🏃‍♀️ Extractive vs. Regenerative Movement: Reframing Your Relationship with Running with Karly Borden

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with Karly Borden, founder of The Public Run Club, to explore what it really looks like to rebuild a relationship with running after disordered eating.

Karly shares her personal story of navigating eating disorder recovery and the often-overlooked challenge of returning to exercise in a way that feels safe, grounded, and self-trust-driven. Together, they unpack the tension between discipline and intuition, and why so many people feel stuck in the “murky middle” of movement — not fully disordered, but not fully free either.

Leah and Karly also dive into Karly’s Intuitive Athlete Cycle, a powerful framework for approaching movement in a sustainable, non-extractive way that honors the body’s natural rhythms rather than forcing constant progress.

You’ll hear about:

• Karly’s personal journey with running, disordered eating, and recovery
• Why movement is often the missing piece in eating disorder recovery
• The difference between extractive vs. regenerative movement
• How to approach fitness goals without slipping into disordered patterns
• Karly’s Intuitive Athlete Cycle and how it supports sustainable movement
• Practical tools for tuning into your body before, during, and after exercise

Mentioned in the Episode:

• 🎢 My Story (unfiltered, the whole saga)
• 🏃‍♀️ Disordered Eating in the Running Community with Serena Marie

More from Karly:

• Website: https://www.thepublicrunclub.com
• Instagram: @thepublicrunclub
• Kind and Consistent Jump Start Waitlist: https://thepublicrunclub.com/kcjs

More From Leah:

• 📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter Pack
• Apply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching program
• Join my self-paced course, The Return
• Subscribe to Leah's Youtube Channel
• Subscribe to my personal Substack
• Follow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rd
• Visit my website to learn more about my coaching offerings
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.
• Send me a voice message on Speakpipe
• Email me: Leah@leahkernrd.com

📚 Sources 📚

• On the body as a site of self-trust: Inspired by Caldwell, C., & Leighton, L. B. (Eds.). (2018). Oppression and the Body: Roots, Resistance, and Resolutions. North Atlantic Books.
• On the hypothetical gaze, body-object, and eating disorders emerging in puberty: McBride, H. L. (2019). “Embodiment and Body Image: Relating and Exploring Constructs.” In H. L. McBride & J. L. Kwee (Eds.), Embodiment and Eating Disorders: Theory, Research, Prevention and Treatment. Routledge.