In the Media
Katie Holmes – Independent Sports Historian
Interviews and Articles
TV and radio interviews
On The Run, a three-part documentary series in which writer, poet and runner Helen Mort looks at the history of running. Episodes 2 and 3 feature brief interviews with me. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September and October 2024 (available on BBC Sounds).
Great British Railways Journeys, Series 15 Episode 8, Shawlands to Livingston, broadcast on BBC2, 29th March 2024.
The programme starts with a segment about Scottish distance running pioneer Dale Greig which includes an interview with me (available to British viewers on BBC iPlayer).
Live radio interview about races that have been inaccurately measured and too short, BBC Cambridgeshire, 14th November 2022.
Other interviews
A profile on the Jographies blog published by Dr Simon Cook – part of the I’m a Running Researcher series, January 2025
Hear Her Sports podcast, interview by Elizabeth Emery, December 2024
The Masterpiece, YouTube interview by Vincent Watson, November 2024
Women’s Running Stories podcast, September 2024
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
Isle of Wight Marathon race report, Runner’s World magazine, March 2025
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
Diane Leather – Nobody Else is in Sight, an article for American running brand Tracksmith to mark the 70th anniversary of Diane Leather breaking the 5 minute mile barrier, May 2024
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
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography profiles
Ann Sayer, rower and long distance walker, published in 2023
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 podcast version below
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
“Fleet and Free” panel talk at British running brand SOAR on 22nd May 2024 – marking the 70th anniversary of Diane Leather breaking the 5 minute mile barrier
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….
Leslie Watson – Queen of the Roads
Scottish marathon runner Leslie Watson was called “the Queen of the Roads”. By 1981, she had run more marathons than any other woman in the UK.
Five Women Who Changed Running
Five women who changed running forever. They made the public aware of how strong women could be and how much they could achieve as athletes and runners.
The Nanango 1000 Mile Track Race – “Something out of the ordinary”
The Nanango 1000 Mile Track Race in Queensland, Australia, was the perfect way for top ultrarunner Eleanor Robinson to mark her 50th birthday.
An Olympics timeline – women’s running
A timeline showing the running events for women at each Olympic Games from 1896 to 2024. The first women’s track events were held in 1928.
Female Ultrarunners over 50
Female ultrarunners over 50 are challenging ageist attitudes about the physical competence of older people by taking part in ultramarathons.
The first London Marathon
On 3rd August 1980, 181 women from 26 countries lined up to run in the first London marathon, the Avon International Women’s Marathon.