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In Running, former NCAA Division I track athlete Lindsey A. Freeman presents the feminist and queer handbook of running that she always wanted but could never find. For Freeman, running is full of joy, desire, and indulgence in the pleasure and weirdness of having a body. It allows for a space of freedom-to move and be moved. Through tender storytelling of a lifetime wearing running shoes, Freeman considers injury and recovery, what it means to run as a visibly queer person, and how the release found in running comes from a desire to touch something that cannot be accessed when still. Running invites us to run through life, legging it out the best we can with heart and style.
List of contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Stride—Form—Cadence—Pace 14
On the Subversive Nature of This Handbook 17
A Note on “Just Do It” 30
Leaving It All on the Track 33
Running Is a Contact Sport 37
Running after Olympians 42
Running Is Your Life 56
Speed Play 58
Personal Best 61
In Training for the Boston Marathon 70
Running the Risk Of 84
Courage, or The Paris Marathon 87
Runner’s High 91
Let’s Let Our Running Be Real 97
On Hitting the Wall and Writer’s Block 101
Repetitive Stress 105
A Note on Cross-Training 112
A Note on Running to Music 114
Big Gay 10K 117
This One’s for the Rabbits, the Also-Rans, and the Dreamers 120
Loops—Practice—Repetition—Ritual 126
Cooldown and Stretching 131
Notes 135
Bibliography:
Things I Thought With, Things I Ran With 145
About the author
Lindsey A. Freeman
Summary
Former college track athlete Lindsey A. Freeman presents a feminist and queer handbook of running in which she considers what it means to run as a visibly queer person while exploring how running puts us in contact with ourselves and others.
