Lily Canter: Ultra Women [2025]

SHORTLISTED FOR WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025


GUARDIAN SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR

THE TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR

'A celebration of female bodies, female pioneers and female endurance' - The Guardian

What happens when women run beyond the marathon - and refuse to stop? Ultra Women is a gripping, behind-the-scenes journey into the high-stakes world of female endurance, where athletes race across deserts, over mountains, and through the night for 50, 100, even 200 miles at a time. Blending intimate profiles with cutting-edge science, it reveals how women runners, swimmers and cyclists are smashing records, shattering stereotypes, and redefining what "strong" looks like at every age and stage of life.

Meet the mothers balancing midnight feeds with dawn training runs, the champions who learned to turn pain into data, and the late starters who discovered their prime years - post-40, post-menopause - on the trail. Along the way, you'll learn how mindset, fueling, hormones, and smart recovery converge to create the conditions for extraordinary performance.

Inside you'll discover:

• Trailblazing stories from iconic races and previously unsung heroines of the sport
• Science you can use on nutrition, pacing, heat/cold adaptation, and injury resilience
• The mental toolkit - from micro-goals to "embracing the suck" - that carries competitors past the breaking point
• Life-phase insights on training through periods, pregnancy, postpartum, peri- and post-menopause
• Practical checklists for first ultras, crew strategy, and race-day problem-solving

Whether you're a curious newcomer, a seasoned marathoner eyeing your first 50K, or a reader who loves true stories of grit, Ultra Women will leave you inspired - and equipped - to go further than you ever thought possible.

Perfect for fans of Born to Run, Good for a Girl, and Endure - and for anyone who believes the horizon is just a starting line.

Take the long way. Find your edge. Join the Ultra Women.

Reviews

Why do women sometimes manage to beat men in ultramarathon races? Why does the gender performance gap begin to shrink with longer distances? Spoiler alert: we don't know for sure. But Ultra Women is as close as we're getting for now: a meticulous and occasionally startling study of how modern sport is still shaped by a male perspective, from media coverage to bra design to scientific research. Most of all, though, it's a celebration of female bodies, female pioneers and female endurance. - Jonathan Liew, Guardian Sports Book of the Year

This absorbing book, shortlisted for the 2025 William Hill sports book of the year, combines history, reportage, science and polemic. Most enjoyable of all are the mini-biographies of endurance athletes, such as the British fell-running champion Jasmin Paris, who can "push on and endure" like few others. - Jason Cowley. Sports Books of the Year, The Times

It was a joy to read from start to finish, beautifully written and incredibly engaging. A masterful work that will challenge your views on the physical capabilities of all women. The must-read sports book of 2025. - Sue Anstiss, author

Ultra Women is an important and timely re-examination of the role and performance of women in endurance sport, through history, through science and through some incredible and inspiring stories. I was gripped, amazed - and most importantly - enlightened. - Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans

This is the book we've been waiting for. A timely acknowledgement of the challenges faced by women in the world of ultra events and a celebration of their trailblazing, record-breaking successes. It will change your perspective on what endurance means. - Helen Mort, author of A Line Above the Sky

A fascinating exploration of female ultra-distance sporting achievement - and a fitting tribute to those pioneers who blazed a trail for us all to follow. Jasmin Paris, ultrarunner

A triumph! A page-turning tribute to female ultra-runners everywhere. Move over Born to Run - this insight into the world of the world's toughest races and the incredible women who run them is spine-tingling. Lisa Jackson, author, Your Pace or Mine?

A fascinating look at the stories and science of female endurance...celebratory and inspirational. I'm signing up for my next ultra right now! - Jackie Kabler

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