for Runners
Signs of disordered eating in athletes
The difference between disordered eating and eating disorders
The role of coaches in prevention and intervention
Understanding RED-S and its impact on health
Recovery pathways for athletes with eating issues
Stephanie Roth-Goldberg is a psychotherapist and Eating Disorder Specialist with a private practice in NYC and Montclair NJ. Stephanie works has a speciality working with athletes who are struggling with disordered eating and eating disorders. She also works with people who want to improve their relationships, have a healthier inner world and understand themselves better. She is a mom to two young children and a marathoner.
Stephanie IG - https://www.instagram.com/embodiedpsychotherapist/?hl=en
Stephanie Website - https://www.srgpsychotherapy.com/
Connect with Amanda and Nick:
Instagram:
Amanda - @amanda_katzz
Nick - @nklastava
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About Your Hosts
Amanda Katz is a full-time fitness professional; a certified personal trainer, RRCA certified run coach and serves as a group fitness instructor specializing in indoor cycling, treadmill running and total body conditioning formats at Equinox in New York City. She’s a marathoner, lover of distance running and lifting heavy. Her philosophy is based on the notion that all bodies deserve a fitness experience without guilt or shame. She approaches her craft with humor, real talk and ultimately, wants her clients feeling strong and more capable in their bodies through movement.
Nick Klastava is CEO of Running Explained and started running back in 1996 and has been competitively running for 26 years now with a brief break in his 20’s. His spark for running came back in High School, being a part of a team and finding a sport that brought out the best in himself. He ran competitively in college for Monmouth University in New Jersey after college he took 8 years off from running and thought he was done forever. After moving to Maryland in 2010, Nick found his spark again with running and found a new outlook on running with less pressure and less emphasis on the numbers and broke all of his college PR's by age 38.
Nick lives just outside Baltimore, Maryland, and his favorite thing about coaching is to unconditionally support runners and their journeys.
With Coach Amanda Katz & Nick Klastava, you’re getting more than just two coaches! You’re getting mentors who understand the pressures, challenges and ups and downs of navigating running and life. They’ve been in your shoes, struggled with comparison and perfectionism, but grew through the noise to help you find a sustainable, enjoyable path to becoming your best; mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Through Running Explained, We offer training plans, online courses, and 1:1 coaching designed to help runners achieve their goals while avoiding the common pitfalls of overtraining, under-fueling, and burnout. Whether you’re training for your first half marathon or chasing a new PR, her guidance will help you train smarter, race stronger, and love the journey.
📲 Learn more at RunningExplained.com
📢 Follow on Instagram: @runningexplained
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