Atalanta's Race — Shirley Climo

In ancient Greece, the gods control every life, from peasant to King. When newborn Princess Atalanta is left to die on a mountainside because her father wanted a son, the gods send a bear to care for her. Adopted by a woodsman, she grows into a great hunter and athlete, and is eventually reunited with her father, the King. But as she gets older, Atalanta has no use for the gods and gives them no credit. When she must run the most important race of her life, on which her future happiness rides, the gods intercede once more--and Atalanta learns they will not be ignored forever.