'The reason why I love it so much is because my whole family has always done it,' Becky says.īut the path for Becky to run competitively was almost blocked in the spring of 2021 when West Virginia passed HB 3293 - a law that prevents transgender girls from competing in girls' and women's sports. 'It's the first chance to do any organized sports other than cheer,' Heather says.Ĭross country was the obvious choice. As a sixth-grader, this is her first chance to run competitively for her school. 'Like if we take 47 more steps, how many breaths do we need to take in order to stay on our program?'Īll of this running has put Becky in position to make the cross country team at her middle school. And then to make it interesting, Heather turns it into a story problem. Sometimes they count the number of breaths between foot falls. 'We do counts while we're running,' Heather says. Math is Becky's favorite subject, so Heather incorporates it where she can. Sometimes when they run, they also count. Now they run a mile through the rolling hills most every evening. 'Literally.'īecky has been logging miles with her mom since Heather pushed her around in a stroller.

'The cars that do come, they can see you from a mile away,' Heather says. The road they live on is too busy, so they drive to a cross street where the cows far outnumber the cars. On this particular July evening, Becky climbs into the family car with her mom, her dad and an older brother to drive to their favorite running spot. 'Which half the time ends in a hose fight, by the way,' Becky's mother, Heather, says.

The 11-year-old and her family live on three acres of land outside Bridgeport, West Virginia, a town with fewer than 10,000 people about halfway between Charleston, the state's capital, and Pittsburgh.Įvery morning, Becky has to let the chickens out and fill up the water bucket. She likes to run at the end of the day, when the summer heat has broken and she's done with her chores. Young transgender athletes caught in middle of states' debatesīECKY PEPPER-JACKSON slides her toes into her running shoes as the sun sets behind the Appalachian Mountains. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser

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