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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
inspiring
slow-paced
This book is part manifesto, part memoir, and I wasn't particularly keen on either. Lots of the manifesto bits about women being an afterthought in sports training had me hooked - certainly something all women in sport can relate to! But then I felt unsatisfied because there were really no solutions provided to give women a more equal footing. How should women train to make cycling hormones a benefit and not a detriment? How can we better retain girls in sport when puberty brings breasts that make running painful? I know there's research here, and I wish Fleshman would have mentioned it.
The memoir bits had me rolling my eyes, because Fleshman seemed to only ever notice or care about inequalities in opportunity and performance when they worked against her. It seemed to me that her impression was that when she was winning it was because she was the best, but when she was losing it was because she was unfairly disadvantaged. She praises herself for being smart enough to avoid an eating disorder that plagued so many of her teammates, and then in the next sentence laments that she only lost to a competitor because she had the (short-term) advantage that ED gives! She admits that until she got injured herself she thought injury was a sign of poor training. I wish she did more to acknowledge that the patriarchal, male-centric training worked well for her, until it didn't. But at that point, she'd already reaped a lot of benefits and made it to the top.
The memoir bits had me rolling my eyes, because Fleshman seemed to only ever notice or care about inequalities in opportunity and performance when they worked against her. It seemed to me that her impression was that when she was winning it was because she was the best, but when she was losing it was because she was unfairly disadvantaged. She praises herself for being smart enough to avoid an eating disorder that plagued so many of her teammates, and then in the next sentence laments that she only lost to a competitor because she had the (short-term) advantage that ED gives! She admits that until she got injured herself she thought injury was a sign of poor training. I wish she did more to acknowledge that the patriarchal, male-centric training worked well for her, until it didn't. But at that point, she'd already reaped a lot of benefits and made it to the top.
3.5, rounding to 4. While I knew/assumed some of the facts in this book, a number were new to me. Lauren's story is also incredible.
a must read for runners and female athletes and those interested in sports in general.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I loved this book! I’m not typically a fan of memoirs, but this didn’t feel like one. To me, it felt more like a call to action for all women to be their best selves and to lift up others in the process. Very well written and relatable.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Inspiring and realistic story about the ups and downs of being a woman in sports. She didn't seem to hide her true feelings or mistakes. I want more stories like these.
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Loooooved this memoir and I appreciated how she reflected on her past and learned about intersectional feminism and acknowledges that for most of her life/career she had been advocating for women most like herself and now understands that there are other factors that affect women of color differently than white women. I appreciated the look inside the running community and how prevalent disordered eating is if not full blown eating disorders. Reminded me of when I was in high school and my coach asked me if I’d gained weight and said that every extra pound is a tenth of a second on your time in the 100m.
A very inspiring read and so important for women in the running world to read! I loved Lauren’s storytelling and learning about her journey.