Book

Girls Running is now available wherever books are sold. Please support your local independent bookseller and library, or order here.

“The word that best encapsulates the August 11 release of Girls Running: All You Need to Strive, Thrive, and Run Your Best is: finally.

Written by Melody Fairchild…and Elizabeth Carey for middle and high school female runners—though parents, coaches, and male peers stand to gain, too—Girls Running provides a roadmap to a healthy and lasting relationship with self and sport that young endurance athletes have needed for years. Topics range from training and physiology to body image and puberty, with science, interviews, and real stories from real runners to support the findings.” —Becky Wade, Runner’s World

“Girls drop out of sports at alarming rates. Girls Running lets young runners shamelessly fall in love with running while encouraging them to know their bodies, honor their mental health and find their potential.” —Julia Burnham, Trail Runner Magazine

“The book is a guide to the sport, aimed at young women, and it breaks down training tips, smart fueling advice, and wisdom on building a healthy team. With sections on puberty and body shaming, Girls Running goes well beyond the typical reading for athletes, with the goal of promoting a healthy appreciation of the sport and what our bodies can achieve.” —Abigail Wise, Outside Magazine

“Girls Running, Melody Fairchild and Elizabeth Carey’s new book on all things running for young female runners, is the manual I wish I’d had in high school. …

The book overflows with practical tips for young runners, but it is perhaps its overarching outlook on running and life that I most hope young readers heed. Fairchild and Carey emphasize self-acceptance and embracing all aspects of the running journey, both the perceived challenges and perceived successes. They write, “Your journey hinges on the attempt, not the end result. Medals are nice and shiny, but running is most potent when it is about more than prizes. Stick with it and you’ll see—the process of running opens doors to new places and greater understanding time and again.” In the hyper-metric-focused environment of many high school running programs and the comparison-inundated world that teens inhabit today, this message of self-compassion and taking the long view is perhaps the single most important aspect of a very important book. “—Erica Rackley, Trail Sisters