Told.from multiple points of views by a womens cross coyntry team at Frost a higher education institution. An death look at female relationships and struggles to find identity. Engaging.

Because this is a book about young female athletes, it deals significantly with body image and disordered eating. Do watch out for that!

I think this was a really great stab at girlhood, though, and the natural struggles that come with it. The exhaustion, the feelings, the expectations, and insecurities... It was all very raw. I liked it and had no trouble zooming through the story.

The writing was well done, and the structure of this novel was interesting, and created strong intrigue. The alternating chapters from a collective "we" perspective were a nice touch, which elevated the story overall.
However, despite this, I found the ultimate execution to be lackluster. Part II felt out of place in the narrative pacing, and from there I struggled to stay invested in the story. I believe if the mystery was better disseminated throughout the story, it would have been much stronger. I appreciated the message, but found its delivery to be lackluster.

My thoughts on this book are quite mixed. While some parts of the story were incredibly engaging, others, particularly the beginning, left me feeling unimpressed.

The narrative follows a group of young women on a college cross-country team, but the number of characters in the novel made it difficult to connect with any of them. Danielle and Kristi are the only characters we truly get to know, so it would have been beneficial to focus more on their development rather than the sections about the other characters.

This is undoubtedly a literary book without a heavy plot, so I would recommend it to readers who are comfortable with that genre. The writing is indeed beautiful at times, but I wish I had been able to fully immerse myself in the storyline.

We Loved to Run tells the story of six cross country teammates throughout a season. Through varying perspectives, we see the complex relationship the women have with each other, running, their own selves, and the world. At times painful, their stories feel real and often relatable. Some characters were better developed than others, and it was a bit hard to keep them straight at the beginning, but I enjoyed getting to know them all.

We Loved to Run is a raw, emotionally charged debut that captures the fierce ambition, vulnerability, and pressure faced by young women in collegiate athletics. Set in 1992 at a small liberal arts college, the novel follows six cross country runners as they chase championship glory and grapple with body image, trauma, perfectionism, and identity. Stephanie Reents handles tough topics—like eating disorders and sexual assault—with sensitivity and unflinching honesty. While the shifting POVs can be confusing and some characters blur together, the emotional weight and empathy in the writing stand out. A compelling read for fans of layered, character-driven fiction.

"At Frost, a small liberal arts college in Massachusetts, the runners on the women’s cross country team have their sights set on the 1992 New England Division Three Championships and will push themselves through every punishing workout and skipped meal to achieve their goal."

In We Loved to Run, Stephanie Reents transported my 58 year old self back to not running, but softball, and all of the emotions my friends and I were going through.

Told through six peoples perspective we join them through their highs and lows.

I was able to relate to each character in some way, and felt each of their joys and sorrows.

I reached out to a few old friends and told them about a book they needed to read when it came out.

A great book.

We Loved to Run is a novel set in 1992 at Frost, a small liberal arts college in Massachusetts, centering on the women’s cross country team as they prepare for the New England Division Three Championships. The exploration of the characters’ lives unveils the considerable pressures young women encounter, particularly concerning body image and the pursuit of perfection. The narrative skillfully conveys how these young women push themselves to their limits, both athletically and personally, highlighting themes of ambition and the burdens of societal expectations on their identities.

As the story progresses through alternating perspectives, you gain insight into each runner’s unique challenges and aspirations. You begin to understand how competition can nurture both camaraderie and rivalry. The focus on disordered eating and body image concerns within the athletic sphere adds depth to the characters’ experiences, rendering their struggles both relatable and poignant.

One should know before reading that themes of sexual assault and eating disorders are examined, but these are real topics that young college aged women face today. This novel is a profound examination of the lives of young women as they navigate the challenges of being a student athlete and college student.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchang for my review.

I really enjoyed the premise of this one. As a distance runner myself, "We Loved to Run" took me back to my college memories of carefree days mixed with complicated relationships with myself as well as others. This story follows a track team as they navigate school, body image, competition, and tragedy with (and against) one another.

Reents did an excellent job showing the realities that young women face in a way that was equally sensitive, authentic, and raw - runner or not, just about any reader can relate to at least one of the girls in this story. Endurance sports bring a lot of complex emotions and issues regarding eating disorders, perfectionism, competition, fitting in, and anxiety, just to name a few.

Unfortunately, while I could relate to many of the girls, I had a difficult time really like and connecting to any of them (especially ). Maybe this is just because of me being ten years removed from college? The genre of this one also didn't quite stick for me...it felt like it was following the pacing and tone of a thriller, but it left me feeling a little lost.

While not for me, I can appreciate the writing and subject, especially for a debut. Thanks so much for the ARC!

A powerful, quietly devastating look at girlhood, ambition, and the weight we carry when we’re supposed to be strong.
We Loved to Run isn’t just about running—it’s about girlhood, perfectionism, and the way young women push themselves to the edge to be enough. Told through six perspectives, this novel captures the complexity of being a teenage girl when everything feels like it matters too much—body image, pressure, secrets, and the impossible idea of being both soft and strong.

Kristin and Danielle’s dynamic felt so real—one girl trying to hold everything together, the other slowly unraveling. I loved how the book didn’t shy away from showing how even close friendships can carry competition, silence, and loyalty all at once.

Stephanie Reents writes with so much empathy and honesty. This one had me reflecting on the girl I was, the friendships that shaped me, and the expectations we’re still trying to outrun.

‘A fearless debut novel about a women’s cross country team and how far girls will push themselves to control their bodies, friendships, and futures…’

For some reason, I found it difficult to become invested in this book. May have been the multiple pov’s, or the lack of connections with the characters. Hard to pinpoint. But I’d read this author again as it was a decent debut.

Thank you to the pub for the opportunity!

Release: 8.26.25.

I love stories that take place on college campuses in New England, so this book was perfect for that! I also like to read about women's friendships, and Reents has crafted that with this novel. The book takes a deep dive into the lives of ambitious women who run races in school. The action and character development are well written, and we get a good glimpse into what it's like to remain hopeful and competitive when it's most difficult. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

(3.5 rounded down) This is lit fic centered around a women’s cross country team at a small college in the northeast. The first chapter is written in the collective “we” and then chapters alternate between the perspectives of the six most talented runners. One of the runners is dealing with something traumatic that happened to her the past summer and all of the runners are dealing with the harsh realities of growing into womanhood and being a college athlete. There’s a lot here about disordered eating and body image and how something that most people would consider “healthy” (running, in this instance) can become an unrelenting obsession that colors every part of your life. I liked this! I don’t think it’ll be one I’ll think about a ton, but I liked the perspective shifts and I liked the narrative choice of focusing on a college cross country team. I do think the author could have set this at a high school and not much would have changed, both with the characters and the setting? That could also be my perspective of having attended both a huge high school and college, while this is set at a small school. I don’t know. Will be curious to hear what others think!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

A women’s cross country team and the struggle the teammates have to go through to succeed. This is a coming-of-age story which talks strongly about how difficult it is for women to overcome their personal obstacles as well as physical ones in women’s sports. It has many conversations about how teammates can become lifelong friends.

This is told in multiple POVs and many of the voices felt the same. Unless it specifically said whose POV we were reading from it took a lot of mental energy trying to figure it out. That aspect took a lot away from the story. I wasn’t able to just sit back and read. The book also kept alluding to something that happened to Kristin “last summer,” but it felt kind of obvious and this storyline was dragged out a bit much.
The writing was okay, but a bit sloppy at times. The characters had some depth, but it depended on which POV you were reading from. I liked this book okay and I would like to see where this author goes in the future.

I was interested in reading this as a former cross country runner. Unfortunately the book felt sloppy switching between sometimes named, sometimes unnamed narrators.

Thank you for this ARC! I am a runner and was excited to see this book. However, the changing narrators made it difficult for me to fully emerge in the story. I found it hard to keep track of characters and distinguish between their voices.

I wanted to like "We Loved to Run" more than I did. It was a good story, but I was expecting something a little different than what I got. However, the author does a good job of portraying the pressures and expectations, as well as the joys, of cross country, including the extra pressure on female runners to have and maintain a certain body type. The characters were engaging and a good mix of personalities.

Set at a small liberal arts college in 1992; the story follows six driven young women chasing athletic glory. What starts as a narrative about a team pushing toward a championship slowly unfolds into a raw and nuanced exploration of identity, secrecy, and solidarity.

Told in alternating perspectives, each voice in the novel rings clear and true, giving readers a deeply personal look at the inner lives of girls shaped by ambition, trauma, and a longing for control. Kristin, the team’s prodigy, is unraveling under the weight of an unnamed summer event, while Captain Danielle is haunted by her own buried past. Their entangled paths are full of conflict and care, and Stephanie Reents truly shines in these quiet moments of confrontation and connection.

This is a novel that understands how young women weaponize and wield discipline—not just in sports but in eating, silence, and perfection. It also understands how fierce competition can give way to fierce loyalty in the crucible of shared struggle. Reents writes with a rare mix of empathy and edge, never flinching from the pain her characters endure yet always illuminating the fragile strength that keeps them running—literally and emotionally.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel about running and coming of age in the 1990’s. A shared POV doesn’t always work for me but I thought this one was really well done - each young woman felt distinct and the collective voice was done well too. This reminded me (in a great way) of the recent book Headshot, so I’d recommend it to fans of that book.