Cal Calamia has been a runner their entire life, but in 2018, their relationship with the sport changed when Cal came out as trans non-binary. Most races in the US only have two gender categories, men and women, and Cal doesn't fit in either one. In an effort to make space for themself and other non-binary athletes, Cal has become an advocate for gender inclusivity and races across the US.
Cal Calamia has been a runner their entire life, but in 2018, their relationship with the sport changed when Cal came out as trans non-binary. Most races in the US only have two gender categories, men and women, and Cal doesn't fit in either one. In an effort to make space for themself and other non-binary athletes, Cal has become an advocate for gender inclusivity and races across the US.
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Cal Calamia:
Non-binary runners having their own category doesn't take anything away from any other runner. It just makes more people happy, and it allows more people to connect with themselves and with running. We all want to experience the joy of running together.
Shelby Stanger:
Cal Calamia has been a runner their entire life, but in 2018, their relationship with the sport changed when Cal came out as trans non-binary. Most races only have two gender categories, men and women, and Cal doesn't fit in either one. In an effort to make space for themself and other non-binary athletes, Cal has become an advocate for gender inclusivity and races across the US. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living. An REI Co-Op Studio's production. Cal uses he or they pronouns, and we'll be using they/them pronouns throughout this episode. Cal Calamia is a teacher, a poet, a student, and they're at the top of their running game too. Cal is competitive by nature, constantly pushing themselves to achieve better times. Last year, Cal made history as the first ever winner of the non-binary categories in two races in the Bay Area. They're fast. They finished the San Francisco Marathon in three hours flat.
Cal Calamia, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living.
Cal Calamia:
I'm so stoked to be here. Thank you for having me.
Shelby Stanger:
You were always naturally good at running, weren't you?
Cal Calamia:
Yeah, I was just always running in general. I used to bother aunts and uncles at family parties and invite them to play run around with me, and they'd be like, "What do you mean, play run around?" And I was like, "You run around." Everyone tells that story about me as a little kid, just wanting to move and having all this energy and just wanting to expend it. When I started playing soccer in kindergarten, we would run as a punishment through elementary school, and I loved it. When I was in this in-between space between elementary school and middle school, the upper middle school kids came in to the cafeteria during lunch and taught us about what cross-country was and were trying to recruit more runners for their team, so I turned to a friend of mine and was like, "Will you do this with me?" We both ended up signing up and running cross country.
Once I started organized running like that, there was no turning back. My relationship with running has shifted and evident, flowed a lot since I was a little kid. But the one thing I know about it is, it's a place where I can find calm. It also has allowed me to just feel really empowered and really in my body. As a trans person, being able to feel connected to my own physical body is really important, and it's something that a lot of us don't have the privilege of experiencing. I am hoping that more trans people will be able to experience something similar, get into running, and experience that connection with self that we are so often denied as trans people.
Shelby Stanger:
Cal continued to run as they came out as queer and then trans. The sport helped them connect with themself and their body. Then last year, Cal finally got the opportunity to compete in a non-binary race category at San Francisco's Bay to Breakers 12k. Their win was huge, not only because they made history, it also jump started Cal's work as an advocate for trans and non-binary runners.
Let's talk about the trans running community. You do so much, and you've become an advocate for this community. How did you become this amazing advocate?
Cal Calamia:
It started really small. I wanted to run Bay to Breakers, which is a really big race here in San Francisco, and I saw that they had added a non-binary category, so I was super stoked. I was like, "This is great." Most people, arguably, run Bay to Breakers to drink alcohol, dress up in a dinosaur mascot outfit. I was like,-
Shelby Stanger:
Isn't that where you dress either naked or in a costume?
Cal Calamia:
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. But see, when I do something, I really can't just do it. I have to do it all the way. I was like a gym class, try hard. It's really embarrassing, but true.
Shelby Stanger:
I was, too. It's okay.
Cal Calamia:
I can't help it. I basically wanted to run Bay to Breakers. I wanted to compete. There was a new category. I was going to show up for that category. Part of my fear around these new categories coming out is that a lot of people are pushing back with the argument that they're too small or that they don't affect enough people, so I'm like, "When the category is there, I feel like I'm going to show up and I'm going to be a competitor in the category." I was looking at their website. I always do this. I'm really meticulous. I look at the course, I look at all the information that I could possibly learn about the race to come. I was looking at the awards section, and I saw that there were awards being given to top male and female finishers, and none being given to non-binary finishers.
Now there's no prize money involved with Bay to Breakers. There has been historically, but there wasn't this past year, so I was just kind of baffled. It's a medal. You're probably going to spend five, 10 bucks on it. Maybe 20, who knows? I don't know the running price of those, but why are you going to not award people in this category? That just doesn't make sense. It made me feel like, by signing up as non-binary and by being authentic to who I am, I'm disqualifying myself from competing. That just didn't work for me, so I reached out to them, and they did not really budge. They were like, "Oh, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We'll definitely look into this for future years." And I'm like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa now, we have some time. Why don't we look into this right now?"
They really weren't getting back to me, and they weren't moving. They gave me that one response that was very not involved. I decided I was just going to use my social media platform to let people know, "Hey, Bay to Breakers is doing this thing that's a little messed up. If you want to help me, what I'm going to do is I'm going to email them. I think it could be cool if we just inundate their email inbox with this request that they treat all of the gender categories fairly in the race." People were all over it. We just completely blew up their inbox to the point where their inbox emails were bouncing back because their inbox was full. They were, I'm sure, not happy with me at all, but I was trying to send the message to them, this actually does matter and people care about this.
To you, it might be like, "We'll think about it later." But no, this is an urgent issue. It's important that people of all genders are treated fairly and that non-binary runners are given the same opportunities as other runners. It worked, so there was this was media coverage about them not adding the category, and they didn't like that. At the very last minute, just 24 hours before the race, they added the category in the awards section. Again, it wasn't really an issue of money, even there wasn't prize money at stake, but it was really an issue of principle.
Shelby Stanger:
They added this category.
Cal Calamia:
Yes.
Shelby Stanger:
You made it happen.
Cal Calamia:
Yes, totally.
Shelby Stanger:
Then what happened?
Cal Calamia:
First of all, there was this huge back and forth. I was like, "If they don't add the category, I think I'm not going to run it." Because I think I, just on principle, am going to say, "If I'm not being treated fairly, why would I pay you and run this race?" But when they finally decided, "Okay. All right, we'll add the category under awards as well." I decided to run it. I wore these shorts that had pigs flying on them, so it was like a subtle nod. I also didn't wear a shirt to race because I wanted it to be really evident that I was a trans person competing in this race.
You can tell by the scars across my chest from my chest masculinization surgery that I'm trans. Then I went and won the category, so it all came full circle and was really cool. A lot of people were signed up under the category, and people got to be recognized for competing. That's all I wanted. I wasn't expecting to win. I was going to try to run my best and I was going to show up as my authentic self. But it was definitely this really cool, rewarding full-circle moment to be able to be the first ever non-binary winner of Bay to Breakers.
Shelby Stanger:
Wow. Congrats, first of all.
Cal Calamia:
Thank you.
Shelby Stanger:
Being the first is not easy or comfortable.
Cal Calamia:
Totally.
Shelby Stanger:
I'm trying to put myself in your shoes, and I can only imagine. How did it feel?
Cal Calamia:
Just so empowering. It felt like when I crossed that finish line, whether I would've placed first, fifth didn't really matter, but it was like I said, this added bonus that just made me feel so embodied. It was like, "Here I am in San Francisco being unapologetic about who I am and running." Something that I love so much. It's this thing that has stayed with me and been a constant in my life, though so much else has changed. My gender has changed, so my life has changed. But running has been here. Ultimately, it's not really about winning Bay to Breakers. It's about people opening up conversations about trans and non-binary people. It's about people being forced, whether they want to or not, to acknowledge that we are here, that we do want to compete in sports, and that we belong in sports. It's such an argument and it's such a debate right now whether or not we can show up and be in sports at all. To be recognized and celebrated in sports is just the counterargument to so much of the dialogue around transness right now.
Shelby Stanger:
Let me ask you, when you're done finishing Bay to Breakers, do you have a relationship now with the organizers?
Cal Calamia:
It was awkward because, like I said, we kind of blasted them on their emails, so I actually took the initiative to go up to the table and introduce myself in person and be like, "Hey, thank you for making this change. I really appreciate it. It wasn't that I wanted it to feel like a personal attack, but I felt like change really needed to happen. I appreciate your eventual responsiveness to that call to action." I'll be back. I'll be running Bay to Breakers again in May, and this time I'll be bringing my newly founded non-binary run club full of other trans and non-binary runners to really, really show up in contrast that first year we had last year with just more representation and more positivity.
Shelby Stanger:
When we come back, Cal tells us more about their plans to run Bay to Breakers next year with the incredible run club they founded. They also share the details of their training plan and talk about showing the world their true self.
When Cal Calamia isn't running, they're teaching high school, getting their master's degree in writing, and running as a Janji field team athlete. They've also become an activist working to make spaces for non-binary and runners to compete against each other. As part of their efforts to make their own community feel more included, Cal started a running club.
Okay. Tell me about this running club you've created.
Cal Calamia:
Totally. The run club, it's just Non-Binary Run Club. I had been running these races, and I had been experiencing personal success in these races, and I was like, "There's this huge thing missing." Which is, that when I crossed this finish line, that's it. There's nothing. What I felt like I was missing was running with and moving with other trans and non-binary people. I thought, "What better thing to pair these new categories with than people to run in the categories?" It's just been so beautiful since December, when we started up and we had eight people at our first run. Our January run had like 25 or something, and people drove down from Portland to San Francisco, drove up from Central California to San Francisco, all over the map, just to show up and be together. Ultimately, it's about running, but it's really about what I mentioned earlier, the value in just seeing other people that look like you.
Shelby Stanger:
Bay to Breakers in San Francisco Marathon aren't the only races you're working with. Tell me about some of the other events you're chatting with.
Cal Calamia:
I probably have about five threads currently happening in my email inbox right now. One of them that I'm super excited about is being in conversation with the Boston Marathon, which is upcoming in April. I reach out via email with an introduction and then the pain points that I notice in their current system as it is. I offer my time. I offer to connect with them. Some people get back, and I think the email is enough for people to make the change, and then they're like, "Hey, thanks for bringing this to our attention. We already changed it. Thanks." That's it. Sometimes it's an ongoing conversation, as with Boston, because they just wanted to be really intentional about how they rolled out the category, which makes sense because it's complicated. If folks are too hasty, there could be things that cause more harm than good. Sometimes I just never hear back. Everything is different, but I'm constantly in conversation with around five or more races or organizations.
Shelby Stanger:
Wow, that's a lot of things that you brought up that I just don't even think about.
Cal Calamia:
Exactly. That is the thing. It seems insignificant, but no one else has to think about it. While trans and non-binary runners have to be distressed about which box to check when neither feels true, and does it feel fair? Am I going to be treated fairly here? It's a relatively low lift for races. It would be so helpful for races to, for example, just say, "Hey, we are really proud to roll out this non-binary category. We're excited to welcome trans and non-binary runners this year." How easy is that, and how much would that mean for trans people, non-binary people that are hesitant to show up and run because they don't know what to expect?
Shelby Stanger:
2023 is the first year that the Boston Marathon will have a non-binary race category. Thanks, in large part, to Cal. Besides taking part in organizing gender-inclusive race logistics, Boston is an exciting race for Cal personally. A couple of years ago, they qualified to run the Boston Marathon, but a month before the race, Cal blew out their knee playing soccer. They ended up needing to undergo surgery and couldn't run Boston. After two knee surgeries and hours and hours of physical therapy, Cal is now running faster than ever. They qualified for Boston again this year, and when we did this interview, they were deep in training mode for a second chance at the race.
I want to know what your training is on a day-to-day.
Cal Calamia:
It depends on what I'm training for, but right now I'm in the training cycle toward Boston, and I'm about seven and a half weeks out, I believe, now. I'm still in the endurance-building phase, so I'm just putting down a lot of miles and increasing about five miles per week. I start at 15 and I go up. I think this week is a 35-miler. I'll peak at around 55 miles per week, and then I'll start working on some speed, some VO2 max, some lactate threshold stuff. But it's really about, for me, getting those marathon pace miles into the long runs. I did 16 miles this past weekend and I'll do 18 this coming weekend, but I'll plug in some marathon pace so I can really get a feel for how I want to be running those 26 miles, what my legs will feel like, especially when I'm already tired, say, I'm eight miles in, now try to put on six miles at marathon pace or whatever, and then cool down basically.
Shelby Stanger:
What do you eat?
Cal Calamia:
Great question. Right now, with the endurance phase, I am just trying to eat as much as possible. Obviously, I try to watch what I eat, but just to be frank, I am spread so thin with the different things that I do. Teaching all day and then going to class all night, and just having a few hours in between. I try to get in a lot of carbs, a lot of protein, fruits and veggies, just a ton of water, and just really bulk up. Really, I'm never going to bulk up because I'm running as much as I am. But metaphorically, bulking up by consuming a lot of calories and having the fuel that I need to put my body through the experiences of running 30-35, 40-45, 50-55 miles per week.
Shelby Stanger:
What do you like to eat after a race? What's your favorite post-run, maybe post-race meal-
Cal Calamia:
Okay.
Shelby Stanger:
... once you got your stomach back?
Cal Calamia:
Yes. First of all, my stomach is never gone.
Shelby Stanger:
Really?
Cal Calamia:
No. I just go for it.
Shelby Stanger:
My stomach is gone after a hard run. I can't eat for a while.
Cal Calamia:
I'm like, "Feed me." Most of these runs at least begin in the morning, and then it's maybe around early afternoon or midday by the time I'm done. It's definitely brunch. Brunch is on. I love breakfast food. That is all I crave. I typically do this thing with my girlfriend, where I'll order a sweet thing and she'll order a salty thing, and then we'll go 50-50. But after a race, I'm just ordering two for myself fully. I'm just going to order an omelet and then some French toast with fruit on it. Just the sweet and savory combination, I just... Ooh, I'm so hungry. I always hit a point in a marathon where I'm like, "Dang it, I'm really hungry." Even if I'm super fueled and I'm obviously eating during it, having taking in gels and stuff like that, I hit a point and I'm like, "I cannot wait to eat." I am now, from this point, I'm running for the pancakes.
Shelby Stanger:
What do you hope more runners know about you, your run club, and what you're trying to do?
Cal Calamia:
I think, I hope that all runners can move toward a place of acknowledging that trans and non-binary runners are a part of that community and that creating a supportive running environment is inherent to running. In the blood of running, is that we are there for each other, that we cheer each other on. That we want equal opportunities for each other. We want fairness. No one's cutting corners.
Shelby Stanger:
We suffer together.
Cal Calamia:
Exactly.
Shelby Stanger:
Running is not always fun.
Cal Calamia:
Exactly. Before, I am a trans person, which makes me other from you. We are runners together. That is what I want people to think about. It really is against the culture of running to exclude. I think one other thing to put a hint in is that non-binary runners having their own category doesn't take anything away from any other runner at all. I think this visibility and this representation is just so important, so we can remind people that we are here and we're not leaving. In fact, younger people are much more likely to be trans or non-binary. But I agree that what is so important is conversation, and it's something we've moved away from so much because there's such polarizing arguments around so many things.
Shelby Stanger:
People, myself included, is afraid of saying the wrong thing. Afraid of getting canceled.
Cal Calamia:
Totally.
Shelby Stanger:
I think we just have to have conversations.
Cal Calamia:
You have to. There has to be space, because if I don't talk to you and you say something that I perceive as offensive or whatever, but I don't talk to you and I don't know you, how do we find each other? I grew up in Illinois, and I very much differ from my family and many of the people I grew up with in terms of political beliefs or ideologies in general, so I have become an expert in navigating this middle ground, which is really all about putting a person first before we put the beliefs that that person may have. If we can all do that, I feel like we'll realize that so many of the things that we think we are disagreeing about, we're actually not disagreeing about. It's just about really seeing people for who they are instead of for what they post on Facebook or whatever.
Shelby Stanger:
I like to remember that we're all human.
Cal Calamia:
I know. What feels so good to me and what is one of my primary joys in life is connection. I love new people. I love talking to people. I love listening to people. I love feeling connected to people. Don't people want that? The only way we get that is if we are willing to speak, but also listen, and try our best to just be non-judgmental.
Shelby Stanger:
You're really unafraid. You have a lot of courage.
Cal Calamia:
Yes, I have to be.
Shelby Stanger:
How have you cultivated that? Is that from your upbringing? Is that just you?
Cal Calamia:
Yeah, I think it's a lot of things. How I became who I am, I don't know. It's so many factors, but in some ways, it's a reaction to my upbringing. Since I was very young, I knew I didn't know everything. I didn't have words for who I was, but I just decided that I would be myself. If I don't get to live as who I am, I might as well not be living, because that's not living. It has not always been easy. I have dealt with a lot of loss by choosing authenticity, but I think the ultimate goal, for me, of my life, I realize, is not so much even happiness as it is authenticity. No matter what the cost, I will be who I am.
Shelby Stanger:
Cal Calamia, thank you for sharing your authenticity with the world. This podcast comes up the day after the Boston Marathon, and I hope it went well for you. Congrats on running it and being part of the crew to run in the first ever non-binary category. Be sure to go to Cal's Instagram to see how the race went. It's @calcalamia, that's C-A-L C-A-L-A-M-I-A. There you'll also find out all sorts of information about the projects that Cal is working on, their non-binary run club and more.
Wild Ideas Worth Living is part of the REI Podcast Network. It's hosted by me, Shelby Stanger. Produced by Annie Fassler, Sylvia Thomas, and Sam Peers Nitzberg of Puddle Creative. Our senior producer is Jenny Barber. Our executive producers are Paolo Mottola and Joe Crosby. As always, we love it when you follow the show, rate it, and write a review wherever you listen. Remember, some of the best adventures happen when you follow your wildest ideas.