Here are the top ten posts on RunYoung50 in 2024. Several of them are also amongst the ten most popular posts since I started this blog in February 2014. RunYoung50 started as an investigation into the experiences of women runners over 50. You can find those first interviews here. My first post about the history of women’s distance running appeared in September 2014. As I’ve become more and more interested in running history, I’ve shared much of my research on here.
Thank you for visiting my blog this year. I appreciate all the comments people have left. If you would like to share any of my posts or recommend the blog, it will be much appreciated. This is the best way for more people to find out about the stories on RunYoung50.
10 most popular posts in 2024
1) Leslie Watson – Queen of the Roads
In 1981 the official programme for the inaugural London Marathon described Leslie Watson as “the Queen of the Roads”. Her prolific racing led to her becoming the public face of the women’s marathon in the UK. She completed over 200 marathons, winning more than 60 of them. And she inspired and encouraged countless women and men to feel that they too could run a marathon.
This post, originally published in December 2022, became the most viewed post in 2024 for a sad reason. Leslie died on 1st January. I’ve since spoken to several people who knew her well. It’s clear that Leslie is very much missed not only by those close to her but also by the many people who met her at races over the years.
2) Women’s six day races – world record progression
Forty years ago, in 1984, the women’s six day world record changed hands five times. It was a stellar year in the history of the women’s event. There hasn’t been a year like it before or since. This year I’ve written a series of posts about the six day world record. This post sets out the progression of that record since 1981, the year after the format was revived in the USA.
Women’s six day racing attracted attention in 2024. In March, Camille Herron broke Sandra Barwick’s record which had stood for over 33 years. Later in the year, Danish runner Stine Rex ran even further. (Awaiting ratification as a record by the IAU.)
3) An Olympics timeline – women’s running
2024 was the year of the Paris Olympics. I was very lucky to be able to go to the Games and see two morning athletics sessions at the Stade de France. The last time the games were held in Paris, in 1924, there were no athletics events for women. For most of the Olympic Games, men have had access to a much wider programme of running events than women. This post is a timeline showing the running events open to women at each Games, from 1896 to 2024. Lots of people searched for information about women’s running at the Olympics in the summer making this post a popular one.
4) Women’s marathon history – the 1960s
The 1960s marked the first quickening of a desire for women to be allowed to participate in the marathon and other road races. In the 1970s, this desire, this demand, grew into organised campaigns, but the seeds were sown in the 1960s when women in several countries began to break the rules and compete in men-only races. This post tells the stories of the five women who broke the rules and set a marathon “world best” time in the 1960s. World Athletics recognised these performances as world bests at a later date.
5) The first London Marathon
This post is not about the first London Marathon as we know it today. Instead it tells the story of the London International Women’s Marathon held on 3rd August 1980. It was organised by Kathrine Switzer and Avon Cosmetics. The race attracted nearly 200 women from 27 countries. It was part of the campaign to get the women’s marathon included in the Olympic Games.
6) Five women who changed running
In October 2023 I was invited onto the Runner’s World UK podcast to talk about “five women who changed running forever”. It’s a great topic for a sports historian, but also quite difficult to choose just five. The women I chose all made an impact on the public awareness of women’s running. Four of the women I selected are marathon pioneers and the other one, Fanny Blankers-Koen, raised the profile of women’s athletics worldwide at a time when women’s running was mainly limited to sprints. This post tells the women’s stories in more detail.
7) Female ultrarunners over 50
In 2019, I looked at the participation levels of women, and of women over 50, in ultra races in the UK. I chose twelve races that recorded age groups in their results and analysed their participation figures. This post records my findings and my conclusions. Whilst women were under-represented in all the races, my analysis suggested that women over 50 were not put off by the significant challenges involved. The SheRACES campaign is focusing on how race organisers can make their events more attractive to, and safer for, women. As this is a hot topic, it has probably contributed to the continued interest in this post.
8) “Jeffing” the Yorkshire Marathon
This post tells the story of how I got to the starting line of my first marathon in 2016. Due to an injury that had prevented me training, I decided to adopt Jeff Galloway’s run/walk method.
9) IAU 24 Hour Championships Milton Keynes 1990
This race took place in a highly unusual place – the Milton Keynes shopping centre. The International Association of Ultrarunners chose Milton Keynes as the host event for its inaugural International 24 Hour Championships. The race attracted a large international field including athletes from Australia, New Zealand, USA, West Germany, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Finland, Belgium and Russia. This post tells the story of the race, where Don Ritchie and Eleanor Adams became the first international champions. Enigma Running shared the story on Facebook leading to lots of visits to the blog.
10) The Women’s Amateur Athletic Association – the 1920s
I wrote this post in 2022 to mark what would have been the Centenary of the Women’s Amateur Athletic Assocation (WAAA). It tells the story of the formation of the WAAA and participation in the first international competitions for women. It also covers the first English track and field and cross country championships. Increased views in 2024 suggest that there’s an increase in interest in this topic.
All-time most popular posts on RunYoung50
Six of the most popular posts in 2024 also make it into the top ten posts since I started RunYoung50. The top ten is:
- “Jeffing” the Yorkshire Marathon
- Leslie Watson – Queen of the Roads
- Female ultrarunners over 50
- Running on HRT – how starting HRT affected my running and overall wellbeing (written in 2018)
- The first London Marathon
- Running towards the menopause – written for World Menopause Day in October 2016
- An Olympics timeline – women’s running
- Running and the menopause resources – this post has not been updated for a while
- Women’s six day races – world record progression
- Diane Leather and the 5 minute mile – 2024 marked the 70th anniversary of Diane Leather becoming the first woman to run a mile in under 5 minutes
You can find my most recent posts featuring female runners over 50 here. Whilst most of my posts in 2024 were about running history, I do intend to continue writing about older women runners. I often share stories of older women runners’ achievements on my Facebook page.
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