The Longest Race

By: Ed Ayres

Narrated by: Richard Waterhouse

Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

First and foremost a book about running, The Longest Race takes listeners alongside ultramarathoner Ed Ayres as he prepares for, runs, and finishes the JFK 50-mile race at a then record-breaking time for his age division - 60 and older. But for Ayres, this race was about more than just running, and the book also encompasses his musings and epiphanies along the way about possibilities for human achievement and the creation of a sustainable civilization.

Looking back over a lifetime of more than 50 years of long-distance running, Ayres realizes that his running has taught him important lessons about endurance, patience, and foresight. These qualities, also hallmarks of being human, likely helped humans to survive and thrive in the evolutionary race - and, Ayres posits, they are qualities absolutely necessary to building a sustainable society.

Grounding each step of his argument are vivid details from this particular race and other moments across his long running career. These experiences take us far beyond the sport, into new perspectives on our origins as future - and what it means to be a part of the human race. In the end, Ayres suggests, if we can recapture the running prowess and overall physical fitness of our "wild" ancient distance-hunting ancestors, we will also be equipped to keep our bodies, our society, and the entire world running long into the future.

©2012 Ed Ayres (P)2012 AudioGO

Should have been called The Longest Book

What would have made The Longest Race better?

This book was exhausting to get through for a number of reasons. First off, I didn't know it was going to be an intertwined recounting of racing and a bunch of eco-metaphors and analogies. I'd consider myself a moderate environmentalist and open to new ideas, but the way he wove the stories of a 50 mile race, human physiology, and the health of the planet together was painful at times. I just wanted him to finish one coherent thought before departing off into explaining how the build up of lactic acid was like the build up of CO2 in our atmosphere. If he had only made a couple of departures onto a topic he feels passionately about I would have enjoyed it, but it was two to three departures in every chapter and by the end I was just begging for it to end.

The author and his audience would have been better served with a much shorter book on his running alone or his environmentalism alone. The way the two are brought together simply does not work for the reader. I wouldn't recommend this book to either the ultra-distance runner or the environmentalist.

What didn’t you like about Richard Waterhouse’s performance?

Not the right reader for this book. The author is writing about a race he did when he was 60 years old, but the author sounds like he's mid-30's at best. While some stories will carry this just fine, in this story the discontinuity of the young voice talking with the words of age and experience was uncomfortable and noticeable.

Any additional comments?

There are certainly valuable things I took away from this book, primarily regarding running physiology, pacing, and fueling on long runs, but with the challenges presented, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

painful and preachy

What disappointed you about The Longest Race?

I've been reading a lot of running memoirs lately. Lot's of great ones out there. This is not one of them. Sorry.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Misleading

If you are looking for a chance to read about one man's liberal philosophy while he runs an ultramarathon you have chosen the correct book. I had to quit this one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overwhelmingly blah.

So much potential, but so boring. Disconnected musings and guesswork. The science in (such as there is) is almost entirely bogus (or just very outdated). Should’ve returned it, but since I DID suffer through the entire thing I wasn’t sure if that would be ethical.

An author who seemed full of himself.

There were interesting sections but most of the "scientific" points were total speculation. Too much use of the word " probably". All of his points MAY be correct but this book should not be taken as 100% factual. If you know the author, his story may be interesting. Otherwise, it came off as boastful.

B-o-r-i-n-g

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Wow. This book was so boring. I get what he was trying to do, it is noble, but I think it missed the mark. The reader made it even worse.

What could Ed Ayres have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Pumped it up with some more interesting stories.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Mispronouncing words (fib-yule-a) for fibula, etc

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Longest Race?

I would have left a lot on the cutting room floor. I got tired of hearing them drone on about the first humans, etc

Any additional comments?

If you love running, skip this book

Agenda driven & preachy

Would you try another book from Ed Ayres and/or Richard Waterhouse?

I won't spend money on another book by Ed Ayres. I didn't have a problem with Waterhouse's narration.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I was grateful that the story was finished - that's all.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narration was fine. No negatives.

What else would you have wanted to know about Ed Ayres’s life?

Oh, how about training & diet preferences, racing strategies and other things that relate to the adventure, the culture and joy of ultra running, rather than preachy, forlorn expressions about how much mankind has screwed up the environment?

Any additional comments?

This felt like an environmentalist's lecture, not so cleverly disguised in a tale about running a race, along with a few other random reflections. I kept hoping it would get better, but it didn't. Now, if I had bought the book with the expectation that it was an environmental lecture, then the added racing framework would have made it an enjoyable lecture. But I didn't want to listen to a sermon on the environment.

Running Info and Liberal Propaganda

What did you like best about The Longest Race? What did you like least?

This book did have some good moments and interesting running information. However, the book was overall a little boring and contained a lot of liberal politicizing. I also didn't like the way the author keeps subtly attacking Born to Run and barefoot running.

Boring

Any additional comments?

I have listened to read a variety of running books and this was by far the most boring and meaningless. If you are looking for a book on running adventure try Eat and Run or Ultramarathon Man. If you want a book on running technique try Relentless Forward Progress or Born to Run. This book is just a mix of one pointlessly overly described run with info on politics, history, and lore mixed in. I was hoping for interest, but got boring. The reader doesnt help make it any better either.