As a 17-year-old ESPY Award recipient and Team USA triathlete, Julia Howe knows a thing or two about winning–and she’s proving you don’t have to “push through the pain” to come out on top.
In 2023, Julia founded Hitting The Wall–a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the mental well-being and education of the teen-girl endurance sports community. In July, Julia’s work with Hitting The Wall earned her recognition as one of the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award honorees at the 2026 ESPY Awards.
Julia founded Hitting The Wall after a heart-to-heart with her teammates. An honest conversation about injuries, missed periods, body image and burnout helped Julia realize the lack of resources for young athletes about their basic health. “Too many girls are taught how to push harder, but never how to recognize when pushing has become harmful,” Julia explains.
Hitting The Wall creates educational booklets, distributes care products and conducts research that serves more than 15,000 (pre)teens. The nonprofit’s work ranges from partnerships with UC San Francisco and the YMCA to in-class workshops on email etiquette when training impacts schoolwork.
“Sometimes advocacy starts with simply giving a young athlete the words and confidence to ask for what she needs,” Julia shares. And it’s this attitude that’s allowed Hitting The Wall to distribute thousands of wellness items, reach over two million people online and earn a place on the ESPY award stage next to athletic icons Billie Jean King and Alysa Liu.
Between seeing Simon Biles in the audience, strutting a *slippery* red carpet in heels and being recognized by *the* Billie Jean King, it’s no surprise Julia describes the ESPY Awards as “surreal.”
“What calmed me most was having my dad sitting beside me,” says Julia. “He was the first person I ever went running with, so it felt especially meaningful that he was there as I received an award honoring where athletics had taken me.”
Beyond owning the ESPY stage, Julia got to attend Disney’s New York headquarters, leadership sessions, the Sports Humanitarian Awards and a lunch with Billie Jean King herself (to which–ofc–we asked her to spill).
“[Billie] will see someone standing in the back of a photo and pull them to the front,” says Julia. “She asks people why they chose a certain word or phrase because she genuinely wants to understand how they think.” So not only does Billie Jean King seem like the friend we are all *dying* to have, but–according to Julia–her level of kindness and curiosity represents a powerful athletic awareness.
“As athletes, we are trained to notice small details on the field or during a race, but we can bring that same awareness into the rest of our lives,” shares Julia. “That is probably the biggest thing I took away from meeting [Billie Jean King].”
With an ESPY award already under her belt at age 17, you might be asking how Julia manages to do it all–and how you can make an impact too!
Julia’s advice? “Start small.” Remember: Hitting The Wall began with Julia’s heartfelt conversation with her teammates. Imagine all that one conversation, one email or one kind gesture could spark for you and your community.
Even though Julia is college-bound, her journey with Hitting The Wall is far from over–and girls who want to take action can reach out and apply to lead a project through Hitting The Wall’s website.
“Some of our best projects begin with a girl saying, ‘I keep noticing this problem, and I want to do something about it,’” Julia shares. “We can help her develop the idea and turn it into something real.”
For more ways to make sure your wellness routine stays healthy *and* happy, check out these articles:
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🩷5 Ways To Work Wellness Into Your Summer Vacay
🩷How To *Really* Tackle Your Summer Fitness Goals
Photos courtesy of Julia Howe.
