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Mum On The Run
Sports Day at her children's school is a nightmare for Laura because of the event she dreads – the Mums' Race. She knows the other mothers have been in training for at least three months – even though they're trying to pretend that they haven't. Laura's vowed never to take part, but the morning of the School Sports Day she makes a fatal error and promises her daughter that if she eats her Rice Crispies, she will run. With no escape, Laura is forced to take part and as she moves towards her inevitable humiliation, she is horrified to spot her husband Jed flirting with Celeste the delectable French girl who works with him.
Determined to put up a fight and to show Jed there is still plenty of spice left in their marriage, Laura decides it is time to give her body the work out it has been desperately crying out for. But when Laura makes a special new friend at the running club that she has joined, she gets much more than she bargained for.
From buying sexy lingerie displayed alongside the gherkins at Tesco to struggling into the last playsuit in Topshop, this novel is full of humour and Laura is a true heroine for our times. A sparkling, witty novel, that fizzes off the page.
Determined to put up a fight and to show Jed there is still plenty of spice left in their marriage, Laura decides it is time to give her body the work out it has been desperately crying out for. But when Laura makes a special new friend at the running club that she has joined, she gets much more than she bargained for.
From buying sexy lingerie displayed alongside the gherkins at Tesco to struggling into the last playsuit in Topshop, this novel is full of humour and Laura is a true heroine for our times. A sparkling, witty novel, that fizzes off the page.
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First published February 1, 2011
210 people are currently reading
1049 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Gibson
50 books511 followersFiona is an author and journalist who has written for many UK publications including The Observer, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Red, New Woman, Top Sante and Elle. She writes a monthly column for Sainsbury’s magazine and is a Contributing Editor at Red magazine.
Fiona lives in Scotland with her husband, their twin sons and daughter. She likes to draw, run 10k races, play her saxophone and lie in the bath with a big glass of wine, although not all at once.
Fiona lives in Scotland with her husband, their twin sons and daughter. She likes to draw, run 10k races, play her saxophone and lie in the bath with a big glass of wine, although not all at once.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
February 17, 2017
This was a spontaneous read....
Was browsing through my Kindle for light reads and the title caught my eye.
A witty book narrating the travails of an overweight middle aged mother of 3, who thinks her husband may be having an affair with his colleague.
She somehow gets to rearrange her life and priorities and loses weight, acquires a male friend, but there is trouble at home.
Their 3 cute kids added to the hullabaloo.
I was so relieved reading about the 10 year old moody devil of a preteen that my 14 year old seemed like an angel in comparison.
I also pondered upon the fact that American mothers are obsessed with certain rules and regulations on bringing up their children, while Indian mothers are more happy-go-lucky, except in the matters of studies. I dont have any real life American mother for comparisons, it is just my assumption based on my fictional knowledge.
On the whole, an enjoyable book, would have been a 4 star, but for the cliched happenings towards the end, and the repetitive nature of Laura, the mother, who kept harping upon "rodent like teeth"of the women she disliked, and cute chubby face of her man friend, and the way she jumps into impossible misunderstandings.
Was browsing through my Kindle for light reads and the title caught my eye.
A witty book narrating the travails of an overweight middle aged mother of 3, who thinks her husband may be having an affair with his colleague.
She somehow gets to rearrange her life and priorities and loses weight, acquires a male friend, but there is trouble at home.
Their 3 cute kids added to the hullabaloo.
I was so relieved reading about the 10 year old moody devil of a preteen that my 14 year old seemed like an angel in comparison.
I also pondered upon the fact that American mothers are obsessed with certain rules and regulations on bringing up their children, while Indian mothers are more happy-go-lucky, except in the matters of studies. I dont have any real life American mother for comparisons, it is just my assumption based on my fictional knowledge.
On the whole, an enjoyable book, would have been a 4 star, but for the cliched happenings towards the end, and the repetitive nature of Laura, the mother, who kept harping upon "rodent like teeth"of the women she disliked, and cute chubby face of her man friend, and the way she jumps into impossible misunderstandings.
March 1, 2014
Finn pissed me off. That's all I can say. The spoilt little sod did my nut in!! Laura definitely needed to stand up for herself more! I was also expecting there to be another mums race at the end, at which she would beat Naomi and her kids would suddenly stop being brats. I also found it strange that Laura's relationship with Danny wasn't really an issue with Jed. Their kiss never came up, which it should have! And there was too much devotion to Celeste and Jed's relationship. I didn't really understand it. Although I've got to say it will still a good read, but definitely infuriated me! It was good for me because it's given me the push to start running again! I'm even thinking about doing the race for life this year.. I guess a book can give you a life change sometimes!!
March 13, 2015
Fabulous. Light-hearted and fun. Very apt if you have ever had children, a mother-in-law or joined a slimming club! Mum on the Run
April 18, 2023
A funny and heartwarming read. I found myself rooting for Laura from the offset. And it served as a lovely reminder that marriage is a marathon not a sprint (excuse the pun 😂).
May 12, 2025
A lovely easy read. Very funny!
February 16, 2011
Laura Swan is the type of mum who hates her kids sports day, mainly because after having three kids, her body just isn’t what it used to be. But after promising her daughter Grace she’d participate in the Mum’s Run, Laura finds herself utterly embarrassed after falling during the race, not least because her husband Jed was there to witness it with his sexy new colleague Celeste. Vowing to not be humiliated like that again, Laura joins a tub-club and meets Danny, who she finds herself clicking with. As they both take up running together, Laura finds herself questioning her marriage and how she and Jed have ended up in a such a rut. Can they work through their problems or will Laura end up running away from their marriage for good?
Since reading Lucky Girl in early 2009, I’ve become quite the fan of Fiona’s work. But because her earlier books aren’t so easy to get, I’ve still only read the one book, so I was thrilled beyond words when I saw Mum on the Run up on Amazon one day, and was desperate to read it. I managed to wangle myself a review copy and with the release date around the corner, I found the perfect time to finally pick it up.
The first thing I’d like to say is that despite how much I enjoyed it, Mum on the Run is a fairly typical run-of-the-mill Chick Lit novel. Yes, I managed to complete it in a day but it is fairly similar to other Chick Lit novels I’ve read in the past. The plot is one you see many times, after having a couple of kids (or in Laura’s case, three) the main character isn’t as slim as she used to be, there’s a new woman on the scene catching the eye of her husband and she goes on a diet of some sort to try and win him back. Very familiar. Not to mention, the obligatory nicer man who in this case is the loveable Danny. So although the plot itself didn’t grab me, and wasn’t as unique as Lucky Girl, I actually did like the book. It might have been a run-of-the-mill plot but Gibson’s writing style still makes it hard to put down.
The official synopsis says Laura is a heroine for the decade (or something similar) and I do agree with that, kind of. It’s very hard to judge who the heroine of a decade will be before the decade is over, but I loved Laura. Right from the shambles that was sports day when she made an absolute fool of herself, I was captivated. She’s definitely a character you root for, and boy was I rooting for her. It took me a while to warm to Jed, her husband, because he seemed very distant and into the new colleague of his, but I think overall he wasn’t a bad person, he just let someone new and shiny take over his brain for a while. I loved Laura and Jed’s kids, Finn, Grace and Toby, all three had such wonderful personalities and Gibson really excels at making her kids in her novels believable. I must admit, I kinda fell for Danny, Laura’s running partner, he was just so sweet and kind and I could see why Laura was friendly with him.
I must admit, as someone who doesn’t yet have kids and won’t for probably some time, if ever, I do usually find it hard to get into mumsy-type stories because I don’t truly know what it’s like to be a mother. But Gibson does a wonderful job of selling motherhood (or rather, putting me off for life) and it comes across in a very believable way, in a way that lets childless people like myself know exactly what it takes to be a mother. It definitely seems like a thankless task, being a mother, I have to say. Mum on the Run is told from Laura’s point of view, which was brilliant, and worked very well especially as it made us more sympathetic to Laura’s life and how much it’s stagnated since she had kids. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, despite the plot I’ve read many times before as Gibson is definitely able to put her own spin on the matter and her writing abilities are brilliant and she manages to capture family life perfectly. I really hope this is the first of many new novels from Fiona Gibson as I love her books.
Since reading Lucky Girl in early 2009, I’ve become quite the fan of Fiona’s work. But because her earlier books aren’t so easy to get, I’ve still only read the one book, so I was thrilled beyond words when I saw Mum on the Run up on Amazon one day, and was desperate to read it. I managed to wangle myself a review copy and with the release date around the corner, I found the perfect time to finally pick it up.
The first thing I’d like to say is that despite how much I enjoyed it, Mum on the Run is a fairly typical run-of-the-mill Chick Lit novel. Yes, I managed to complete it in a day but it is fairly similar to other Chick Lit novels I’ve read in the past. The plot is one you see many times, after having a couple of kids (or in Laura’s case, three) the main character isn’t as slim as she used to be, there’s a new woman on the scene catching the eye of her husband and she goes on a diet of some sort to try and win him back. Very familiar. Not to mention, the obligatory nicer man who in this case is the loveable Danny. So although the plot itself didn’t grab me, and wasn’t as unique as Lucky Girl, I actually did like the book. It might have been a run-of-the-mill plot but Gibson’s writing style still makes it hard to put down.
The official synopsis says Laura is a heroine for the decade (or something similar) and I do agree with that, kind of. It’s very hard to judge who the heroine of a decade will be before the decade is over, but I loved Laura. Right from the shambles that was sports day when she made an absolute fool of herself, I was captivated. She’s definitely a character you root for, and boy was I rooting for her. It took me a while to warm to Jed, her husband, because he seemed very distant and into the new colleague of his, but I think overall he wasn’t a bad person, he just let someone new and shiny take over his brain for a while. I loved Laura and Jed’s kids, Finn, Grace and Toby, all three had such wonderful personalities and Gibson really excels at making her kids in her novels believable. I must admit, I kinda fell for Danny, Laura’s running partner, he was just so sweet and kind and I could see why Laura was friendly with him.
I must admit, as someone who doesn’t yet have kids and won’t for probably some time, if ever, I do usually find it hard to get into mumsy-type stories because I don’t truly know what it’s like to be a mother. But Gibson does a wonderful job of selling motherhood (or rather, putting me off for life) and it comes across in a very believable way, in a way that lets childless people like myself know exactly what it takes to be a mother. It definitely seems like a thankless task, being a mother, I have to say. Mum on the Run is told from Laura’s point of view, which was brilliant, and worked very well especially as it made us more sympathetic to Laura’s life and how much it’s stagnated since she had kids. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, despite the plot I’ve read many times before as Gibson is definitely able to put her own spin on the matter and her writing abilities are brilliant and she manages to capture family life perfectly. I really hope this is the first of many new novels from Fiona Gibson as I love her books.
December 29, 2011
It was my first book by Fiona Gibson but I'm sure not the last one:)
It started with a kick and ended with a kick, it have me hooked from the very first page to the very last page, I couldn't wait to turn the page to see what's going to happen. Perhaps I didn't laugh out loud (although sometimes too) but I have smile on my lips reading every word of this book. Laura and her family were so, so nice, although sometimes I just wanted to salp Finn on his ass, and Toby as well, and Jed was from time to time much to egoistic and didn't even try to understand his wife.
This book was so easy written that reading it was a total pleasure, and even the accidents that always happened to Laura were not too exaggeratted. I just want to put my trainers on and start to run (although it can be hard, what with a 6 months pregnant belly:))) )
Read it with pleasure, will read it again and look forward to other books of Gibson.
It started with a kick and ended with a kick, it have me hooked from the very first page to the very last page, I couldn't wait to turn the page to see what's going to happen. Perhaps I didn't laugh out loud (although sometimes too) but I have smile on my lips reading every word of this book. Laura and her family were so, so nice, although sometimes I just wanted to salp Finn on his ass, and Toby as well, and Jed was from time to time much to egoistic and didn't even try to understand his wife.
This book was so easy written that reading it was a total pleasure, and even the accidents that always happened to Laura were not too exaggeratted. I just want to put my trainers on and start to run (although it can be hard, what with a 6 months pregnant belly:))) )
Read it with pleasure, will read it again and look forward to other books of Gibson.
August 27, 2014
I absolutely loved this read. Poor Laura, she is 38 years old and not sure what is going on between her husband Jed and his colleague Celeste, which doesn’t help her self image one little bit. In a bid to lose weight we follow her to slimming club meetings, the coffee shop and her first ever attempts at running, and usually in that order!
What I love about Fiona Gibson is the way she portrays normal every day life. I am a mother, and when I was reading about Laura’s children and the things they said and did I found myself giggling and thinking “yes, mine would have said that”. I knew exactly where she was coming from with the sandwiches for school lunches. I have been there. As I am presumably her target audience, I can safely say that I really liked her characters and storyline, and just couldn’t put this book down.
This is a great fun read, that you don’t really have to think about, but which really put a huge smile on my face every time I picked it up.
What I love about Fiona Gibson is the way she portrays normal every day life. I am a mother, and when I was reading about Laura’s children and the things they said and did I found myself giggling and thinking “yes, mine would have said that”. I knew exactly where she was coming from with the sandwiches for school lunches. I have been there. As I am presumably her target audience, I can safely say that I really liked her characters and storyline, and just couldn’t put this book down.
This is a great fun read, that you don’t really have to think about, but which really put a huge smile on my face every time I picked it up.
January 8, 2020
I wasn't that keen on this book at first, Laura seemed a bit dim because she made so many questionable choices. Like wearing restrictive underwear for an evening out without even trying it on first. Fortunately these choices generally led to something amusing happening so I quickly forgave Laura her idiocy - haven't we all made questionable choices sometimes?
A humorous, light read, some lump-in-throat moments but overall an enjoyable book.
A humorous, light read, some lump-in-throat moments but overall an enjoyable book.
August 10, 2020
Not your average chick lit. Very honest and relatable with some laugh out loud moments.
January 24, 2021
As a Mummy myself this really made me giggle! A lovely quick easy read.
June 17, 2023
In all honesty; this book is just one big pity-party of midlife crisis and mom guilt.
On the front it says “laugh-out-loud funny” but I found the whole book quite sad.
Every 30 page or so was just a repeat of what have just happened the pages before, a lot of repetition and the ending was pretty lackluster as well.
On the front it says “laugh-out-loud funny” but I found the whole book quite sad.
Every 30 page or so was just a repeat of what have just happened the pages before, a lot of repetition and the ending was pretty lackluster as well.
December 10, 2019
What kind of woman-hating and fat-shaming book is this? And what is it with this British chick-lit obsession with continuous and overly graphic descriptions of ‘wobbly bits’ and with name-dropping brands of junk food?
Basically, the lessons taught by this story are: fat women are despicable; it’s normal for a woman’s life to be dominated by food and obsessing about her weight; it’s unreasonable to be annoyed or upset if your husband lies to you and goes behind your back with a younger, prettier woman and you’re the one who needs to apologise for not understanding him; you’ll get love when you’ve earned it by losing your disgusting fat because fat people are not deserving of love; it’s perfectly OK to be a doormat with no self-esteem; and finally, becoming thin will solve all your problems.
Comic self-deprecation is all good and well but this book just glorifies self-loathing. There’s nothing particularly funny about a pathetic mess letting her husband and her children treat her like dirt.
Basically, the lessons taught by this story are: fat women are despicable; it’s normal for a woman’s life to be dominated by food and obsessing about her weight; it’s unreasonable to be annoyed or upset if your husband lies to you and goes behind your back with a younger, prettier woman and you’re the one who needs to apologise for not understanding him; you’ll get love when you’ve earned it by losing your disgusting fat because fat people are not deserving of love; it’s perfectly OK to be a doormat with no self-esteem; and finally, becoming thin will solve all your problems.
Comic self-deprecation is all good and well but this book just glorifies self-loathing. There’s nothing particularly funny about a pathetic mess letting her husband and her children treat her like dirt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2012
This is the second book i have read by Fiona Gibson and i wasn't dissapointed.
The book starts off with Laura running the mums race at her children's sports day and lets just say that she comes famously last and ends up falling over at the finish line in front of her children.
Laura and Jed are happily married with 3 children Finn, Grace and Toby. Ed has been getting very close with one of his work colleague Celeste, which very much annoys Laura as she has noticed that her husband has become very distant from her.
A number of events happen which test Laura and Jed's marriage. But they pull through it in the end.
All in all it was a very good book and i'm very much looking forward to her next book.
The book starts off with Laura running the mums race at her children's sports day and lets just say that she comes famously last and ends up falling over at the finish line in front of her children.
Laura and Jed are happily married with 3 children Finn, Grace and Toby. Ed has been getting very close with one of his work colleague Celeste, which very much annoys Laura as she has noticed that her husband has become very distant from her.
A number of events happen which test Laura and Jed's marriage. But they pull through it in the end.
All in all it was a very good book and i'm very much looking forward to her next book.
February 5, 2015
So many times while reading this book I got the giggles, and thoroughly enjoyed the story. Well written, the children are real in the way of being bratty at times but I can believe in them.
I enjoyed reading about Laura Swann, her entertaining family and all their various antics. Twists and turns, tums and bums, veg bakes and 30 ways with tuna, it all fits in the book.
I enjoyed reading about Laura Swann, her entertaining family and all their various antics. Twists and turns, tums and bums, veg bakes and 30 ways with tuna, it all fits in the book.
March 23, 2015
This is my second Fiona Gibson book and I completely fell in love with this book too. It is so true to family life, it will make you laugh out loud so be careful reading it in a public place. Fiona has a relaxed way of writing that I just love. Loved all the characters, it does have funny parts in this book but it also has some serious parts. My kind of chick-lit, easy read.
February 12, 2016
This book isn't about running but mostly about relationship problems between a husband and wife. Since I started reading this book because I thought it would focus on running, I'm disappointed. The story is ok but not very gripping. The mum seems to get herself into bizarre situations and complains a lot and the husband is just a kind of weak character in my opinion.
June 12, 2014
Bridget Jones humour, well written and quite the page turner, but I didn't really enjoy the overall theme of not knowing whether her husband was having an affair - it made me feel sad :-(
I thought the portrayal of life with children seemed quite accurate!
I thought the portrayal of life with children seemed quite accurate!
December 15, 2024
This is possibly the worst book I have ever read. Think of a selfish man and a woman whose only worth is being thin and attracting men and there you have it. Rubbish plot, weak characters and cheap attempts at laughter. This author hates women!
March 27, 2011
A brilliant fun read, I read it in a few hours, had a bit of a late night, but great book, definetely recomend.
October 25, 2011
A very funny book that reminded me everyone with kids goes through similar things!
January 11, 2012
I loved this book. I can't wait for her new one :)
May 2, 2012
laugh out loud funny
January 7, 2013
hilarious every mum can relate to the book had me laughing out loud!!!
December 22, 2014
Halfway through reading this book I got deja vue and realized I had read this before! However this book still had be cackling away, extremely funny!
Fiona Gibson Does it again!
Fiona Gibson Does it again!
September 21, 2016
Gets extremely boring towards the end, no liking developed towards the whining characters. It was good in bits n pieces.
Read
November 14, 2022i can't run from thes book.fab .but i like wolk than run .funny and easy to read but not short.
February 14, 2016
Such a fun book!
July 30, 2016
A good fun light read.
January 12, 2019
This isn’t the first book I have read by Fiona, it certainly won’t even be the last. I am a huge fan of her writing style and it’s so easy to get hooked straight into her novels.
It certainly didn’t take me long to read ‘Mum on the Run’ and I didn’t want to put it down but life kind of got in the way! The narrative of the story flows so freely you get to know each character quite quickly. I especially love each of her children, they all have quite different personalities and are quite amusing at times. I related a lot with Laura and her life (I am the mother of a toddler myself) the way she was feeling insecure about herself as a person was hard to read as no woman should feel that way. I was so glad when she did something about this and it wasn’t something she was forced into doing. Her husband Jed is so frustrating, down to the way he treats his wife (you will have to read the story to see if that changes) You find yourself with your fingers crossed that she gets the ending that she needs and deserves. I found myself really not liking Celeste at first but as the story goes on you get to understand her own story. I guess that’s why it’s good to change someone’s opinion and Fiona certainly did that!
Anyways back to the story, there were so many twists and turns with each character that I really wasn’t expecting to happen! It certainly kept my on my toes by reading it to the end. ‘Mum on the Run’ was full of drama and amusement I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This is definitely a book I will re read in the future and I highly recommend that you read it too! I give ‘Mum on the Run’ 4*/5* 😊
It certainly didn’t take me long to read ‘Mum on the Run’ and I didn’t want to put it down but life kind of got in the way! The narrative of the story flows so freely you get to know each character quite quickly. I especially love each of her children, they all have quite different personalities and are quite amusing at times. I related a lot with Laura and her life (I am the mother of a toddler myself) the way she was feeling insecure about herself as a person was hard to read as no woman should feel that way. I was so glad when she did something about this and it wasn’t something she was forced into doing. Her husband Jed is so frustrating, down to the way he treats his wife (you will have to read the story to see if that changes) You find yourself with your fingers crossed that she gets the ending that she needs and deserves. I found myself really not liking Celeste at first but as the story goes on you get to understand her own story. I guess that’s why it’s good to change someone’s opinion and Fiona certainly did that!
Anyways back to the story, there were so many twists and turns with each character that I really wasn’t expecting to happen! It certainly kept my on my toes by reading it to the end. ‘Mum on the Run’ was full of drama and amusement I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This is definitely a book I will re read in the future and I highly recommend that you read it too! I give ‘Mum on the Run’ 4*/5* 😊
Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews