Good for a Girl

***A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER***'Women's sports have needed a manifesto for a long time. With Good for a Girl we finally have one' Malcolm Gladwell'Punchy, pacy and eye-opening, Good For A Girl needs to be read by anyone involved in women's sport' Adharanand Finn, author of The Rise of the Ultra Runners'This is the book we've been waiting for' Kate Fagan, author of What Made Maddy RunLauren Fleshman has grown up in the world of running. One of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, she was a major face of women's running for Nike before leaving to shake up the industry with feminist running brand Oiselle and coach elite young female runners. Every step of the way, she has seen how our sports systems - originally designed by men, for men and boys - fail young women and girls as much as empower them. Girls drop out of sports at alarming rates once they hit puberty, and female collegiate athletes routinely fall victim to injury, eating disorders or mental health struggles as they try to force their way past a natural dip in performance for women of their age.Part memoir, part manifesto, Good for a Girl is Fleshman's story of falling in love with running as a girl, battling devastating injuries and self-doubt, and daring to fight for a better way for female athletes. Long gone are the days when women and girls felt lucky just to participate; Fleshman and women everywhere are waking up to the reality that they're running, playing and competing in a world that wasn't made for them. Drawing not only on her own story but also on emerging research on the physiology and psychology of young athletes of any gender, Fleshman gives voice to the often-silent experience of the female athlete and argues that the time has come to rebuild our systems of competitive sport with women at their centre.Written with heart and verve, Good for a Girl is a joyful love letter to the running life, a raw personal narrative of growth and change, and a vital call to reimagine sports for young women.'A call to action in how we think about girls and women in elite sports' Emily Oster, bestselling author of Crib Sheet'The invitation to have a long overdue conversation for a long overdue cultural shift' Alysia Montaño, Olympian, co-founder of &Mother, and author of Feel-Good Fitness

I tore through Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl. This is the book we've been waiting for: a coming-of-age story, told from inside our broken sports system-a system that was not built for the young athletes inside it, and certainly not for young women. Lauren's story is clear-eyed, passionate, nuanced, and unflinching; it will change the way you look at sports, This book breaks open the door for caged conversations to protect the health and integrity of growing athletes. It not only needs to be in the hands of women-identifying athletes, but also their peers, coaches, and parents. It is the invitation to have a long overdue conversation for a long overdue cultural shift, Women's sports have needed a manifesto for a very long time, and with Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl we finally have one, Good for a Girl is much more than a great running memoir. It's a remarkably candid tale of self-doubt and self-belief; of entrepreneurship, family, money, competition, and-importantly-female physiology. (Turns out women are not just smaller men!) It's an important book that also happens to be a page-turner, Good for a Girl is simultaneously a moving memoir and a call to action in how we think about-and train-girls and women in elite sports. It's a must-read-for anyone who loves running, for anyone who has a daughter, and for anyone who cares about creating a better future for young women

Lauren Fleshman is one of the most decorated American distance runners of all time, having won five NCAA championships at Stanford University and two national championships as a professional. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and Runner's World. She is the brand strategy advisor for Oiselle, a fitness apparel company for women, and the cofounder of Picky Bars, a natural food company. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, triathlete Jesse Thomas, and their two children.

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