How She Did It: A High-Performance Guide for Female Distance Runners with Stories from the Women Who've Made It

by Molly Huddle, Sara Slattery, Mary Cain

An essential guide for female athletes navigating the world of competitive running, featuring 50 candid interviews with women who've made it

How She Did It begins with the kind of prescriptive information that any athlete needs to be healthy and successful in the world of competitive running, with advice and findings from the nation's top bone health experts, sports endocrinologists, nutritionists, sports psychologists, and more. It's an Olympic caliber support team at your fingertips to ensure you're training and competing efficiently—and, most importantly, safely.

The book then moves into the payload: unflinching and intimate interviews with 50 well-known female runners who reveal their deepest fears, their worst choices, and their greatest achievements. Collectively, these voices are the embodiment of strength, meant to educate, inspire, motivate, and direct developing athletes who want to see how far—and how fast—they can go.

With Molly and Sara's personal stories interspersed in sidebars throughout, How She Did It serves as a friendly, encouraging mentor for anyone navigating the world of long-distance running.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Audiobook, Health, Fitness, Womens, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 2022

Reviews

[Dana Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I had this book as a resource when I was in high school. Such an important read for any young girl with big running dreams.

Also a crazy reminder of just how young women’s distance running really is. The women’s 5k wasn’t added to the Olympics until 1996!!! WTH 💀

[Elizabeth Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I would have had this book as a young girl. This feels like it would be a perfect gift for the the middle/high school track-lovers in your life. I especially enjoyed that many of the pages featured runners I see now in the Diamond League, at World Championships, and at the Olympics. How she did it: she spent her early years playing many sports; she had injuries but was patient; she wishes she enjoyed the process more; she loves to run and she still follows that passion--and she hopes you do too.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The history of female distance running is fascinating. I also loved seeing the progression in attitude and confidence that these professional runners gained throughout the decades. Also Shalane Flanagan seems to be a real treasure.

[Tori]

First off this book is desperately needed! I’m so glad it exists, but I’m not the target reader. I wasn’t a track/cross country person in high school/college nor do I want to do that now as an adult. Trail running? Absolutely, but that isn’t part of this book. They touched on so many things related to girls/women’s health and development in running, but barely discussed disordered eating. I really feel like that should have been given way more space in this book. They also didn’t really talk about how to recognize abuse in this sport, which is another thing that I think is vital. Both of those topics have recently been revealed to be rampant in the world of professional/elite running for young women. Perhaps the authors didn’t feel the need to address these topics prominently, but that ultimately felt like a huge loss for me as a reader. If we want to set young people, specifically in this case female runners, up for success we need them to know how to handle disordered eating and abuse when it occurs.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Targeted more for high school athletes, this was an interesting combo of advice and runner profiles book. I’d certainly recommend to young track and cross country athletes. I wish the profiles section had more narrative stories and a little less advice, which became repetitive. The beginning section was excellent, but could have been twice as long. Regardless, glad this book exists!!

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it was cool to hear about athletes I've watched on TV, I felt the interviews were incomplete and didn't get much out of this book. Really this book has just consolidated a lot of professional runners personal records for you to compare to.

[Shawn Szczepanski · Rating 3 out of 5]

“During a race, it’s not about finding out what you’re capable of—it’s knowing exactly what you’re capable of.”

I really struggle with rating nonfiction like this, because objectively I think this is definitely a 4/5 book or better. It has a clear goal and is successful in that goal, but that goal isn't for me as, in this case, I'm not a female high school athlete. I think a lot of the information in here is exceptional and the audio narration is tremendous, but also listening nearly straight through doesn't really work well with the format. Even with that being said though, there's a lot I learned about the short history of women's running and a lot of the stories are really inspiring. Definitely worth a read for anyone interested in running, but not necessarily the most binge-able book out there.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a MUST for young female runners. This book tells the story of tons of professional runners and their paths to success. They tackle many of the struggles young runners often face in the running community. For such a simple sport there are a lot of important things to know to keep yourself safe and educated on the sport. I recommend this book to any young runner or athlete wanting to get better.

[Merritt Blum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to run and this book taught me so much about the history of women’s distance, the fundamentals of training from the physical, mental, and emotional standpoints, and so many women that paved the way before us today. I listened to it over the course of a few runs. Not necessarily the smoothest book ever, but it was written by runners, for runners. I loved hearing all the short coming-of-age stories from professional women who all had unique journeys through the sport.

[Charlotte Veitner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this leading up to a big race and some of the stories are pretty inspiring and insightful. Overall style of writing is not the best but it shouldn’t be the reason to read the book anyways. I didn’t take a lot away from it regarding mindset or how to deal with though situations in a race which I was hoping I might. Would not read it again and there are definitely much better running books out there

[Kyla Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the beginning and I loved the end. Maybe if I knew more about the athletes featured in this book I would have enjoyed it more, but it seemed like everyone had the same thing to say (maybe that was the point lol). I wish there was more “stories” throughout the pro athletes portions. I felt a lot of it was advice, and although the advice was good, it seemed repetitive.

[Claire Hamlet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this book had been around when I was a teenager. I am SO fortunate to have had a high school coach that really understood the human body and how to design training for young women — but I wish I’d had access to data & personal anecdotes / success stories like this. I’m hopeful that coaching will continue to evolve, and (as Molly puts it) that women will no longer be trained like they are little men!!!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO good and SO interesting. Dont hate on me

[Nele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great motivation during my training. Got many insights.

[Maryellen Pfeiffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t finish.

[Natalie Davila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good concept!

[Kristin Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Enjoyed the intro / educational chapters more than the interview chapters.

[Savannah Bass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little pieces of advice as I train for my first marathon

[Sharondblk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the E-ARC of this book, which is basically a series of vignettes about successful female American runners. I think it's meant to be inspirational, but to me it's not. They all have something I lack as a runner - natural talent. All these stories of "I strapped on a pair of shoes and ran a 30 minute ten k. Then I started training hard".are actually a bit depressing for me. That said, both these women and the runners I have met out in the world have all been very supportive of middling runners like me. Anyway, the stories are interesting, although a whole book of them got a bit samey for me, particularly since it is a US based book, so I have not heard of many of the runners interviewed.
I think for the right person (a talented female athlete, or someone who is inspired by people with natural talent who work hard!) this would be a very good read, and a great gift in hardback.

[Edwin Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

In HOW SHE DID IT, by Molly Huddle and Sara Slattery, the book looks at what it means to be an elite female distance runner. It covers training, diet and the loving community of runners. It also covers some many of the challenges that women have to overcome like sexism, balancing motherhood with running, and finding a voice on the world stage of distance running that historically male centered.
Huddle and Slattery start the book covering their experiences on becoming top runners. They reflect on successes and failures and cover wide range of topics like a in-depth look at diet, how to train hard, but not too hard, and how female anatomy and how a woman's body matures has to be taken into account when training. As a male runner, parts of the book I couldn't connect to and didn't really impact me in my training, but I can only imagine a female runner will find it quite informative. That being said, I appreciated the section on diet because it was broken down very specifically, without getting too wrapped up in the science. Huddle and Slattery then collected thoughts on elite running from fifty top female distance runners. While all their stories differed, there seemed to be a mantra that they all have found running to be a rewarding part of their lives. Some seemed to only enjoy the moments of victory, while others enjoyed training the most and the races simply signified the end of that training period before they start the next training cycle. Injuries were a theme across most of their stories and how many of them overcame them and even used the rest and recovery as fuel for the fire to run faster was lots of fun to read about.
If you enjoy inspirational stories and finding success in overcoming obstacles, then you will enjoy HOW SHE DID IT.
Thank you to Rodale books, Molly Huddle and Sara Slattery, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Bharathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's incredibly inspiring to see how these women succeeded against all odds. I would have loved a deeper insight into training and nutrition in this book - it's important that it highlights not to train when under fueled - this is a huge problem among women athletes and kudos to this book for raising awareness

[Becky Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

How She Did It is an invaluable resource for female runners—especially those in high school with long-term aspirations. It’s long overdue and comprehensively written, and, in my opinion, should be required reading for all female high school and college runners. Thank you, Molly and Sara!

[Jeff Purdom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely recommend for any young runner, especially female or coaches of female runners.

[flori rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really inspirational. I loved everything about it!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

***.5

The aims of this book are important and admirable, with the well-intentioned goal to provide guidance and support to young female competitive runners. Despite being pretty much the opposite of that demographic, there is plenty of inspiration for everyone, we all face our own challenges.

After introducing the topic and providing an overview of the unique challenges faced by women athletes, the main body of the book is comprised of short chapters in the words of 50 professional female runners, providing insight into their own careers, struggles and triumphs, and advice for overcoming various types of adversity. Included are cautionary tales and uplifting motivation, and collectively provide a great deal of encouragement and support for insecure young athletes.

The problem is that after reading a few of the profiles, they all sort of blended together. Rather than the "intimate interviews" promised by the blurb, they came across as email responses to a questionnaire. They were more impactful in small doses, in order to better appreciate the differences between the personal journeys that each person travelled. But since each was so short, that was also somewhat unsatisfying, and more details would have been appreciated in many cases in which a short response produced more questions and confusion than answers and direction.

But the thing that irked me the most was that each profile was prefaced with a recitation of the athlete's PB times and what medals they won. This reduction of storied careers that often lasted decades into a handful of numbers and accolades seems to me to be the antithesis of the whole point of the book. It utterly undermined the message that it's important to live healthy balanced lives, and not to tie one's self-worth to an arbitrary performance goal. I will give the authors the benefit of the doubt and assume that they chose this format to celebrate the accomplishments and provide examples of success to emulate, with the implication that someone who can run a 10k in 32 minutes is speaking from experience and hence a good role model. But still, I found myself caught up in the numbers and couldn't help from scoffing at a few of the athletes profiled ("pfft, her marathon PR was only 2:37, what a scrub!" as if I could run a single mile at that pace). It turns out that she was battling cancer at the time, and her story was indeed one of incredible perseverance and heroism, but having been introduced as the slowest member of the bunch, she was set up to be viewed as an under-achiever.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - 4 / 5.

This is a collection of essays and short stories from so many phenomenal runners. There were some that i loved and so many amazing quotes throughout this. It was definitely an easy pick up when bored type. I especially liked the dedication, “To all the sport loving girls out there: may they become women empowered by the run.” Recommend to runners :) favorite quotes below

“Im asked why i run. Running has given me everything… most important, every time i run i have a chance to talk to myself and find out things about myself. Let running give you everything, it will.” - katherine switzer

“As a survivor of sexual abuse, I feel running can have such an impact in a womans life. It’s empowering to be in charge of something thats all yours. No one can take it away from you. Running can be empowering for a female if she is facing abuse in any way. In so many ways, women are oppressed, and running is empowering. To be empowered is threatening to the abuser.” - Shalane flanaghan

“My advice to young runners? Love your body. See it as this incredible tool and possession that you own, and treat it with the utmost respect. If you disrespect your body and dont treat it well, it’s going to be a much harder road for you.” - Lynn jennings

“I think being a highly competitive, very ambitious, motivated woman makes relationships more difficult, but thats okay. You can navigate that and still have really healthy, fulfilling relationships and be competitive at the same time, it just takes some work. It’s really, really important who you surround yourself with. It’s so important in your friendships, and the people who mentor you in your life, and eventually who you marry. All those big relationships in your life, the people you surround yourself with, end up either lifting you up or tearing you down. The flip side of that coin is you have to occasionally stop and consider what kind of friend you’re being. I think if i could give one piece of advice to a young person, it would be: look at the people you surround yourself with. Are they taking you in a direction you ultimately want to go, or, are you lifting your friends up in the same way?” - jenny simpson

[Hannah H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to read such a unique book that combines narratives about hard-earned success and a history about women’s distance running. The fact that “How She Did It” includes decades of distance runners’ stories is really insightful and helpful—particularly because their story is in their own words. There were common themes of taking joy in the process, leaning on your supports, and fueling your body. Those are components of the sport that I’ve seen to be important, but there’s an added level of authority when their importance is lauded by Olympians and world record holders.

That being said, I would have appreciated more clarity from a few of the athletes. I know that they’ve experienced more than they shared in the few pages (many of these women have been explicit about motherhood, eating disorders, injury, and mental health on other platforms). That stuff seemed to be cut out—by the women or the editors, I’m not sure. Brevity is a necessity when you’re compiling 50 stories, but I think a bit more exposure on significant issues would have been beneficial.

The only other drawback I saw was that there wasn’t a diversity of body types and distances beyond the marathon. I’d have loved to read stories about runners like Amelia Boone, Courtney Dauwalter, and Ann Trason. The omission of female ultra running shows that there’s still a lot ground to gain in the ultra running sector of our sport.

Overall: I highly recommend this book! It humanizes the elite female athletes that many runners look up to, and it provides a comprehensive look at the mistakes and milestones that come with the sport.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besides the fact that it took me a while to listen to, it was very inspiring. I loved listening to stories of women who fought injury and prejudice and just kept running.

The later stories were more about girls succeeding and running just to run and find the joy in it. But i liked that there were parents who supported it and some didn’t want the kids to play more than one thing and some that insisted they do more than one thing. The variety or reasons that the girls took it up; but often just remembering they needed to only run a little faster to be really fast and trying to run just that little bit faster.

Eating right and finding the problems when they didn’t and finding they had to make their bodies healthy even when folks told them they were the wrong size to be a runner. They just kept running.

How do you know the judgements of the world are Cracker Jack, when Olympic medalists are told (by folks who don’t know them) that they just need to work a little harder and they could be real runners or be in the Olympics instead of watching them. Be a little smaller and you would be able to do it. Judgement of others who don’t know but have opinions.

[Cole Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand that the target audience for this book was likely 16 year old girls, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. My takeaways:

1. Pigeonholing kids into one sport in their child/teen years is probably less likely to end in a professional career than encouraging participation in multiple sports. Many of the best high school runners do not make it in running much beyond high school and many of the best runners didn't start running until AFTER high school. Participating in multiple sports develops different muscles and helps to prevent injury later on. Running performance doesn't peak until late 20s/30s anyway!

2. Injury is part of running, and the involuntary breaks in training they cause can actually be really beneficial in the long run. How many of the runners profiled had PRs following long periods of time off running? A ton! I'm obviously no elite runner, but I hope I can keep this in mind the next time I'm injured. It's not the end... it's the springboard to my next success!

I closed the book encouraged to make a few changes in terms of my whole-body health (more water, less alcohol, more sleep, more rolling/stretching, etc.).

[Jana Viktoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

„Essential“ seems a bit exaggerated. I agree that it may be good for a high schooler to read about the pathways (and struggles) of a number of badass female distance runners. And it’s certainly a good reminder that they deal with anxiety, injuries and well… food issues as well. They‘re mortals in the end (OMG I just called Paula Radcliffe a mortal 😉).
Plus it’s fun to look at their times….

But in the end, and for someone who’s been in the sport a bit longer (or reads the Fast Women newsletter), there’s not much news here… nice to have compilation - and I’m not sure what „more“ I was expecting… (especially considering that some of them like Deena Kastor have their own books out)…

In the end, I was a bit bored.