Published June 1, 2011 03:59PM
Pro Triathlete and Skirt Sports founder recently launched an online mentorship program for women runners.
Nicole DeBoom wants you to run like a girl.
The professional triathlete got into the girl power business in 2004 when, fed up with the drab unisex gear provided by her sponsors, she created the world’s first running skirt so she could “feel pretty.”
“When I look good, I feel good and perform better,” she said.
DeBoom, 39, won the 2004 Ironman Wisconsin race wearing a sexy, home-sewn skirt prototype and soon after founded the running apparel company Skirt Sports.
That first skirt “really triggered an emotional response in women,” DeBoom said.
The Colorado-based athlete said she realized there are thousands of women who want to exercise but don’t because of barriers like illness, finances, family duties, obesity, depression or image insecurity.
The skirt made a statement: “I don’t care what you think.” And on the practical side, it offers more butt coverage than the average pair of exercise shorts.
Now the energetic entrepreneur has found a way to both unite the women runners empowered by her ultra-femme fitness skirts and to locate these women who want to run but have no idea how to get started – a social network.
“Kick it Forward” is part Facebook, part Match.com and 100 % empowerment.
The program pairs up experienced female runners, dubbed “personal motivators,” with beginners. Each pair sets a race goal, then “Kick It Forward” provides an 8-week custom training schedule.
Read more: NY Daily News