First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles of the Rebels, Rule Breakers, and Visionaries Who Changed the Sport Forever

I was going to wait until I finished this amazing book before I wrote this, but I want others to enjoy it while I am doing so! Amby has captured such an important part of "our" history. It's not just about running, it's about the pursuit of something bigger than yourself, it's about finding peace of mind and friendship. I am not a runner, but so appreciate these precious vignettes of ladies that came from all walks of life with the common theme of running that eventually brought them together. Having personally met many of them at the recent Boston Marathon, the oral histories were so powerful and inspiring. Globally and in the US, these profiles stand on their own and Amby's intimate knowledge having run with many of these women makes it ever so personal. He is a champion of running, of history, of women, and a great writer and lovely human being. I hope everyone reads his book.

This is a great book, with the exception of the last chapter, where Oprah Winfrey is included amongst runners who are way out of her league. Oprah in no way deserved to be included in this book of such historic and ground breaking women runners, many of whom were excluded for years just because they were women. Thankfully, nowadays women have the full rights in the running world as do men. Many really great runners are highlighted in this book.

Great short profiles by a writer and marathoner with decades of experience. At a minimum, this needs to be in every school library so kids can use it to write papers for Women's History Month. But it is good reading both for the individual runners and for the slow increments of history in women's running. It starts with women running as unofficial entrants and ends up with half of all entrants being women. Quite a story.

Today, when millions of women are out running races from 5Ks to marathons (and even farther), it can be hard to remember what it was like, not very long ago, when women weren't allowed to run any farther than 800 meters in competition. Luckily, most of the pioneering women from the 60s and 70s who proved conventional wisdom wrong are still with us, and Amby Burfoot has brought their stories together in a book that's inspiration for runners of all genders, and for any people of any gender who might want to try something in defiance of limits that other people might want to put on them.

great stories. an inspirational and easy read.

I have to be fair by saying that this time period was when I first began my running career just before college. There are several friends of mine in the book. Amby can do no wrong when it comes to writing. Excellent book. I recommend that ALL female runners read this book to appreciate where they are today.

I love books about running. I love stories about strong, independent women. I even love Amby Burfooy. What I don’t love is this book. It’s a hard pass for me.

This book is an easy read. Each story draws you in. I learned a lot about the history of women in running. Well written and very motivational. I ordered extra copies to give as gifts to my female athlete friends.

As a keen runner I own many books on running (biographies and training) and this is by far the most inspiring one! It's one of those books I will read and again. There aren't enough biographies on female runners I think. I'm hoping one day there will be one on Shalane Flanagan.

Amazing and inspiring book.Makes me want to run more marathons by the second.

It's a good book, very interesting to read all the stories. I did think it would be about women from all over the world, but it was just about the American women runners. Worth reading though.