Fox Running

by R.R. Knudson

Fox Running, a young Zuni woman taught by her grandfather to run free in the desert, is recruited for the medal-minded Uinta University track team

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Rozanne Knudson was born in Washington, D. C. She received a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1954, a master's degree from the University of Georgia in 1955, and a Ph. D. from Stanford University in 1967.

Knudson wrote more than 40 books. But she is best known, particularly among teenage girls, for the four “Zan” books. Published in the years after the passage of Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibited federal funding for education programs that discriminate on the basis of sex, including sports, the series called on young women to eschew cheerleader skirts and pompoms.

Reviews

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathy "Sudden" Hart is a college student at Uinta Univ. She also ran the relay in the Olympics and dropped the baton, causing the U.S. to lose. When the story opens, Sudden, Coach Calvin, and "Champion" are returning by car from a meet in Arizona. On the road they discover an Indian girl with tremendous running ability. They pick up Fox and bring her back to Utah with them where the Coach tries to make her run in his style. Fox refuses in her own special way to cooperate. A friendship between Fox and Sudden develops. In the process Sudden discovers anew the pleasure of running. The finale is when Sudden and Fox run the relay in the next Olympics and win this time.

Interesting book - well done. One of those books I found hard to put down once I started to read it. It's a unique and exciting sports story with some insights into the Indian mentality included as well as the emphasis on women's sports.

[Sally N. Inglis]

Per my diary, I finished reading this and was so thrilled about the ending I jumped up and kissed Stewart.