Book Review: Good for a Girl

Reading books and running are my two favorite hobbies. When you combine the two, I am in heaven. That's how I have felt with the wave of women's running books being published post-pandemic. I plan to write reviews of some of the newest women's running books to hit the market this year, starting with Lauren Fleshman's "Good for a Girl."

The subheading of the book is "A Woman Running in a Man's World," which accurately summarizes Fleshman's experience climbing the ranks of the elite running world, paving her way as a woman in a space she describes as 'not made for her.'

Fleshman is an American distance track and field athlete. She was the US Champion in the 5000 meters in 2006 and 2010 and competed in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2003, 2005, and 2011. In 2011, she finished 7th, which was the highest ever finish by an American in the event at the time. 

Fleshman ran for Nike from 2003 until the completion of her contract in 2012, running with the Mammoth Lakes training group and later the Oregon Track Club Elite. After parting ways with Nike, Fleshman was the first professional athlete to sign with Oiselle, a woman-owned brand made for women. 

The book is part auto-biography, part manifesto on the world of women's running. It was so interesting to read about the new and emerging research on the psychology and physiology of young runners, and how boys and girls differ in almost all respects after puberty. 

I started running in middle school, and can relate to the love Fleshman originally felt for the freedom and strength that came from running distance as a young girl. Fleshman argues that girls and women are growing up in systems designed by men for men. The speed of girl's physical development, their relationship to food and gaining and losing weight, and the rampant injuries young women face while running consistently and competitively are all evidence of this.

It is startling to hear Fleshman's account of widespread eating disorders and unhealthy relationships with food in high school and college professional running. The fact that the vast majority of coaches of girls at these ages are men with little to no training on the physiological effects of weight fluctuation is not lost on Fleshman. 

I thoroughly enjoyed "Good for a Girl" by Lauren Fleshman. It is a relevant read for anyone with a young girl in their life. It is required read for anything in a position of authority over girls, including coaches, teachers, and parents. We can and should do better for our girls going forward, and Fleshman's book lays the groundwork for those important conversations.

Purchase "Good for a Girl" at any local bookstore or here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/good-for-a-girl-a-woman-running-in-a-man-s-world-lauren-fleshman/18409279?ean=9780593296783 (I'll always link Bookshop.org, an online bookseller who supports independent bookstores with all of their proceeds, because, ya know, #ShopLocal.)