In the Media

Katie Holmes – Independent Sports Historian

Interviews and Articles

Interviews with me

Five Women Who Changed Running Forever, an interview on Runner’s World UK podcast, October 2022

An interview with Liza Howard for her “Age-old Runners” series on iRunFar, March 2021

The E=MC² of Running Podcast interview
, February 2021

Tough Girl Podcast interview, January 2021

Blue Sky Running, Competitive after 50, March 2020

Dr Juliet McGrattan’s active women series, January 2019

Articles in print

Book review: A Runner’s Journey by Bruce Kidd, The International Journal of the History of Sport, 2023 (contact me for free online access)

Rulebreakers, Women’s Running magazine (UK), December 2022
A slightly edited version of this article is available online on the Women’s Running website

There’ll be no prizes for women, Like the Wind magazine #25 (an article about Dale Greig), September 2020

Articles online

Scottish Women’s Distance Running Rulebreakers and Pioneers, Scottish Distance Running History website, April 2023

In 2022, I contributed profiles of Marea Hartman and Diane Leather to The Athletics Museum’s digital exhibition marking 100 years since the creation of the Women’s Amateur Athletic Association

Milestones in Women’s Marathon History – 1975 – Permission for Women to Run the Marathon in the UK, Playing Pasts, July 2022

Running Club Histories, Sporting Heritage, April 2021

Milestones in Women’s Marathon History – 1964 – Dale Greig, Playing Pasts, May 2020

Women’s History Network blog – article about Diane Leather, March 2020

Female Leadership at Fifty – Pursuing my curiosity, November 2019

Wikipedia editing

I created a Wikipedia biography for British ultrarunner Trudi Thomson

Conferences

Conference paper: ‘The “mass jog cult” and the revolution in road running in the UK in the 1970s and early 1980s’

British Society of Sports History Conference, 24th-25th August 2023, Institute of Sport, Manchester Metropolitan University

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Seminar paper: ‘“I thought I was born to run” – women who challenged the ban on long-distance racing in the UK’

Institute of Historical Research, Sport and Leisure Seminar, 27th February 2023, organised by British Society of Sports History

Listen to the seminar on the Sport in History Podcast

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Conference paper: “The Reluctant Bride – an attempt to force amalgamation of the Women’s Amateur Athletic Association with the AAA”

British Society of Sports History Conference, 25th-26th August 2022, International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University, Leicester

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Conference paper: “Dale Greig – reluctant champion of the women’s marathon?”

Women in Sport – Women’s History Network West Midlands Region annual Women’s History Conference in conjunction with the British Society of Sports History, Saturday, 6 November 2021, University of Worcester

Awards

Sporting Inequities Prize 2022 – British Society of Sports History – awarded for outstanding work in an under-researched area – for my conference paper “The Reluctant Bride”

Independent Researcher Fellowship 2020/21 – Women’s History Network – for my research into Dale Greig

Talks

Women’s running history

I had an interview and chat with members of Istead and Ifield Harriers, March 2021

Creative Writing

“M is for Mountain, M is for Menopause” and “The Bicycle” in Women’s Things – Writing from Mid-Life and Menopause, East Midlands Oral History Archive, April 2021

“Visiting the allotment during lockdown” in The World Outside zine published by Nottingham Writers’ Studio, August 2020

Most Read Articles

The six most popular articles on my blog recently….

The Women’s Amateur Athletic Association – the 1920s

The Women’s Amateur Athletic Association – the 1920s

The Women’s Amateur Athletic Assocation was formed in 1922 to meet a growing demand for organised competition for women in England. The 1920s were an exciting time for women’s athletics as international competition began and the WAAA was established, leading to more clubs accepting women and more athletics events being staged.

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Women’s marathon history – the 1960s

Women’s marathon history – the 1960s

Imagine a time when women did not run in road races. Imagine a time when women were told distance running would harm their health. Imagine a time when running in a marathon meant risking being jeered at or even assaulted. This time was in my...

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Female Ultrarunners over 50

Female Ultrarunners over 50

Female ultrarunners over 50 are challenging ageist attitudes about the physical competence of older people by taking part in ultramarathons.

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Running on HRT

Running on HRT

Arriving late for my first race of the cross country season in 2017, I was already feeling hot and bothered by the time I'd dumped my bag, got my trail shoes on and made my way to the start.  It was unseasonably warm weather for...

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The first London Marathon

The first London Marathon

On 3rd August 1980, 200 women from 27 countries lined up to run in the first London marathon. It was the first time the city’s streets had ever been closed for a race. The 1980 Avon International Women’s Marathon was a pivotal moment in the campaign to get the women’s marathon onto the Olympic programme.

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