Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners

Shines a spotlight on pioneers who defied athletics’ rules and social norms

The Daily Telegraph

A much-needed read. Accomplished historian Katie Holmes brings to light the unsung heroines of women’s running history.

Jacqueline Hansen, author and two-time marathon world record holder

Brilliantly writes INTO history the women who had to fight for their right to run. Holmes showcases a great depth of research into many of the pioneer women runners who have been previously been 'written out of history'. New interviews and contemporary records are neatly intertwined to tell the story of the problems women had in being accepted into races, and how their breaking of rules, and ghost running, eventually effected necessary change.

Steve Chilton, author of Voices from the Hills: pioneering women fell and mountain runners.

I was hooked from the very first page. These women’s stories are powerful, inspiring, and at times infuriating, and this book finally gives these remarkable runners the recognition they have always deserved.

Emma Wilkinson, co-author of Ultra Women: The Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport

A fascinating deep dive into the untold history of women's running. These stories of courage, determination and an enduring love for the sport will inspire generations of runners

Jen Benson, author of The Path She Runs: A personal history of women’s ultrarunning

Katie doesn’t just document history; she reframes it. She shows that women’s running has never been a recent “boom” or trend – it has always been there, driven by women who refused to wait for permission. If we want to understand women’s sport today – its progress, its ongoing challenges, and its future – we need to understand the women who made it possible. This book restores them to their rightful place: not as footnotes, but as pioneers.

Sophie Power, ultrarunner and author of The Power Within: Record-breaking, Ultrarunning and fighting for change

An inspiring and overdue account of the women who changed running and a compelling reminder that women have always run – history just forgot to keep pace.

Fiona Skillen, Professor in History, Glasgow Caledonian University, co-editor ‘Histories of Women’s Football in Scotland and Ireland’

With meticulous research and accessible writing, Katie Holmes brings a generation of British pioneer women runners out of the 'unofficial' shadows. This overdue book fills a major gap in the history of British sport, and the global phenomenon of women's running. At last, we can fully understand Violet Piercy, Dale Greig, Leslie Watson and many other remarkable women who have been mere misreported footnotes.

Professor Roger Robinson, author When Running Made History and Running Throughout Time: the Greatest Running Stories Ever Told

Incredible

The Bookseller

Meticulously researched… unearthing such compelling evidence to demolish the pernicious myth that sport is a man's world

BBC History Magazine