It's Time For A Runner Girl Emoji!

Johanna Gretschel

In 2015, emojis are as critical to communication as the traditional alphabet - and on the internet, even more so.

Why type "I yawned, then felt anguished and unamused because it's cloudy and raining and lightning but I gritted my teeth and still ran" when you can type:

Or, "that workout sucked," when you can type:

You can even change emojis' skin tone to match your own for a more accurate representation of yourself. Whether you're a dancer, swimmer or panda bear, there is an emoji that represents you!

Unless you're a female runner.

While designed to be gender neutral, the close-cropped haircut of the runner emoji is a clear indicator of the male gender. There are nearly just as many girls participating in high school track and field and cross country as boys, and there are actually more women than men competing in collegiate cross country and road races. Isn't it time for a runner girl emoji?

Molly Huddle thinks so, too.

The 5k American record holder and 2012 Olympian has submitted a formal request for a female runner emoji to the Unicode Consortium, a non-profit corporation that develops the Unicode Standard which specifies the representation of text in all modern software products. Huddle partnered with friend and training partner Róisín McGettigan-Dumas, whose husband, Myles Dumas, created the girl power graphic.

"I felt better having a partner in crime with like-minded ideas in support of women in athletics and the value of sport in women and girls' lives," Huddle told Runner's World.

Huddle says she has not yet heard back from the Unicode Consortium, but the next meeting is on November 2.

The latest iOS 9.1 update included the highly anticipated taco and unicorn emojis. Could the runner girl be next?

What do you think? Should there be a runner girl emoji?

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