Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachael Steil. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rachael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Running in Silence is committed to empowering the athletic community through eating disorder education and awareness so athletes can receive help and achieve their potential in both health and athletic performance. This nonprofit started when I wrote a blog post at runninginsilence.org about dealing with anorexia and binge eating as an All-American runner at Aquinas College. Writing my truth invited others to share their eating disorder experiences. I began to see how many athletes dealt with these issues behind closed doors–in secrecy and in shame–and it made me feel less alone. I continued to write about my experiences on the blog, and for a book.

When I began coaching cross country in 2014, I had questions about how to prevent these problems in athletes. I knew what not to say, but wasn’t sure about what processes were in place (if any) to help address eating disorders that are rampant in sports.

In 2016 I went on to write about and publish my experiences in the memoir Running in Silence: My Drive for Perfection and the Eating Disorder That Fed It. I shared my experiences in a book tour, where I eventually connected with Dr. Paula Quatromoni (DSc, RD, and leading eating disorder in sport expert in the U.S.). I felt Paula was a great resource to ask questions about coaching and eating disorders in athletes. I then combined my eating disorder story with actionable steps coaches and athletes can take to address these prevalent problems and has been reaching out to schools and coaching clinics around the country to get the word out.

The Running in Silence nonprofit was founded in 2017 to share this story and help prevent eating disorders in athletes through speaking engagements and achieved its tax-exempt status in May 2018.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As an aspiring author, I knew I always wanted to write a book about running–I just didn’t think I would end up writing a book about running and eating disorders! When I struggled with an eating disorder as an All-American runner at Aquinas College, I realized that my writing was stronger when I wrote about my truth–so I wrote about my darkest moments with an eating disorder, and worked on this manner of storytelling for an independent study project. By doing this, and sharing the writing on the runninginsilence.org website, I realized how many others struggled with similar issues.

After I wrote the manuscript and had Running in Silence published, I wanted to help other aspiring authors to share their mental health stories, too. I started Rachael Rose Media LLC to sell the Running in Silence book, share my story through speaking engagements, and work with authors on the editing and self-publishing process. This is the business through which I manage the Running in Silence 501c3 as well. All net profits of the Running in Silence book sales go to the Running in Silence nonprofit.

I was motivated to start the Running in Silence nonprofit to tackle the prevalent issues of eating disorders in sports by speaking to coaches, athletes, and parents around the country about my story and what I’ve learned as a coach about this issue.

PROGRAMS:
30-60min keynotes and workshops that help athletic staff to walk away knowing how to recognize when an athlete is struggling, how to assist an athlete with receiving help, and how to support an athlete in the recovery process. Athletes to walk away empowered to recognize a possible eating disorder in themselves or others, receive help from professionals, and start the recovery process or support someone in recovery

2022 Achievements:
We helped 200 athletes to:
•break misconceptions about disordered eating within themselves or others
•Share their stories and the next step they were taking to get professional help
We helped 200 coaches:
•recognize eating disorder prevalence
•understand ways eating disorders manifest.
•address mental health on their teams and bring in a registered dietitian to speak
•Coach attendees reported that they knew that eating disorders were a problem but didn’t know what to do about it. After a Running in Silence keynote, coaches reported that they felt more confident addressing eating disorders in athletes.
•We moved beyond the running community and spoke at the New Mexico all-sport coaching clinic, and Iowa volleyball coaching clinic
•10 coaches shared the next step they were taking to address disordered eating in sports

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

For my work with aspiring authors, I share with them what worked and what didn’t work with my own self-publishing process. I think having gone through the process myself, and explaining that I’m helping them to avoid the mistakes I made for a smoother, quicker process, helps build a strong reputation. I offer suggestions through the editing process, but remind them that they are ultimately in control of their work. I’m there to guide them through the process. I love seeing the joy and excitement when they see their completed project, and they have shared that excitement with others, which often leads to additional clients.

When speaking to athletes and coaches about eating disorders, I know my limitations. I make it clear that I’m not a dietitian or therapist, but I share my lived experience with an eating disorder and what I have learned from the experts. I know my strengths lie in having written a book about my experiences, and sharing those experiences in a compelling, memorable way to audiences across the country. My role is to build the bridge between the athletic community and the eating disorder professionals. My work in writing, editing, self-publishing, and now professional speaking (after working with a speaker coach) helps to make the message and presentation of information memorable and impactful.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

One of the biggest parts of my recovery from an eating disorder was to “do one thing each day that scares you” (Eleanor Roosevelt). I’ve taken that advice into what I do everyday, especially with work. Reaching out to new clients to speak can be intimidating, but I know that trial and error helps me to grow. And I see each speaking engagement as an opportunity, no matter how many people are in attendance. You never know who could be in that audience, and who could lead you to your next keynote or workshop. So the best way I’ve grown my clientele was actually by facing my fears of public speaking, reaching out for speaking engagements despite the possibility of rejection, and making another connection from that talk.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.runninginsilence.org
• Instagram: @runninginsilence and @rachaelsteil
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-steil/
• Twitter: @running_silence and @rachaelsteil
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@runninginsilence