Ultra Women, by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson

Send us Fan Mail Recently, a trend has captured public attention: female athletes have been beating the strongest male contenders, in the toughest races in the world, races designed for men. In Ultra Women , the authors (who are themselves endurance athletes) delve into the surprising science of sporting performance to explore the physiological and psychological differences between the sexes. They ask: could fat stores and muscle type (and capacity for not sleeping) really give women an edge over men in ultra long distances? And what roles are played by pace, preparation, and motherhood? Speaking to elite athletes, historians and scientists, the book unearths the largely unknown past of female endurance, from hunter- gathering to the early 20th Century discipline of pedestrianism and we get to meet some amazing women who have done amazing things. These bios are not going to do justice to these two women because they do a lot more than we could cover in the number of characters allowed in this description, but here it goes! Lily Canter is a freelance running, fitness and adventure travel journalist writing for Runner’s World, Live for the Outdoors, Women’s Health, The Guardian and Metro. She is an England Athletics running coach and founder of women’s only club Great Bowden Runners. She competes in ultra marathons and canicrosses with her dog. Instagram: @lilycanter Emma Wilkinson is an award-winning freelance journalist specialising in medicine, science and health. She has written for the Sunday Times, BBC, Pulse, the BMJ and Lancet among others. Emma lives in Sheffield and runs up hills for fun. Instagram: @emmawjourno If you're interested in getting a copy of this book for yourself then you can find it on Amazon or directly on the publishers website here: Link for 20% discount on Caffeine Bullet Discount automatically applied and visible on checkout Support the show Any feedback or suggestions on this review or any of our other podcast episodes would be greatly welcomed. Leave us a review using your favorite podcast player or contact us on social media. Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: Podcast webpage: If you have been enjoying the podcast and want more, you can find some extras on our By Me a Coffee site!

You can listen to Ultra Women, by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Ultra Women, by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson is an episode from Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz by Alan and Liz.

This episode is 58:30 long.

This episode was published on Nov 15, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.