Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners

Name: Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners
Brand: Bloomsbury Publishing (AUS)
Price: 38.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder

The British women who asserted their right to run

By: Katie Holmes

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Hardcover | 27 October 2026

At a Glance

Format
Hardcover

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.3

Hardcover

RRP $44.99

$38.99

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or 4 interest-free payments of $9.75 with

Available: 27th October 2026

Preorder. Will ship when available.

The incredible untold stories of the British women who broke the rules and pioneered female running today.

Did you know that until April 1975 women in the UK were not permitted to race more than four miles and were banned from racing against men? Back in the 1960s, women started to break the rules and âcrashâ menâs road races, challenging discrimination and showing that they were perfectly capable of running marathons â" or even further.

Sports historian Katie Holmes shares the untold stories of these female pioneers. Amidst social and cultural change, feminism and significant changes in athletics brought about by the 1970s jogging craze and the marathon boom of the early 1980s, these inspirational women broke the rules, broke records and broke barriers.

Thereâs Violet Piercy who set the first womenâs world best in the marathon in 1926; Scottish athlete Dale Greig who ignored the rules to compete in the 1964 Isle of Wight marathon; âQueen of the Roadsâ Leslie Watson who successfully challenged the exclusion of women from Britainâs most famous ultramarathon; and Lyn Billington who campaigned for womenâs long-distance races to be included in the Olympics.

This is a fascinating, inspiring account of how British women asserted their right to run long distance and changed the landscape of running for good.

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