Women Runners

by Irene Reti (Editor), Bettianne Shoney Sien (Editor)

This anthology by and about women runners truly captures the essence of running, and the spirit and dreams of women. These all-new works, solicited from published authors, run the gamut from humorous to serious to sad, from poetry to fiction to essay. It is a perfect paired volume with The Runner's Literary Companion —the art of writing seeking to comprehend the ineffable, incomparable nature of running. The runners depicted cover the whole range of women—young and old, single and married, gay and straight, fast and slow, casual runners and fierce. These are not profiles of elite runners or Olympic personalities—they are moving works of literature about ordinary people achieving something extraordinary in their lives. Herein are stories about women running through pregnancy, running out their grief at the loss of loved ones, running a first marathon, running without fear, taking up running in midlife, running a 100-mile race, running naked; stories about running and love, and a high school girl finding her identity and strength through running. Running shapes one's life to its very foundation, and these stories and essays all celebrate its power to radically transform and empower. Women Runners will illuminate and inspire any runner—man or woman—and send them out the door for a few more miles of sweat and illumination. Irene Reti began running in early 1996 and has completed four marathons. She is the editor of numerous anthologies, including Cats (and their Dykes) and Childless by A Feminist Anthology . Her forthcoming memoir, The Keeper of Memory is about growing up as the daughter of Holocaust refugees who kept their Jewish identity a secret from her. Bettianne Shoney Sien has run fourteen marathons. Her short stories have been widely published and she is a teacher in Santa Cruz, California.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Irene Reti is a writer and publisher. She is the author/editor of several books with lesbian, feminist, and Jewish themes. From 1984-2000, she ran the lesbian feminist press HerBooks. After the close of HerBooks, Reti continued the press in the form of Juniper Lake Press, a publisher with a feminist, Jewish, and environmental focus.

She directs the oral history program at the university library of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Reti holds a BA in environmental studies and an MA in history from UC Santa Cruz.

Reviews

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an essay in this book, so I rated it a 5 :-)

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

encouraging stories. some more motivating than others but i could certainly find a connection with many.

[Kelly Snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really about the pure love of running at a time when women were discouraged from jostling their baby-making organs. A collection of short bios, this book is a quick read of several key women in competitive running who accomplished firsts and broke gender barriers. None of them set out to become women's rights champions; their love of running compelled them. After awhile the stories became a bit repetitive, making it hard to get all the way through.

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories written by women of different backgrounds and talents. This book helped me gain multiple perspective of running and what it means to be a female runner.

A great motivator.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I connected with some of the essays more than others. Regardless, I always find listening to other women's running stories inspiring. This is a good book to keep by your bed at night and read a few essays every night while you're training for a big race.

[Elizabeth]

Scale of 1-10; 5

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short autobiographical essays - some very well-written, about how running has affected the lives and minds of various women.

[Jan Priddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book and enjoyed it. An essay of mine is included in this book, so that probably makes me biased.