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Ruby Wyles, Ypsilanti, MI (2026)

02/10/2026

february is month, and it’s something that deserves more attention.

it’s not a fun topic to talk about, and something I still feel shame and fear judgement about. however, eating disorders have affected me for most of my life, cost me a lot, and yet the power they hold can feel insurmountable.

eating disorders are serious mental illnesses that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. in athletes, resulting energy deficits (LEA and RED-S) can have outsized consequences. the body isn’t infallible, eventually, it will break, though it can also heal.

i hope sharing some of my story can help you answer “is it worth it” when thoughts of restriction, weight loss, body comparisons, exercising more, or eating “clean” arise. (you are not alone in having these thoughts; know that they say nothing about you, but, unfortunately, reflect society at large.)

*collegiate running did not cause my eating disorder, nor do I fault my coaches. i was stubborn and too deep in the illness to listen to advice, reduce training, and accept help.

01/13/2026

2025 highs (and let’s just ignore the lows)

🧩 first escape room
🎄peak moment = Christmas in Flagstaff with some of my favorite people
🏁 representing in XC 1 year after a near fatal bike accident
🥦
👯‍♀️ playing dress up
🏃🏻‍♀️ into to Hyrox
🫂 close friends through hard times and good
🏋🏻‍♀️ pull-ups
📚 college memories
🥂 pre-race shanegans
☀️ summer workouts and long runs (aka, the few times running felt good)
🚴🏼‍♀️ back in the saddle post bike crash
🐈 Leo in his Christmas costume
🍪 more fuel from

01/09/2026

6 years ago (today), I arrived in America 🇺🇸 full of ambition and hope for a great NCAA career ahead. Coming off the best running year of my life, where I PR’d in almost every race I ran, at 18, I gave up 5 medical school offers to prioritize my athletic dreams. 🏃🏻‍♀️🏆 I ended 2019, my senior year of high school, ranked in the top 10 lists of U20 British women for the 5 km, 10 km, 10 mile, and half marathon race distances 🇬🇧. I won a silver medal 🥈 in the 5,000m at the national track and field championships, alongside success at other major meets too.

Reflecting, my 18-year-old self would’ve concluded the last 6 years were a massive failure:

❌ 0 x PRs, not a single second faster in any distance than my 18-year-old self

❌ 0 x NCAA Division I finals made, 0 x NCAA Division I All-American titles, only 1 x NCAA Division I conference title

❌ 0 x healthy years of running

❌ Only 1 x healthy running season (indoors 2022; all others were either returning from injuries or injured)

❌ +/= 2 x bone stress injuries every year (8 bone stress injuries in total, plus 12 other broken bones, 2 torn tendons, and an array of other physical and mental health “things”)

❌ Missed opportunities to race big meets across the US, team travel trips, and championship rings

❌ Getting hit by a semi truck, multiple
concussions, ongoing post-concussion syndrome

❌ Losing love and joy for the sport
.. the list continues

Fortunately, my 24-year-old self has a better perspective: I have many regrets, but coming to the US is not one of them.

It’s not what I wanted, but it’s where I am, and I’m grateful for the opportunities and the people I’ve met along the way. 🫶

11/15/2025

Sharing some of my story— the highs, lows, learnings, in poetry form. Not sure where this is going, but this is a look into my early running years, my mindset, mistakes, and mental health.

Outrunning 🏃🏻‍♀️

In my teens, the math was simple:
more miles = more speed,
and progress rose in clean, bright lines.
Each race a little faster,
each season a new record set,
from a body that never broke.

I trained harder, lifted heavier,
layered cross-training on top of “discipline”,
and called it focus.
I told myself I wasn’t restricting,
but I counted everything:
calories, miles, the shape of my shadow.
I ate “just enough,”
never “too much,”
chasing the silhouette of an athlete
I believed I had to become.

My period never came.
I shrugged,
one less inconvenience to slow me down.
I was running away
from the heavier girl in my mind,
the one I feared becoming,
instead of running toward the runner
I actually could be.

Race photos became mirrors,
Constant comparisons
to every faster girl;
I gifted their success
to the bodies they wore
instead of the years they’d earned.

Late to the sport,
I doubled down:
more miles,
more rigidity,
less life.
Friends, family, fun,
unnecessary weight to cut.
The Olympics lived somewhere ahead,
a shimmering finish line,
and only then could I relax.

Coaches warned me,
stories of girls who pushed too far,
but those stories weren’t mine.
Those girls were smaller, faster,
too intense.
I was “catching up,”
not spiraling down.
I wasn’t extreme—
not yet.
And because I never broke,
I never stopped.
Rest days were weakness;
vacations, training camps;
silence, space to grind.

And still, I believed:
I wasn’t one of them.
I was focused.
Disciplined.
Right on track.
Nothing could slow me down—
except the truth
I refused to hear.

10/11/2025

October 3rd, 2025, I ran my 1st XC race in 3 years, representing Eastern Michigan University for the 1st time, and finally scoring for the team. I’m not fit, I lack consistent training, and running feels harder than ever. It was not a pretty race, but I finished. I showed up for my team, gave the best effort I had on the day, scored some points, and walked away healthy.

My mantras for the day were “no next time” and “nothing to lose”. 3 years ago, I would’ve laughed if you’d told me I’d not race for another 3. Last year, I seriously feared that I would never run again. It’s been a wild ride, and that’s not about to end anytime soon.

Rewind… story time 📚
On October 25th, 2024, I was cycling to go and watch team race our home meet. 🚴🏻‍♀️ Less than 3 miles away, I was hit by a semi truck and was almost killed.

When I woke up in the hospital, my head and neck in a brace, I feared I was paralysed and would never run again. Ultimately, I was incredibly lucky not to be worse off: a badly broken my clavicle (collarbone), 10 broken ribs (and a little bleed in my lung), and busted up my head (brain bleed and a severe concussion) seem minor compared to what could’ve been.

It has quite honestly been the most trying year since, health wise. After surgery, the broken bones healed linearly and, physically, I was back functioning normally in a few months.

But what no one prepares you for, is the reality of a brain injury. The hope is full recovery, but no one truly knows. I know I am not the same person I was a year ago, and I grieve that person. My work/life capacity is dramatically reduced, fatigue dominates much of my life, and Tylenol (paracetamol) would’ve bankrupt me if I took pills every time I had a headache. I’m an emotional rollercoaster, up and in a good routine, or down, feeling like a failure or, more likely, asleep…

Continued in comments 👇

10/02/2025

📆 1,323 days
🦴 16 broken bones
🧠 2 concussions
🏡 6 house moves
♾️ therapy sessions (physical + psychological) and other setbacks
… since my last cross country race.

It’s been a rollercoaster, and, truthfully, one I’m still riding. 🎢 Almost 1 year after being hit by a semi-truck and coming close to dying, I’m full of gratitude just for the ability to run. 🚑

I’m not “race ready”, “in shape”, or particularly “running fit” (whatever those terms are meant to mean), but tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and there might not be a “next time”. (I certainly didn’t think it’d be 3 years between races!) 🏃🏻‍♀️

It’s time to FAFO and show up for the team that has supported me throughout this wild ride. 💚🖤

08/21/2025

✌️ truths and ☝️(small) lie
1) I’m the team grandma 👵🏼
2) This my 10th year in the NCAA 📚🏃🏻‍♀️
3) My last college race was in 2022 🏁

I thought this day would never come, but I’m back! No, I’m not better, but I am 🔙!

Grateful for this team is an understatement. 🫶 Thank you for helping me build back from literally square 1, close to death, to finding joy in running healthy again. Let’s go play in some mud! 💚🖤

01/01/2025

2024… the year that almost (multiple times) killed me. 🚑🩻

Alt caption: 2024… the year that showed me (multiple times) how hard my body is fighting for me to be here, how strong it really is, and how many people I have rooting for me. 💪

Thank you for being with me this year and supporting me more than I could ever have imagined. 🙌

Personally, I’m praying for a lighter 2025 and the chance to repay the love and support I’ve received by being there for others. 💞

📆 Simply making it through 2024 has my 2025 off to a great start! 🍾

11/23/2024

A slightly long and overdue update of weeks 2️⃣ and 3️⃣ post accident.

🧠 Brain.
The head impact and brain bleed occurred in my occipital lobe, a region of the brain associated with vision. This goes onto to explain why I’ve been having a lot of trouble reading, focusing on words and screens, and headaches behind my eyes. The uncertainty around the head-healing timeframe gets me down because I still have a lot of head symptoms that leave me functioning at

11/09/2024

2 weeks ago, on a bike ride, I was struck by a large truck and knocked unconscious.🆘 My body, attached to my bike by my cycling shoes, did its best bouncy ball interpretation and my head repeatedly made contact with ground. 🚴🏻‍♀️ I suffered a brain bleed and severe concussion, alongside 10 broken ribs and a very smashed up clavicle (collarbone).🦴🩸

In the weeks since:
• Surgery on my clavicle (most pain of my life after) 🦴⚙️
• Still struggling with bad concussion symptoms 😵‍💫
• Ribs and lung healing slowly (can now cough without tears) 🫁
• Grateful for strong painkillers 💊
• Sleeping like a bear hibernating 😴
• Reunited with my adorable kitty Leo 🐈

📌 Right now, the biggest issue is my head and related symptoms. Hoping that as my shoulder and ribs heal, I’m able to move more and get some fresh air to my brain. 🍁

✨ All things considered, I’m doing well and so grateful for everyone’s support and kind words. Being alive and not more badly hurt is remarkable, and most of that was due to wearing a helmet. Don’t ride without a helmet, it saves lives (like mine). ⛑️

For more details and if you feel inclined to support created a gofundme (link in bio 🔗)

10/28/2024

On Friday afternoon, I was cycling to go and watch my XC team race a meet. 🚴🏻‍♀️ Less than 3 miles away I was hit by a semi truck (if you don’t know what that is, Google it) 🚚🚚 and was almost killed. 🆘

The truck started passing me with 1ft (less than 1/2 meter) of room, I remember nothing else. From what witness said, the truck also had a ladder hanging of the back and I was hit by the side of the truck before being spun into the air by the ladder. I was clipped in (basically attached) to my bike by my shoes, and my bike and I proceeded to do 4 somersaults. My head wacking the ground each time. I fell into a crumpled mess in the middle of the road. ❌

🚑🚨 Multiple ambulances and emergency vehicles and personnel later, I found out I had been knocked out for 45-60 minutes, badly broken my clavicle (collarbone), 10 out of a possible 12 ribs (and a little bleed in my lung), and busted up my head. I have a bleed on the lower left side of my brain and a severe concussion.

I don’t remember much, other than I was wearing super bright cycling gear and a great helmet. ⛑️ I was riding safe and I am a proficient cyclist. Even still, I almost died. Without a helmet, I wouldn’t be here writing this. To everyone reading, take one thing away WEAR A HELMET‼️ I don’t care how great a cyclist eyou are, it’s the vehicles being jerks I worry about.

For now, I’m in so so much pain and can’t do much but lie on my back and eat snacks with my feet! 🍕For all the hurt I’m in, its significantly less that the pain on my loved ones if I’d have died.

Not sponsored, but because they saved my life and I’m in need of another, shoutout to helmets! ⛑️ Other equipment destroyed: bike 🚴🏻‍♀️, bike shoes 👟, power pedals and watch ⌚️, power meter, outfit, glasses 🕶️ earbuds 🎧 and almost me! (Yep, cycling is an expensive sport 😭)

Thank you to everyone who helped save my life! I’m still awaiting possible surgery, in a lot of pain just breathing (turns out ribs are kinda important!) and a brain injury isn’t great either.

But I AM ALIVE❗️

09/30/2024

🔙🏃🏻‍♀️ in the NCAA for Year 🤷🏻‍♀️ 💚💛

Truly grateful for this opportunity .parks.906 ✨ Thank you! 🙌

Ruby Wyles

02/10/2026

01/13/2026

01/09/2026

11/15/2025

10/11/2025

10/02/2025

08/21/2025

01/01/2025

11/23/2024

11/09/2024

10/28/2024

09/30/2024

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