What is the main message of Good for a Girl?

The main message of Good for a Girl is empowerment and breaking barriers in sports.

Who is the author of Good for a Girl?

Lauren Fleshman is the author of Good for a Girl.

Motivation & Inspiration

Good for a Girl Book Summary - Good for a Girl Book explained in key points

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Good for a Girl summary

Name: Good for a Girl
Rating: 4.5 (25 reviews)
Author: Lauren Fleshman

Lauren Fleshman

A Woman Running in a Man's World

4.5 (25 ratings)

17 mins

Brief summary

'Good for a Girl' by Lauren Fleshman is a memoir that recounts the author's journey as a runner while breaking down the barriers women face in sports. It sheds light on the struggles to achieve gender equality and provides insights into what it means to be a female athlete.

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Inspiration Women's Stories Sports Gender & Sexuality Memoirs Marathon

Table of Contents

Good for a Girl
Summary of 7 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Learn about Lauren Fleshman’s struggles as a female athlete in the running world.

A middle-school sports star suddenly drops out of the competition. A runner wins big races but looks thin and sickly. A stadium is full of athletes, but only half of their games make it to TV.

These are just a few of the issues plaguing women in the sports industry. And these are exactly the same concerns elite runner Lauren Fleshman wants to tackle head-on.

In this Blink to her memoir, Good for a Girl, we'll follow Lauren as she pursues her professional athletic dreams and navigates the harsh reality of health problems and gender biases.

Puberty and sports

Lauren grew up believing that boys and girls were pretty much alike, except for a few little differences in their physiques. If a boy could do something, she was certain she could do it too – and even do it better!

This drive of hers was ignited by the fact that women around her were rising up and becoming the firsts in their fields – from Sandra Day O'Connor being the first female member of the Supreme Court to Joan Benoit becoming the first female runner to win the women's Olympic marathon.

Seeing women break barriers like that inspired Lauren to show the world what she was made of. And that's exactly what she did. She consistently beat her male playmates in tetherball and often outran everyone in her middle-school PE class.

Having discovered her inner athlete, Lauren was feeling quite good about herself – until a fateful PE class when a boy surpassed her race time out of the blue.

That was when she was hit with the hard truth: boys and girls aren't the same after all, and puberty is to blame. Yes, girls aged 12 and below can keep up just fine with the boys when it comes to sports. But when those hormones start kicking in, things can really start to diverge. Suddenly, boys and girls are developing in completely different ways.

Changes in female bodies start affecting their movement, and sometimes prevent them from participating in sports altogether. A 2016 study of over 2,000 British schoolgirls revealed that 76 percent feel self-conscious about their breasts during sports or exercise. Nearly half said it directly impacted how active they were. In the US, there’s also an alarmingly high rate of attrition among female sports participants around the age of 14.

Luckily for Lauren, she was a late bloomer and didn’t develop breasts as fast as her peers did. This meant she could keep playing sports and chasing her athletic dreams without worrying too much about the changes that come with puberty.

When she finally got to high school, being late to the puberty game turned out to be a blessing in disguise. She was a rising track star, making her way to the Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals twice and winning the California Cross Country State Championships.

Soon enough, universities were lining up at her door to make their offers.

Navigating college and the natural female performance dip

A ton of letters from colleges across the country flooded Lauren’s mailbox – but in the end, she went with Stanford. She was drawn to their female coach's energy, and she wanted to prove herself to Vin Lananna, the university's cross-country and track and field director. So even though Vin didn't provide her with any scholarship funding in her first year, Lauren was determined to make it work. And make it work she did.

At Stanford, her life as an athlete was all about weekly training and races. Every weekend, the team would hit up a different town and run their hearts out. It was a great practice for Lauren, and her freshman season ended up being nothing short of epic. She placed fifth in her very first NCAA championships, became an All-American in some events, and even made it to the Olympic Trials for the 5,000-meter run.

The sprint to the elusive race weight

Despite the health issues she and her team faced, Lauren went on to finish college with a handful of wins under her belt. This made her an attractive asset in the professional field – but unfortunately, pro track and field is nothing like football or basketball where clubs recruit and pay players. To earn your way as a pro runner, you need to sign with a major sports brand instead. This became a hurdle for Lauren at first, but she ultimately landed a deal with Nike for $60,000 per year.

After she accepted the offer, her first order of business was to train to get into the 2004 Olympics, which was only a year away. Pro runners make the Olympic team by finishing in the top three at the Olympic Trials. And to even qualify for the Trials, they need to hit a certain time standard during the season.

The objectification of women in sports

It took Lauren another 12 weeks to recover and get back on the lane – but when she did, she was on fire. She secured a bronze medal for the USA team in the World Cross-Country Championships in France, got second place in the 2005 USATF Outdoor Championships, and won the same race the following year – which qualified her for the World Cup in Athens. Her season went so well that Nike offered her a six-year contract for $125,000 per year.

Come 2007, the popularity of women's activewear was on the rise, and Lauren found herself browsing Nike's newly released catalog. She was happy about the advancement of women’s sports, but she was disappointed at how the catalog featured zero actual female athletes – instead, it was full of models who clearly didn’t do sports.

A woman’s voice in a male-dominated industry

Following her successful Nike campaign, Lauren set her eyes on the 2008 Olympic Trials. This time, she was confident she could land a spot in the Games. After all, she had a string of victories going – the 2007 London Diamond League and the 2008 New York Diamond League were her biggest wins yet.

Unfortunately, the Olympics would remain elusive for Lauren. Immediately after she won the 2008 Diamond League, she suffered from yet another foot injury. It was a tiny line on her navicular bone, which meant she had to pause training for a while and then cross-train in the pool again.

Changing the sports world, one race at a time

When Lauren returned to running under new coach Mark Rowland, she was once again at the top of her game. She won the Nationals and went to South Korea for the Worlds, where she finished seventh – an American record at the time.

After her South Korea trip, she competed in the New York City Marathon, where misfortune struck again; she was left with another injury just months before the 2012 Olympic Trials. Lauren knew that joining the race would only lead to humiliation – she wasn't in the right shape yet. But she also felt that it would be her last Trials, and she wanted to get on those lanes one more time.

Final Summary

Lauren Fleshman's journey in the running world, from amateur to professional, highlights the challenges faced by a lot of women runners. Her experiences offer insights into the improvements that can be made in the sports system to prioritize the physical and mental health of female athletes. With her story, she hopes to begin changing the industry, one step at a time.

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What is Good for a Girl about?

Good for a Girl (2023) chronicles the career of pro runner Lauren Fleshman, and the issues with the sports system she encountered along the way. It’s both a memoir detailing her life and a manifesto crying for change.

Good for a Girl Review

Good for a Girl (2021) is an empowering memoir by Lauren Fleshman that encourages women to embrace their athletic aspirations and defy societal expectations. Here are three reasons why this book is worth reading:

With honesty and vulnerability, Fleshman shares her journey as a professional runner, highlighting the challenges and triumphs that come with pursuing a passion.
The book emphasizes the importance of self-belief and perseverance, motivating readers to overcome obstacles and redefine what it means to be a successful woman.
Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, Fleshman offers a refreshing perspective on fitness, body image, and the pursuit of athletic excellence, making the book engaging and relatable.

Who should read Good for a Girl?

Aspiring female athletes and coaches
Advocates of sports industry change
Fans of Lauren Fleshman

About the Author

Lauren Fleshman is a retired US-American long-distance runner who now coaches her own team. In her heyday, she won the US National Championships twice and attained two Diamond League titles.

Categories with Good for a Girl

Motivation & Inspiration Health & Nutrition Biography & Memoir

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