Ruth Lillian Christmas (12 November 1904 – 2 April 2001) was a British

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

Biography

Christmas and her sister

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

followed their father into athletics. Ruth began competing in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in the 1920s, then moved to London and joined the London Olympiades women's athletics club. She took second place behind Violet Streater in the half-mile at the 1929 WAAA Championships, and began competing internationally, recording impressive results.Adrianne Blue,
Obituary: Ruth Christmas
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 16 May 2001 Christmas finished second behind Gladys Lunn in the half-mile event at the

1930 WAAA Championships The 1930 WAAA Championships were the national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The event was held at Stamford Bridge (stadium), Stamford Bridge, London, on 16 August 1930 and saw three world records established by ...

. At the AAA Cross Country Championships, held over a three mile distance, Christmas finished runner-up in Wolverton in 1930, and third at

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk downland, chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the Epsom Downs Racecourse, racecourse; the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are ...

in February 1931.Cross-Country Running, ''The Times'', 23 February 1931 Her result in 1931 contributed to a team victory for her club London Olympiades. Christmas was again runner-up in 1932 at Coventry. She gained plaudits for finishing second despite running with a heavily strapped knee, having aggravated an injury in the Southern Championships.Women's Championship - London Girl's Plucky Race, ''The Manchester Guardian'', 22 February 1932 She once again finished second behind Gladys Lunn in the 880 yards event at the 1931 WAAA Championships. In the mile, Christmas recorded a possible world record time of 5:27.5 in 1932.Obituary: Ruth Christmas
, ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'', 30 April 2001 The 1933 cross country season saw the exact same top three in both the Southern Counties Championship and the National Championship. In each race Christmas finished runner-up to Lillian Styles, with her sister Esther in third.Cross-Country Running, ''The Times'', 6 March 1933 Christmas finished six seconds behind Styles in the nationals, held in waterlogged conditions at

Warwick Racecourse Warwick Racecourse is a horse racing course in Warwick, England. It is a National Hunt racing course and has a programme of 25 meetings throughout the year, many of which are televised. The first stand was built in 1808, and its most recent rede ...

. In her favoured distance of 880-yards or 800-metres, Christmas had a longstanding rivalry with Gladys Lunn, who stopped Christmas from winning several WAAA title. She finally became national 800 metres champion at the

1933 WAAA Championships The 1933 WAAA Championships were the national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The event was held at White City Stadium, London, on 15 July 1933. Results See also *1933 AAA Championships References

...

. She gained French nationality through marriage, becoming Ruth Christmas-Paysant, and began competing for her adopted homeland, winning the 1935 French Championships 800-metre title, and the cross-country equivalent in 1936. In 1939, she and her husband returned to Britain to avoid the oncoming

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and she retired from athletics. Author and playwright

Simon Raven Simon Arthur Noël Raven (28 December 1927 – 12 May 2001) was an English author, playwright, essayist, television writer, and screenwriter. He is known for his louche lifestyle as much as for his literary output. Expelled from Charterhouse S ...

is her nephew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas, Ruth 1904 births 2001 deaths English female middle-distance runners British female middle-distance runners English emigrants to France French female middle-distance runners Sportspeople from Cambridge 20th-century English sportswomen 20th-century French sportswomen