Our Guide to Becoming Unstoppable
Welcome to Strong Girl Talk, where we dive into the latest in sports science, performance, and well-being—all with a focus on women and girls in sport. This week we’ve got a one off episode - Sasha and Molly were guests for a webinar hosted by Ontario Cycling [https://ontariocycling.org] Women’s Month [https://ontariocycling.org/oc-womens-month-2026-events-rides-discounts-more/] this May.
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Based on the research-backed Unstoppable [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/authors__sasha-gollish] journal Sasha put out with Strong Girl Publishing, Sasha and Molly shared simple strategies and easy tweaks to maximize your training gains, and more importantly, your love of the sport. When girls and women believe they can be unstoppable, there’s no end to what they can accomplish in and outside of sport.
They framed the conversation around Sasha’s Pillars of Perfrmance, which include:
* Sleep Soundly - Have you thought about the quantity and quality of your sleep? Do you have a sleep routine? Drawing on the research from Amy Bender [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W7g2GAIAAAAJ&hl=en] and Mathew Walker [https://www.sleepdiplomat.com/], they also shared Micha Powell [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/authors__micha-powell]’s recovery Strategies from her book Sprinting Through Setbacks [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/authors__micha-powell]. Check out Micha’s Strong Girl Talk episode [https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/strong-girl-talk/id1800736597?i=1000698376271] too!
* Feed the Machine - Don’t worry, we won’t go on a chocolate milk rant in this episode? But we do talk about fuelling strategies on and off the bike. We highlight, Stevie Smith [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/authors__stevie-lyn-smith]’s Book Power Up [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/authors__stevie-lyn-smith], and of course we had Steve on Strong Girl Talk [https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/strong-girl-talk/id1800736597?i=1000729887568]! Also check out Stevie’s podcast, Real Fuel [https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/real-fuel-with-sls/id1746341651].
* Moving your body - Sasha is immersed in this daily with her work at RE.sport [https://projectresport.com/]. She spoke again about the great work that ASICS did and continues to do with the Move Her Mind [https://www.asics.com/ca/en-ca/move-her-mind?srsltid=AfmBOorZVb01DZz2n8M13t-OKiLkuUnTf9JU7S6rJdeCLv4dNSfe753K] work. We also highlighted Marley Blonsky’s [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/marley] new book, The Ragtag Best Friends Bicycle Club [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/marley], and all of Molly’s Shred Girls Books [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/authors__molly-hurford]!
* Be Present - Do you ever find your thoughts wondering? Especially when they shouldn’t - like maybe when you’re mountain biking, you’re thinking about school or work and all of a sudden a tree jumps out of nowhere!? Molly and Sasha talk about the strategies in Unstoppable [https://stronggirlpublishing.com/pages/authors__sasha-gollish] to help you stay focused, so you can be and grow your confidence.
* Engineer your own life - And finally, since Sasha is an engineer, she brought it back to how you need to think about the priorities in your life, working with your strengths, and the power of habits to make real and lasting change.
And just before the conversation wrapped up, Sasha shared a personal story about her first time competing for Team Canada. She talked about how her uniform made her feel confident, strong, and unstoppable, but how a teammate did not have the same experience. It’s why she’s co-leading a study about uniforms [https://projectresport.com/uniform]. See more below!
Does Your Uniform Make You Feel Unstoppable? Or not at all?
Researchers at the University of Toronto are conducting a Sport Uniform Study [https://projectresport.com/uniform] to better understand how uniforms influence athletes’ experiences, including comfort, performance, confidence, belonging, and identity. While uniforms are a central part of sport, there has been limited research examining how they shape athlete experiences across different levels of competition.
There are two surveys, one for youth [https://redcap.utoronto.ca/surveys/?s=YTH3YJAR3KDC8NXN] and for those who are 18+ [https://redcap.utoronto.ca/surveys/?s=8F4JR49M8DCECC4F], to share their experiences about sport uniforms whether they are positive, challenging, or somewhere in between. By sharing their perspectives, participants will help inform future conversations around athlete-centred uniform design and policies that support performance, inclusion, and athlete well-being. Each survey takes about 20 minutes to complete.
Survey Links:
Youth Survey: https://redcap.utoronto.ca/surveys/?s=YTH3YJAR3KDC8NXN [https://redcap.utoronto.ca/surveys/?s=YTH3YJAR3KDC8NXN]18+ Survey: https://redcap.utoronto.ca/surveys/?s=8F4JR49M8DCECC4F [https://redcap.utoronto.ca/surveys/?s=8F4JR49M8DCECC4F]
(Note: while the youth survey is for all sport participants, the 18+ survey is for national team athletes, university and college athletes, and professional athletes).
Findings from this will be shared on RE.sport’s [https://projectresport.com/uniform] website following data collection, likely in Fall 2026. You can also learn more about the study here [https://projectresport.com/uniform] and RE.sport’s [https://projectresport.com/] work.
If you have any questions about the study, please email the research team at resport.kpe@utoronto.ca [resport.kpe@utoronto.ca].
Remember you can follow Molly and Sasha on Social Media including:Molly - @mollyjhurford [https://www.instagram.com/mollyjhurford/] @stronggirlpublishing [https://www.instagram.com/stronggirlpublishing/]Sasha - @SGollishRuns [https://www.instagram.com/SGollishRuns/] @Yellow_Running_Shoes [https://www.instagram.com/yellow_running_shoes/]
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