A fascinating paper from @runyoung50.bsky.social about women asserting their right to run long distances in the 1970s. As with women cricketers, they were clearly impacted by second-wave feminism but mostly denied an explicitly “feminist” identity.
![Women's voices
"You just wanted to prove you could do it and that was the end of it." -
Bridget Cushen
"I'm not political in that way. But I just felt...girls should have the chance to do these things. Of course, women can do these things." - Avril Lewis (née Jones)
"... whether or not we identified in that way, we were part of it /the Women's Liberation Movement], because that was the ethos of the age... Whether or not we were...consciously thinking, we're kind of liberated...actually we were, and we were thrilled by it." - Sandra
Brown](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qefnz7gxtoazw436ylnafygh/bafkreiduwur3kyzmce2xdzwxc5jfmyokk36b5uxiih534fq5jkrtkzsode)
Katie Holmes
@runyoung50.bsky.social
Independent sports historian sharing the stories of pioneering female distance runners. "Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners: the British women who asserted their right to run" out on 13 Aug Member: Women's History Network & British Society of Sports History.
Thank you Bloomsbury for publishing an article about me and my book.
Bloomsbury Sport @bloomsburysport.bsky.social · 7d ago"The more I discovered about the British road running pioneers who had challenged the rules excluding them from long-distance races, the more I wanted to share their stories" Historian @runyoung50.bsky.social on her new book, Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners 👉 https://bit.ly/4zBYxFa
Did you know that until April 1975 women in the UK were banned from all races longer than four miles? In the 1960s, women started to break the rules and 'crash' men's races. Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners by @runyoung50.bsky.social tells their incredible stories. Out now.
Just got this Important book from my great friend @runyoung50.bsky.social 💜 "Ghost Runners" + Banned 4+ miles until 1975! @bssh.bsky.social @whuhistorian.bsky.social @fionaskillen.bsky.social @rafnicholson.bsky.social @conorheffernan.bsky.social Beautiful book - I will treasure
New book alert: Rulebreakers & Ghost Runners by @runyoung50.bsky.social , out now with @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social. Holmes explores the long history of women who 'broke the rules, broke records and broke barriers' when the athletics establishment barred them from distance events.
Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners includes chapters on two impressive Scottish women, Dale Greig and Leslie Watson, who broke the rules, ran in men's road races & changed women's athletics forever. #WomensHistory #SportsHistory #ScottishHistory
Bloomsbury Sport @bloomsburysport.bsky.social · last mo.Discover the stories of the women who asserted their right to run long distance and changed the landscape of running for good in @runyoung50.bsky.social RULEBREAKERS & GHOST RUNNERS. Out 13th August.
This is the schedule for the 2026 BSSH annual conference, which will take place at the University of Edinburgh on the 27th and 28th of August. It is set to be one of the biggest yet. www.sportinhistory.com/pages/2026-b...
2026 BSSH Conference Schedule | British Society of Sports History
sportinhistory.com
Delighted to share that my book will be published on 13 August. #SportsHistory #WomensHistory #WomenInSport
Bloomsbury Sport @bloomsburysport.bsky.social · last mo.From the early days of organised athletics in the 1920s, to the social change, feminism and jogging craze of the 1970s, @runyoung50.bsky.social tells the stories of the women who broke the rules, broke records and broke barriers in their fight to run long distance. Out 13th August.
Fabulous to see my book Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners out in the wild on social media! #SportsHistory #WomensHistory #Skystorians
Bloomsbury Sport @bloomsburysport.bsky.social · 2mo agoDid you know that until April 1975 women in the UK were banned from all races longer than four miles? In the 1960s, women started to break the rules and 'crash' men's races. Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners by @runyoung50.bsky.social tells their incredible stories. Out 13th August.
International Journal of the History of Sport call for abstracts on sports club history - Very timely for me as I'm on my way to @unibirmingham.bsky.social to look at the archives of a once-powerful, now fading athletics club. #sporthistory
Dr. Heather Dichter@hdichter.bsky.social · 2mo agoExcited for this special issue of @ijhs.bsky.social - if your research relates to #sportheritage and clubs please submit an abstract! Deadline: August 31 #skystorians 🗃️ #sporthistory
Probably not the drinkers this bowl of water was intended for. Two pigeons making the most of the on-platform facilities at Sheffield station this afternoon.
Interested in the history of sport? Considering postgraduate study? Want a distance-learning course that is flexible and offers full and part-time study routes? Our MA Sports History and Culture could be for you! @icshc.bsky.social @dmu.ac.uk
Sports History and Culture MA
Explore the process of sports development through a number of themes, including social and cultural history and the relationship between sport and politics.
dmu.ac.uk