Mighty Moe: The True Story of a Thirteen-Year-Old Women's Running Revolutionary

by Rachel Swaby, Kit Fox

The untold true story of runner Maureen Wilton, whose world record-breaking marathon time at age 13 was met first with misogyny and controversy, but ultimately with triumph.

In 1967, a 13-year-old girl named Maureen Wilton set the women's world marathon record, running 26.2 miles in 3:15:23. Nicknamed “Little Mo” by her track teammates, Wilton was already a headline-making athlete. But her accomplishment was greeted with controversy and misogynistic accusations of cheating. Wilton receded into the background, left the sport, and kept her achievement secret. This is the story of what happened, and how Maureen found her way back to the sport decades later as the mother of a young runner herself.

Introduction by Shalane Flanagan, winner of the 2017 NYC Marathon; afterword by Katherine Switzer, first official female participant of the Boston Marathon in 1967.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Biography, Middle Grade, History, Feminism, Audiobook

299 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

About the author

Rachel Swaby is a producer of the podcast Runner's World, and the author of Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science--and the World as well as its young readers adaptation, Trailblazers: 33 Women in Science Who Changed the World. She lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

" . . . for every women's running revolutionary we now celebrate, there are those we've forgotten." -- the authors, on page 6

Although shelved in my local library under 'biography,' Mighty Moe straddles an uneven line between the story of the young Canadian athlete Maureen 'Mighty Moe' Wilton and a lightweight historical / sociological examination on sexism in the sports world of track events. Or, to be more exact, it mostly concentrates on the five years (1964-1969) that Wilton ran long distances and marathons during her elementary- and middle-school years outside Toronto and broke records. However, Wilton often was not properly credited, and her success / skills were doubted by some in North America, just because she was a young lady. She certainly deserves some belated recognition for her accomplishments, and the book's strength came from detailing the horribly backwards way (in an unenlightened, bygone era) that women used to be viewed who competed in such events and the restrictions that also used to be in place. Still, the book often lapsed into the blandness of an overly long Wikipedia entry, and Ms. Wilton herself - who is sixty-six years old as of this writing, and living a quiet life in her native Canada - remains sort of a cypher for a 'revolutionary' subject.

[Carol Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read this book when I heard a character on the Netflix series "Atypical" talk about it. I knew that there was a gender barrier in competitive sports that needed to be broken. However, I did not know more than that. Now I know about the women that not only broke that barrier but shattered it in the sport of track. I will be purchasing this book for the middle school library collection. I recommend this to anyone who likes running or stories of perseverance or history.

[Tatem · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is so empowering that it makes me want to run a marathon. This is my favorite book

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ♥️♥️♥️ this book! Little Moe - so inspiring. Horray for women athletes who beat the norms and prejudice.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Female athletes today would do well to read this fascinating account of the way things were for sports-minded girls and women just a few decades ago. Maureen Wilton grew up near Toronto, and she fell in love with running after seeing that her older brother received a ribbon for his efforts. Females doing anything physical that might cause them to sweat or exert themselves was frowned upon by others at that time. But Maureen had supportive parents, a coach (Sy Mah) who also wanted to nurture his daughter, Brenda's abilities, and she joined his North York Track Club. The team and the girls' parents became a family of sorts, and Maureen excelled under Mah's tutelage. She trained relentlessly, and the wins started to come as she just got better and better. What should have been a triumph when she set a women's marathon record with a time of 3:15:23 in 1967 ended in embarrassment and confusion for her since she was accused of cheating and attacked by those who didn't think girls should run. The book includes details about how she moved across the race course for various races, making it clear just how much she loved to run. But after she set the record, she lost her love for competition and running in part because of changes in her coaching and the departure of members of her track team, not to mention the dismissive, sexist attitudes of others toward her. It's heartbreaking but understandable that she would lose her motivation and her love for the sport when faced with all those obstacles, and readers can't help but wonder what might have happened had she continued to run. For several years, she packed away all her tokens from her racing life and lived a fairly pedestrian life, racing all but forgotten until John Chipman, who was making a documentary about early female racers, figured out where she was. It's clear that these authors have a keen appreciation for track and that they did their homework. It is also clear that they spent time talking to Maureen and having her relive some of these moments. Having a teaser on the back cover that asks why she stopped running insures that readers will bear in mind this question as they read the book, adding to its interest. I wish there had been a bit more development about how she returned to racing and perhaps additional thoughts from her coach and his daughter. Realizing that many of the athletic feats we take for granted now might never have been possible without those that paved the way, including Maureen, Bobbi Gibb and Kathrine Switzer, will leave readers impressed and baffled at the sexist attitudes of those times. Mighty Moe deserves this recognition and an acknowledgement of her accomplishments.

[Keri Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a runner and a feminist, I loved this book, because it weaves together the story of a ground-breaking female runner (who broke the record for the marathon for women when she was just 13 years old), and a history of women's running. It's incredible how many barriers women faced, not that long ago, as they tried to run competitively. From being told that long-distance running would cause damage to their uteruses, to outright sexism, women were held back, but kept running.
This is a quick read, and a compelling story.

[Benjamin Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells a story that unexpectedly was never told, or at least not as loud as it should have been told, at the time. It depicts how a 13 year old Canadian girl named Maureen Wilton broke the world record in the marathon in 1967.

Yes, the world was very different back then, news traveled slower, running was not as big as it is now, but the main reason that this incredible accomplishment got so limited coverage and recognition is plain misogyny.

The book is good inspiration for every runner, but it is specially god for young runners, because it is an eye opener for the generations of runners that now get to practice distance running without suffering of gender-discrimination (or at least not to extent of decades ago). It helps us realize that, this was possible because of the struggle of girls and women like Maureen Wilton.

[Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasure it was to read this biography of a woman I never heard of: a teenager who was the first Canadian woman to run in a marathon, when women weren't allowed to run in anything longer than 800m. While reading this, I felt so proud of her accomplishment. I also felt emotional knowing she used to train in the area of the city I grew up in, and reading about how quietly she retreated in the background, unrecognized for most of her life for wonderful accomplishment. I appreciate her so much!

[Kimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running has always been a part of my life, partly because it has always been a part of my mom's life. She was born in 1964. I didn't realize it until reading this book, but that was a year when women were still not allowed to officially run long distance races, e.g. the marathon, practically anywhere in the world.

I loved this book because it cured my ignorance of that historical reality, told a story of an unsung hero, and, through her story, articulated so much of what I love about running and the trailblazers I have to thank for that privilege.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly, highly recommend this inspiring read. it’s incredible to me being born in the 90’s that only 30 years prior even a commonplace activity such as running was kept out of the reach of women .. as a young woman it makes me marvel and be thankful for the courage of Maureen and the countless other women that have come before me, so I can enjoy the freedoms I have today without ostracism of any kind.

[Hali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating behind the scenes story of Maureen Wilton who was pretty much forgotten about, even though she was the only Canadian woman to ever run at Marathon and more surprisingly she did so at age 13. The book also does a pretty decent job at detailing the difficulties women and girls faced in the 60’s when running became a popular sport and how they were accused of cheating, physically attacked, or ridiculed for doing a “man’s” sport. Good read!

[Amy Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story about the incredible running achievements of Maureen Wilton as a young teenaged girl. It gave a really insightful look at the history of women in running and the progress women have made in the last 40 years.

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mighty Mo set history as being one of the first young women to run a marathon in Canada. Pushing back against gender stereotypes and public perception was difficult. When her team split up and fractured, Maureen gave up on running until her own daughter began to run.

[Shauna Yusko · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about a pioneer in women's long distance running. I listened to the audio book that was read well. I enjoyed learning about Moe and her life. Very enjoyable and inspiring.

Owen

[JenBsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened upon this one while looking up another book (a "you might also like ...) and figured it would be good to add a non-fiction to my "MiddleGradeMay" reads (and that inspired me to purposely look up more non-fiction ...)

I'm NOT a runner, although I was on the track team when I was in 9th grade (I don't know that I'd say I was there willingly) ... and I was a sprinter, with the 400 my longest. Hubs has run a marathon. 5k is my longest race post-track team.

Still, this was an interesting story. I went with the audiobook, narrated by the author (she sounds very young). I was sad I wasn't able to get the Kindle copy (not at the library, too $$ to buy ...) It was on Hoopla, it's just not the same as Kindle for me (and my highlights/notes don't get saved). I liked the "fire" metaphor in Ch14, but am too lazy to retype it all and enter it into the QUOTES section here myself. There were more too ...

Split into three parts ... The Ribbon, The Race, The Record, with 27 chapters running through. For fun, the last chapter is actually numbered 26.2. Clever. I don't think I caught that in audio (which is why I like to have the text to look at after listening). Also an intro, prologue and afterward. Notes and sources too.

While this was about Moe ... it was also about the history of women running (and running itself) and at times really seemed to stray from Moe's story, although I found it all interesting. As with many non-fiction books ... I feel a little like I should remember all the facts, and I just don't know that I'll remember much beyond the basics. Not dates/names, I was even losing track of names during the initial read/listen.

While I adore audiobooks, I feel a little bereft without a Kindle copy for reference. Here, the Hoopla ebook at least gave me access to the text, if inconvenient (yes, I'm a Kindle snob). I liked the pictures included at the end. It's fun to browse through and connect them to the same moments in the book, bringing back the associated memory. As someone who went with the audio, I appreciated that the pictures were compiled together at the end, whereas if I had been reading on my own, I might have preferred them positioned in the book at the corresponding dates.

[Carin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I listened to a fascinating podcast about Moe Wilton that really annoyed me when it was over, it was so good. Turns out this editor also did because he reached out to the podcasters who expanded their research and storytelling into this terrific biography of Mighty Moe.

In 1967, Moe was thirteen years old when she broke the world record for the women's marathon. At this time women often had to run surreptitiously (she ran alongside Kathrine Switzer) if we could run at all, for men thought our uteruses would fall out if we ran any distance.

Moe just loved running. She started to keep up with her brothers and despite her height and being younger, she quickly outran them. Her parents were endlessly supportive, finding her a team and a coach and going to great lengths to get her to meets across Canada. Once her coach hired a private plane and her father raced her and other girls across town to fly directly from one meet to another across the country. Moe ran and ran and ran. It was beautiful, impressive, even intimidating. And then she ran herself out. The best runner of her generation was completely burnt out before she was twenty and quit and sport. Decades later, her own daughter asked her grandmother if her mother had ever run. Moe's mother said she'd better ask her herself. Luckily Moe's mother also had kept exhaustive scrapbooks.

What an achievement! And yet for decades afterwards it was unheralded and completely forgotten. And it wasn't an easy race either--there weren't fuel stations and a band every mile. It was around a square, over and over, on a college campus, with giant older men. And yet, she outran all of them. At thirteen. I think this book would be impressive and inspiring for many kids this age showing that diligence and effort pays off. And how often do kids get to read a biography of a kid? Hey, if Moe can do it, anyone can, if they put their mind (and body!) to it.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Swaby and Kit Fox demonstrate that history is more powerful than fiction in "Mighty Moe: The True Story of a Thirteen-Year-Old Women's Running Revolutionary." What a wonderful, fascinating, and great story. Maureen Wilton had the natural talent, commitment to training, motivating coach, and supportive family to be one of the world's greatest runners. To think of how she set the women's marathon record at age thirteen is remarkable. Swaby and Fox aptly tell how Moe came to set the world record, her commitment to running, and then the arc of her life that led her away from running. They also make clear the awful and unacceptable sexism that existed in organized running in the 1960s and 1970s, and how innovators forced the system to change. An absolutely great read. Highly recommended.

[Sheri S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women's running has come a very long way! For many years, women weren't allowed to run long distances for fear of what it might do to their health and fertility. However, coaches and their female athletes began challenging the limitations. Mighty Moe was one such young girl who, with the encouragement of her coach, pursued long distance running. As the title of the book indicates, Mighty Moe ran a marathon (against men) and set a world record. She paved the way for other women and girls to compete in long distance running. This book is about her accomplishments and the evolution of women's running in general.

[Lona · Rating 3 out of 5]

The inaugural Olympic women's marathon, won by Joan Benoit Samuelson, was in 1984 - right between the birth years of my two daughters, who are both marathoners. If you are interested in the history of women's distance running - in the struggle to have women's capabilities recognized - you'll be glad you read this book. The history is well done. Creating depth in the portrayal of the pioneers of the sport is less so. But, knowing the history makes me glad that my granddaughters have the opportunity to develop their talents if they so choose.

[Dorinda Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book! A 13 year old girl breaks the marathon world record, but doesn't really feel her accomplishment until decades later. It is somewhat hard to believe now that only a few decades ago women were discouraged/ banned from running long distances. Women have accomplished so much in running in just a short amount of time, and this book highlights the struggle women faced in the sport through the eyes of a 13 year old girl.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

If is isn’t a Young Adult novel, it reads like one. Well, perhaps a cross between a YA and a very long Wikipedia entry. Yes, Moe’s many trials and tribulations are thoroughly described and the reader certainly gets a sense of the sexism rampant at the time, no less in the running community than elsewhere. But there is little sense of how she feels, other than frustrated and embarrassed, or of what she thinks.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I knew it was a juvenile biography when I checked it out, but I also knew the basic story from a podcast I listened to awhile ago. An interesting and inspiring story about a talented young female runner and the female runners who came after her and owe their place in the sport, in part, to her. A fun read for young kids who run (and adults who like stories about kids who run). 😊

[Jamie Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love book about running-the way this tied in so much history for women the sport as well as the focal point of Mighty Moe and the hard work that she put into the time leading up to her record is well-woven together with a great way to tie everything together at the end. Definitely a good young adult book, but also a good read for any adult who likes running and women’s rights.

[Bobbye · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing wasn't stellar and the authors seemed to stretch to make this story into a book - but the story at the core was interesting. This was a great look at women's distance running and the obstacles for women and the sport.

[Runningrara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the forgotten story of Maureen Witton, a pioneer of women's marathon running, who held the world record aged just 13 years old. A remarkable insight into the brutal, uninformed training methods, that broke her, before an uplifting return to running in her 50's. Incredible.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great story that is really inspiring and I'm really happy to get to know about Might Moe but the storytelling didn't inspire me unfortunately so giving it a low rating as the book didn't engage me and it took me a while to read it whereas usually I'd devour these kind of books in a day.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is super inspiring and very girl power vibes! I thought it was great and since i’m a slow reader it means a lot to say this only took me about 3-4 days to read. Super quick fun read, if you are planning on reading this I really hope you enjoy!

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story, just not particularly well-written or structured.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love a good running story, especially about women runners. (Or, in this case, girl runners.) Happy to see this little-known gem of a story dug out of the dustbins of history.