Six female cross country college athletes, working through the mental and physical struggles that come with wanting to excel athletically while balancing the emotional experiences of life at that age. The book mostly focuses on two of the women, Kristin and Danielle, and as a result the book felt very unbalanced. We learn very little about Patricia, Liv and Chloe and often they seemed like an afterthought. It was a fine book but not one I could quickly and easily recommend to any reader.

I don’t normally read these sort of books. But it sounded so intriguing I had to pick it up, and I’m glad I did!

Throughout this story we see a track team’s lives. We see what goes on behind closed doors, the things they struggle with, how they feel, etc. I loved getting to see their lives and the friendships and how they support each other.

Unique take on the typical struggles we forget about when we transition from girls to women. I enjoyed the different points of view and personalities while confronting the same issues. I loved the real take on each characters competitive drive and reasons they all had for their love of running. A bit hard to follow but still fun being a fly on the wall if you’ve never been through some of these challenges.

Thank you for this ARC via NetGalley!

3/5

Stephanie Reents’ We Loved to Run isn’t just a novel about racing — it’s about the quiet, bruising battles young women fight every day, often alone. Set in 1992 at Frost, a fictional liberal arts college tucked in the woods of Massachusetts, this debut zeroes in on six members of a women's cross country team as they push themselves toward the New England Division III Championships — and past the edges of who they thought they were.

Told through shifting points of view, the story peels back each runner’s inner life — the drive for perfection, the hunger (literal and metaphorical), the isolation, the unspoken rivalries, the unexpected kinship. The novel explores eating disorders and sexual assault not as plot devices, but as raw, lived realities that shape and shadow the characters’ journeys. Reents writes with clear-eyed empathy, refusing to soften the hard truths while still holding space for moments of connection and resilience.

At times, the alternating perspectives blur — a few voices start to echo each other — but the emotional weight of the story never fades. What lingers is the aching beauty of these young women: ambitious, flawed, desperate to be seen and terrified of being truly known. We Loved to Run is a piercing look at the lives of student-athletes, yes — but more than that, it’s about the cost of excellence, the fragility of identity, and the quiet courage it takes just to keep going. For fans of character-driven fiction that digs deep and doesn’t flinch.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

We Loved to Run by Stephanie Reents is a coming-of-age college novel that is, actually, all about running. So much so, if you don’t want to read about running, this may not be the book for you. It’s Danielle’s senior year at Frost, a small but prestigious liberal arts college in Massachusetts, and as the captain of the cross country team, she will do everything in her power to win New England’s this year. The book POV rotates from Danielle through the other top runners on the team, with some odd chorus-like “we” sections thrown in. As the season progresses, we learn about the women’s fears and adversities — both on and off the course. We Loved to Run explores themes of sexual assault, female friendship, love, and of course, running.

I understood the underlying point of We Loved to Run, but the story in general gave me whiplash. To start with, it reminded me of why I never had interest in competitive sports. It also reminded me of the dynamics of my sorority house when I was in college, and how when women were dealing with traumatic things they were just as likely to do to something that hurt someone else than they were to seek help in understanding the issue they were coping with. The book is about six women on a cross-country team, despite there being more women on the team that we never hear about, just the six best runners. The book is about six women, but it is mostly about two women, Kristin and Danielle, that have gone through traumatic experiences, with the other four popping in and out of orbit as secondary characters. The first and third part of the book are about a cross country season, where Kristin deals with her trauma by swinging between being uber-competitive and dropping off the grid. Danielle deals with hers by swinging between being the mother hen captain of the group and being black out drunk. It's probably fair to say that all of them have an unhealthy relationship with food, where they tend to eat hardly anything, a habit that is encouraged by at least their assistant coach. The second part of the book is one long chapter about what happened to Kristin the summer before the season. It gives the reader a sense of what she is dealing with, but feels incredibly bizarre, and the length of the chapter is so disproportionate to the others that it feels like the reader is reader a different book, before being dumped unceremoniously back into the one they were reading. It doesn't ever really feel like you know if Kristin and Danielle have come out the other side, the book ends with a moment that feels like it is supposed to be an opportunity to do so, but like the rest of the book it just feels like another moment where college students are doing something for the grand idea of it, and then are easily distracted by the next thing that comes along. This just felt all over the place. I wanted to know more about what the other women were coping with, but upon figuring out that wasn't really going to happen, I just really wanted it to be over with.

Thanks to NetGalley for this book. I really enjoyed this book that examines life in college in the early 1990s from the perspective of female athletes. An intense look at life way before the “me-too” movement and emotional at times.

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!