WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

Good for a Girl is a joyful love letter to the running life, a raw personal narrative of growth and change, and gives voice to the often-silent experience of the female athlete

Lauren Fleshman was of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, before becoming a coach for elite young female runners. Every step of the way, she has seen how our sports systems fail young women and girls as much as empower them.

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.

‘Women’s sports have needed a manifesto for a long time. With Good for a Girl we finally have one’ Malcolm Gladwell

‘Fleshman manages to deliver a sporting manifesto while also being a fine and engaging writer . . . There is a raw honesty at the heart of Good for a Girl’ THE TIMES

‘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 Run

‘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 Montano, Olympian, co-founder of &Mother, and author of Feel-Good Fitness

Good for a Girl was announced winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 30.11.2023

Good for a Girl was a no. 13 New York Times nonfiction bestseller 29.01.2023

Good for a Girl was listed in the Financial Times Best Sports Books of 2023 04.12.2023

Author Biography

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.