Laura Clark wrote the following book review featuring, Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women, by Maggie Mertens. Algonquin Books, 2024. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY.
A particularly apropos read for Women’s History Month, journalist Maggie Mertens begins before our usual starting point— Roberta Gibb and Katherine Switzer —and delves backwards roughly 100 years to investigate male efforts to keep women corseted and immobile. Her premise is that woman’s relentless, albeit glacial, quest towards sports inclusion opened the door to equality on other fronts as well. This makes sense as once this exclusive male bastion began to show cracks, other fields, perhaps not as emotionally guarded in the male psyche, fell into line.
Mertens postulates that women have always been in unknown territory. Jogbras weren’t invented until 1977, allowing women of all sizes to participate. Most of us of a certain age started out wearing men’s sneakers, padding them out with heavy socks, crumpled paper or bits of fabric. Men’s baggy shorts were common, ironically now making a comeback via Courtney Dauwalter. With something to prove, we began chipping away. The big stumbling block was not the Boston Marathon, as is so often assumed, but the 800-meter allowable Olympic distance. Apparently, it was appreciated when muscled males collapsed barely over the finish line of a tough race, but not when women showed strain and discomfort coming into the final stretch. Hence, Ed Temple, 1950’s coach of Tennessee State’s Tigerbelles insisted that his team, when not winning medals, be impeccably quaffed and dressed when seen in public. They had to “prove” they were women.
You would think by now women, having inched their way through the sports gauntlet, would have achieved acceptance. But getting back to Roberta Gibb, what about when she applied to medical school and was rejected because she was “too pretty,” the fear being that she would distract the “real” doctors. Or Paula Radcliffe, who was heartily criticized for not retiring from competition when she became pregnant? The laced corsets continue to reappear in other forms and despite our efforts, we are not done yet.
Corinne Shalvoy, the woman behind WomenCan.
While men and women may run in the same race, they are in different categories. Or are they? With the accessibility of ultrarunning, women have proven they can beat the entire field. But the real question for us today is what comprises maleness or femaleness. Mertens dips her toe into this intriguing speculation, providing, as can be expected, more questions than answers while hesitantly venturing into the feelings approach. While some women do have more testosterone than men, they might still feel like a woman. With the proliferation of LBGTQ+ categories, how would you rank yourself? And isn’t that your right? As a race director I am torn by the arbitrary m/f checkoff. One year I wrote m/f/other, but who would want to call themselves other? And isn’t that a private designation? Since my events barely scratch 100, I have just excused myself from the debate as I cannot afford more prizes. But in the big time, where money and sponsorship are at stake, decisions need to be made. Personally, I have raced with a few individuals both before and after sex change and our finishing status was pretty much the same.
Mertens presents us with an easily flowing book which ends up raising yet more questions. It gets us to think, which is a good thing. While much of the history, especially that surrounding Boston, is well-known, I discovered Diane Leather, the British athlete whose breakthrough mile, only the third she had ever run, became overshadowed by Bannister’s victory, where in typical male showboating, he collapsed at the finish line. And of course there is Mary Decker, praised for her girlish figure, who felt compelled to live up to her image and maintain it at all costs.
Women’s victories were not without their victims and there are, as with all campaigns, more ahead. But at least with this book we know where we have been and hopefully where we are headed.
Editor’s Note: The theme for Women’s History Month 2025 is, “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.” To read more book reviews from Laura Clark, click here.
