No one ever expected Catriona Menzies-Pike to run a marathon. She hated running and was a hopeless athlete. But a decade after her parents died suddenly she started running, and found that 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 this sport go from being suspect to wildly popular? This fascinating book combines memoir and cultural history to explore this rich and contradictory topic.

No one ever expected Catriona Menzies-Pike to run a marathon. She hated running and was a hopeless athlete. But a decade after her parents died suddenly she started running, and found that 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 this sport go from being suspect to wildly popular? This fascinating book combines memoir and cultural history to explore this rich and contradictory topic.