Before the rise of the 1960s era feminist movement, it was often believed that women were physically weak and could easily do damage to their reproductive systems if they engaged in strenuous physical activity. This belief kept women from engaging in physical activities such as running.

Along with these restrictive social attitudes were the demands placed on women such as the responsibility for their own and their extended family’s needs, and for care work in the wider community which meant that few women had the time and resources to run, even if they had somehow developed the interest.

As the women’s movement took shape, women made demands, both in an organized and individual way, which helped free their time for activities such as running. These included improved wages and family income, additional government support for childcare and community care, sharing of housework and childcare, more control over their bodies, and the recognition of the need and time for personal growth and development.

From WOMEN’S RUNNING: Coming of age in Canada by Ellen Agger, March 1980
(amended, August 2025)

 In the beginning

Founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario by Ellen Agger, Toronto Women Running (TWR) was Canada’s first women’s running club, a trailblazer at the time. It grew in its first year to over 200 members with a low membership cost of $5. While primarily a recreationally oriented club – different from the legacy track clubs for athletes that were geared to competitive track and cross-country running – it gave voice to the concerns of many women who often felt isolated as runners. It created a place for women to learn and run together, to exchange training tips, learn about shoes and running gear, get support and encouragement, and promote women’s running – in short, they offered each other mutual aid.

TWR was open to women of all running experience – from beginners to marathoners, to those interested in personal fitness, finding time for themselves, meeting new friends, finding a running buddy, running with others for safety and participating in the growing world of “fun runs” that had blossomed in the previous couple of years. The club became a place to also talk about feminism, to form self-help coaching groups and to help other women take up running in what had been seen as a “young man’s domain.” But it wasn’t just “all about me” – TWR members were part of a “Take Back the Night” march organized by the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre in May 1980 in Toronto to protest the rape and murder of a local woman, Barbara Schliffer.

“I remember my very first jogging shoes at the time, Nike Waffle Trainers, which had just come out to cater to the new market of joggers, most of whom were men. They didn’t really fit my feet. I wanted the support of other women as I began to run for fun and fitness, so I put the word out to see if others felt the same. And yes! Women came out of the closet and into the streets, as we said. A women’s running group was important so we could feel less alone, support each other, run together (especially in the ravines in Toronto, where women didn’t feel safe to run alone) and learn together. While this wasn’t directly part of the Wages for Housework campaign that advocated for recognizing women’s work and contribution everywhere, that perspective helped inform the focus on ways women could reclaim time and space for ourselves,” says Ellen, reflecting on this time.

“Two major cosmetics companies started supporting women’s 10K races in 1979 in Canada. Our members participated but many of us were uncomfortable with the connection between “beauty” products and the ongoing messages that women should “look good” for men and that running would help us do that. We began to see the commercialization of women’s running with “pretty” clothes, shoes that fit narrower women’s feet and sports bras (that many of us did want!). We wanted to run for ourselves and with each other.”

National and international networking

TWR became part of a network of women’s running clubs, beginning with a sister organization in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. called Cleveland Women Running. Through this and other contacts, TWR became the Canadian organizer for the First National Women’s Running Conference at which the North American Network of Women Runners was founded in May 1979 in Cleveland.

At this conference, women from across the U.S. and Canada set up task forces to inform and take action on issues such as organizing for a women’s marathon in the Olympics, safety for women runners, countering discrimination against lesbians and the increasing commercialization of women’s running. Caucuses were set up where women in similar situations could identify the particular problems they faced as runners, such as masters (over 40), employed, Black and lesbian women.

To build this network of communication and action in Canada, TWR began corresponding with and supporting women runners in other parts of the country. As a result, clubs formed in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Quebec City and several Ontario cities: Newmarket, Thunder Bay and Burlington.

A very active club

Key women active in TWR: Ellen Agger (founder), Kathleen McKinnon (treasurer), Dorothy Kidd and Pamela Hayes. Other women participated in the weekly runs, helped provide training support sessions, wrote articles and stuffed envelopes for the regular newsletter, and participated (often in a group from TWR) in local races (fun runs). Olympic runner Abby Hoffman acted as the club advisor.

Highlights of TWR’s activities:

• Held weekly group runs in Toronto, Ontario: 1978-1981 (or 1983; records are unclear).
• Provided a “buddy list” to help women find others in their area to run with
• Produced an informational newsletter 2-3 times a year with articles on running tips and issues that affected us as women.
• November 1978: Organized a clinic and fun run for Toronto Women Running at Harbourfront in Toronto.
• March 1979: Organized and held a Women’s Running Clinic at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, attended by 175 women, featuring Olympic runner Abby Hoffman, Susan Fish of the City of Toronto, Judy Ramirez from the Wages for Housework Campaign, Kathe Tanner and Judith Kazdan (marathon runners), Patsy Cook (a running mother), Elaine Dembe (chiropractor and marathon runner) and Helen Fedyck (nutrition consultant).
• July 1979: Helped Vancouver Women Running (Vancouver YWCA) get off the ground with a running retreat on Salt Spring Island; guest speaker: TWR’s Ellen Agger, who also spoke at a public meeting in Vancouver on “Why Women Run.”
• September 1979: The Fitness Workshop published a booklet called BREAKING THE BARRIERS, a Women’s Approach to Running (What makes women’s running special, How to start your own running club) by Ellen Agger and Dorothy Kidd.
• March 1980: Ellen and Dorothy conducted a workshop on “From the Kitchen to the Running Track: Attracting the Non-Participant” at The Female Athlete Conference, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, B.C.
• March 1980: Ellen led a workshop on “Running for Fun and Fitness” at the Montreal YWCA Women’s Running Clinic and consulted with founders of Montreal Women’s Running Club.
• March 1980: The Fitness Workshop published a booklet called WOMEN’S RUNNING: Coming of age in Canada by Ellen Agger.
• May 1981: Ellen spoke at the awards ceremony on “Organizing Women’s Running Clubs” at Belluz Home Run for Women.
• Ellen conducted workshops on running for Rogers Cable TV, Bonne Bell women’s running races, the Etobicoke Women Teachers Federation and Toronto YMCA.

Toronto Women Running wound down as women became a stronger part of the local running scene across Canada, and as attitudes towards women being physically active and participating in a male-dominated sport changed. While TWR was eventually disbanded, women continue to run with other women for all the same reasons that TWR originally addressed. Some women active in its heyday remain friends to this day.

Ellen Agger
Dorothy Kidd