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
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….
IAU 24 Hour Championships Milton Keynes 1990
In 1990 the inaugural IAU 24 Hour Championships were held in a shopping mall in Milton Keynes, an unusual venue for an indoor ultramarathon.
Nikki Love – ultrarunning and the menopause
Earlier this year I interviewed ultrarunning adventurer Nikki Love about how the menopause has affected her running. Since 2016, Nikki has been undertaking ultra distance adventures, starting with the JungleUltra, a 5-day race through the Amazon...
Female Ultrarunners over 50
Female ultrarunners over 50 are challenging ageist attitudes about the physical competence of older people by taking part in ultramarathons.
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...
“Jeffing” the Yorkshire Marathon
This is the story of how I got to the starting line of my first marathon and what happened on the day. Getting ready for the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon on Sunday 9th October 2016 I thought about the interview I had done with Sandy Poole in January...
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.