4.13. The Dropped Episode

4.13. The Dropped Episode

From Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara by Des Linden and Kara Goucher

April 1, 2026 · 1h 5m · Season 4 · Episode 13

About this episode

Des and Kara discuss the latest running controversy involving Emma Bates and the challenges faced by pregnant athletes.

Cue the latest running controversy because it had been a few weeks. But first (!), Kara and Des update you on their lives including the latest race from Colt, and of course, Des's final preparation for Marathon des Sables. She will soon be running self-supported across the Sahara desert. In fact, she lands in Morocco on the very day this episode posts. Go Des... we are ALL cheering for you! Then if you missed it, Emma Bates posted on IG about getting "dropped" by UCAN (her nutrition sponsor) because of her pregnancy. Naturally, the world came to her defense, and now Emma is sharing more of her story on Ali Feller's podcast. Kara is no stranger to this issue, so she and Des dig into it, raising some good questions on the topic as well as a host of related ones. The short answer is... it's complicated, as many things are for athletes that are contractors and not in-house employees. Overall though, more rights and support for pregnant athletes is needed, and Alysia Montaño and Allyson Felix are leading the way. If you want to help, then put your time, energy, and money behind their work! Finally, we want to thank Lagoon for supporting the podcast (as well as Emma Bates even through…

People in this episode

Hosts: Des Linden, Kara Goucher

Topics covered

  • running controversy
  • pregnancy in sports
  • athlete rights
  • Marathon des Sables
  • nutrition sponsorship
  • support for pregnant athletes

Keywords

  • running
  • pregnancy
  • athlete rights
  • nutrition sponsor
  • Marathon des Sables
  • Emma Bates
  • Des Linden
  • Kara Goucher

Sponsors

Lagoon

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UCAN

Books & works: Ali Feller's podcast

Places: Sahara desert, Morocco

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