RUN LIKE A GIRL: UNPACKING YOUNG WOMEN’S RUNNING EXPERIENCES IN ASTANA

Abstract

This study examines young women’s running practices in Astana and their relationships with safety perceptions, urban infrastructure, and gender norms. The main goal of the work is to understand what motivations and barriers influence women’s participation in running, how they choose routes, and how they relate physical activity to feelings of freedom or vulnerability. The methodological framework includes qualitative semi-structured interviews with eight female runners, as well as a multimodal discourse analysis of the TikTok trend #RunLikeAGirl. The theoretical approach is based on feminist phenomenology, gender space theory, actor-network theory, and the concept of digital rescripting. Women’s running in the city is not only an act of physical activity, but also a form of social utterance, bodily expression, and adaptation to a gendered urban environment. Women do not just run — they take into account the level of illumination, time of day, the presence of men in the space, and avoid certain areas, especially the right bank. Social media and apps like Strava play a dual role: they both increase motivation and create risks of sharing personal data. The study highlights the need to consider women’s experiences in urban policy and infrastructure development, and to rethink traditional gender stereotypes in the context of sport.