95 Books Like Her Fearless Run

The beginning of Wilma Unlimited pulls you in as it describes a tiny girl who weighed just four pounds at birth. As a child Wilma was sickly, contracting both scarlet fever and polio. The story is beautifully written with stunning illustrations. Information about the 1940s, segregation, and the love and support of a mother who had 22 children, is seamlessly woven in. Who could put down a story about a girl who once wore a heavy steel brace on her leg, but, through perseverance, went on to win three gold medals in track-and-field at the 1960 Olympics?

This is another book about Wilma Rudolph, but this one focuses on how Wilma inspired two young girls in Clarksville, Tennessee, Wilma’s birthplace. Alta is The Quickest Kid in Clarksville, but worries about Charmaine, the new girl with brand-new, “stripes down the sides” shoes. The author’s writing is fast-paced with a rhythm to it, perfect for a running book about winning, losing, and friendship. Yes, friendship, as when Wilma Rudolph arrives for a parade to celebrate her Olympic wins, the girls finally agree to carry Alta's big banner to the parade in a relay race like Wilma won at the Olympics.

One of the things I love most about this book is the foreword, which was written by Fauja himself – Fauja, the oldest person ever to run a marathon. Fauja was unable to walk until he was five years old and after he walked, he was still very weak. People were always teasing him and telling him he couldn’t do things. There’s a wonderful refrain that runs through the book: “But Fauja did not listen and Fauja did not stop.” At 89, he completed his first marathon. He ran marathons from London to New York to Toronto. The book ends with the Toronto Marathon, in which Fauja set a new world record as the oldest person to run a marathon.

Marathon Mouse is a fun story for our littlest runners. Most of the mice living under the bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island didn’t like the commotion of Marathon Day. But Preston did. Preston braved the crowds and big shoes to run the Marathon himself. And near the finish line, his family, who had told him races weren’t for mice, were there cheering him on.

Marathon Mouse is the only one of my book recommendations about an animal marathon runner. But, as with the books here about people, Preston, the Marathon Mouse, has perseverance and determination and feels joy when he’s running.

For much of the 20th century, women were banned from taking part in some of running’s biggest races, because of misogynistic beliefs about supposed female fragility. A few women were brave enough to challenge this sexist idea by competing in the same arena as men. By 1967, some women had managed to sneak in to run the Boston Marathon, then all-male, but Kathrine Switzer was the first to officially receive a race number by registering with only her initials. Yet her run wasn’t without drama, as Switzer explains firsthand in her book. A race official noticed Switzer running and attempted to force her off the course. Press photographers captured the whole confrontation. When the resulting photos ran in newspapers, it pushed forward the movement for women’s equality in sport.

Murphy writes about the early years of women’s distance running as women discover their desire and ability to run long, and push for acceptance to participate. It traces the experience of the first competitive female long-distance runners who laid the groundwork for the next generation of girls and women runners to begin to experience the benefits.

“Running,” Catriona Menzies-Pike tells us, “has a way of dragging you into the present moment of exertion.” Yes, it sure does. As a group, runners exhibit an uncommon tendency toward rumination for which running often serves as a form of treatment, its mental benefits following directly from its physical nature. In writing so beautifully about such rewards, Menzies-Pike captures the feeling of running for any runner, fast or slow, in a disarmingly real and unromantic voice that rings with truth.

Any story about legendary running ambassador Bill Rodgers is worth the read. A U.S. Olympian and four-time winner of the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon, his impact on the sport of running is immeasurable on many levels – shining a light on athlete inequality, repeated hard-earned road-race excellence, expanding the sport to the non-elite, and consistent approachability and promotion. His tenacity as a competitor helped push the sport into “primetime” and beyond. Having interviewed him many times over the years for my books and articles, Marathon Man reads the way he speaks, with honesty and insight. In addition to a Hall of Fame resume, part of his popularity is based on the fact the common runner can relate to many of his battles – a former smoker, blue-collar life, cancer survivor.

The Last Pick is proof positive that anything is possible. He is the race director of the Boston Marathon and Falmouth Road Race. He has his own business which organizers athletic events throughout the world. He has run extraordinary distances for charity, including across America! He is revered, respected, and renowned. But as he unabashedly explains in his life story, he fought hard against many obstacles and slights to develop a level of perseverance and determination that constantly drives his success and benevolence. As evidenced in the book, he has also become one of the finest personable ambassadors of the sport, whether contributing to causes or promoting the many benefits of running. And on a personal note, he wrote a foreword for one of my books.

At first, I wasn’t sure about this book’s “voicy” urban slang. However, I fell more and more for “Ghost” (Castle, the main character, who has a cousin named “King”) as I learned about his painful history.

Castle is a lightning-fast runner, and I’m a sucker for characters that have passion for the athletic event they love, especially individual sports but on a team—cycling, swimming, running, boxing, fencing, etc. I couldn’t help but root for him, even when I winced at many of his decisions.

Although far from perfect, he’s kind, which allows him to fit into his new “tribe”: the track team. I was completely sucked in. It’s a fast read with a lot of depth and a cast of rich and varied characters. I loved it.