Pace Shaming Is More Than “Just Words” — And It’s Ruining Your Running

Here’s an ugly truth: Pace shaming is real. Inside and outside the running world, it comes in many forms: a comment from an internet troll on Instagram or Strava; a snide remark from a faster runner in a race; a “suggestion” from a colleague that your walk/run doesn’t qualify as a real run. It might also look like judging someone’s PR because the course was “easy.”

At the 2026 Boston Marathon, Nike, to maybe no one’s surprise, pace shamed with a giant sign in its storefront proclaiming: “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.” While the intention was “to encourage runners,” per a statement from Nike, it sparked criticism for undermining inclusivity.

As a neuroscientist, I was troubled by this marketing campaign, and not just because it was in poor taste. And I’m troubled by the ubiquitous nature of pace bullying in general. In a sport that is supposed to welcome all speeds and levels — where the overall vibe is usually one of positivity, pride, encouragement, and sometimes even awe — there are too many dismissive voices that may not understand the damage they could cause.

On a psychological and health level, shame-based language can have lasting, harmful effects on a person’s brain. Here’s what that looks like in the body.

How the Brain and Body Respond to Shame

Shame is a self-conscious emotion that involves the devaluation of oneself, or feeling that you are not enough. From a neuroscience perspective, shame activates regions in the brain that are related to social threat and awareness of one’s body. While the psychological effect of shame can vary significantly, depending on an individual’s history, culture, and context, shame often triggers feelings of worthlessness and the desire to withdraw from others.

Unlike basic emotions that happen without us thinking about them (happiness, anger, fear), self-conscious emotions (shame, pride, guilt) require self-reflection and self-evaluation. This makes the physiological effect of shame complex and broad across multiple brain regions and body systems.

When we experience shame, our sympathetic nervous system — the fight or flight response — activates, elevating our heart rate and increasing our blood pressure. Over time, chronic exposure to shame, or constantly reliving a shameful memory, increases the stress hormone cortisol, challenges the ability to regulate stress, disrupts the digestive system, and can trigger inflammation.

It is worth noting that the effect of shame seems to vary across cultures. Within collectivist societies (of which the United States is not), shame is often used to motivate self-improvement. However, since there exists a wide range of individual and cultural differences, and since we never know another person’s entire story, it is always wiser to err on the side of caution and refrain from pace shaming entirely.

Pace Shaming Challenges a Runner’s Identity

Pace shaming can be particularly harmful if it makes someone question their identity as a runner. That’s because identity drives motivation and resilience. A meta-analysis of more than 100 studies on athletic identity found that people who more strongly identified as athletes were more intrinsically motivated and committed to pursuing their sport-specific goals.

This makes sense. When someone perceives themselves as a runner, they are more likely to build habits that support that identity, such as lacing up a few times per week or fueling themselves with foods that will promote performance and recovery. When that same person is shamed for being “too slow” or deemed “not a real runner,” they may be more susceptible to quitting, especially if their training is disrupted due to injury, illness, life.

Build Shame Resilience

If you’ve been on the receiving end of pace shaming, you’re not alone. Try these strategies for focusing on your own running and protecting your mental well-being. 

• Find your people and run with them: One of the strongest buffers against the effects of shame is social support. Surround yourself with people who celebrate you as a runner. This might mean getting out of your comfort zone and trying out several different running groups until you find one where you feel a sense of belonging.

• Practice self-compassion: Self-compassion is the act of offering yourself support and encouragement when you feel down. If you harshly criticize yourself in response to another person’s shameful remarks, you’re only adding fuel to the fire.

• Focus on microgoals: Staying committed to your process can help blunt the effect of shame. When you make even incremental progress toward your goals, you redirect your energy away from other people’s judgments and amplify your self-worth.

• Stand up to shamers: As uncomfortable as it may feel, standing up to someone who shames you can help you reclaim your power. When you respond with confidence and composure, you will feel more in control of the situation. While going back and forth with online trolls is probably a waste of time, course-correcting a fast (and oftentimes oblivious) friend in real time can feel good. Assertive words like: “I may not run as fast, but I cover the same amount of miles” can quickly diffuse a tense situation.

Pace Shaming, Be Gone

If one of our collective goals is to promote running as a tool for mental and physical well-being, then we should support anyone who participates in it, whether they’re breaking records or running in the back of the pack. By failing to be mindful of the words we use, hiding behind online anonymity, or turning a blind eye to pace shaming, we’re negatively contributing to the relationship people have with running and with themselves.

Pace shaming can be a form of gatekeeping, which does not benefit the sport we love. So, let’s call out pace shaming and root for all runners, regardless of their mile run time.