The Long Run
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
No one ever expected Catriona Menzies- Pike to run a marathon. She hated running, and was a hopeless athlete. When she was twenty her parents died suddenly - and for a decade she was stuck. She started running on a whim, and finally her grief started to move too. Until very recently, it was frowned upon for women to run long distances. Running was deemed unladylike - and probably dangerous. How did women's running go from being suspect to wildly popular? How does a high school klutz become a marathon runner? This fascinating book combines memoir and cultural history to explore the rich and contradictory topic of women and running.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Menzies-Pike s engaging book braids together feminist and literary theory, cultural criticism, history, and a moving personal narrative that explores the ways in which physical movement can lead to transcendence in the face of tragedy. After her parents plane crash immobilizes her with grief, Menzies-Pike, editor of the Sydney Review of Books, returns home from wandering the world to run on a treadmill. As she trains for her first race, she recounts the challenges early female runners faced. Violet Percy ran a marathon (and set a record) in short heels at a time when women were told running would imperil their fertility. In the 1960s, women in the United States were forbidden from racing any distance over a mile and a half. Men tried to drag early female Boston Marathon runners off the course. Ultimately, the narrative is one of reserved success. Women s running has gained wider acceptance, though some women worry about running alone at night, and running remains largely a sport of the privileged. The frequent transitions between memoir and criticism can be jarring, but this is still an important and fascinating record of women s running experiences.
