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Marathons have become too easy for some runners. What was once the pinnacle of achievement in a runner's life is now a stepping stone for extraordinary adventure in ultramarathoning. The number of ultrarunners - those running distances of 50k (31 miles), 50 miles, 100k (62 miles), or 100 miles - is growing astronomically each year. To date, there has been no practical guide to ultramarathoning. Now, Bryon Powell has written Relentless Forward Progress, the first how-to manual for aspiring ultrarunners.
A dominant force in the sport of ultrarunning, Scott Jurek is a seven-time winner of the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run and a two-time winner of the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon through Death Valley. Eat & Run offers an inspirational account of Jurek’s life as a runner and vegan. Regaling listeners with jaw-dropping tales of endurance, Jurek also delivers sound science and practical advice—as well as his favorite plant-based recipes.
Scott Jurek is one of the world's best known and most beloved ultrarunners. Renowned for his remarkable endurance and speed, accomplished on a vegan diet, he's finished first in nearly all of ultrarunning's elite events over the course of his career. But after two decades of racing, training, speaking, and touring, Jurek felt an urgent need to discover something new about himself. He embarked on a wholly unique challenge, one that would force him to grow as a person and as an athlete: breaking the speed record for the Appalachian Trail.
Travis Macy has summited glacial peaks in the French Alps, rappelled into limestone caves in China, and raced through parched deserts in Utah. In 2013 he famously won the Leadman Series, a combination of nearly 300 miles of high-altitude trail running and mountain biking over the course of five epic endurance races. Macy achieved all of these victories without elite professional training or even exceptional strength, speed, or flexibility.
Karnazes reveals the mind-boggling adventures of his nonstop treks through the hell of Death Valley, the incomprehensible frigidity of the South Pole, and the breathtaking beauty of the mountains and canyons of the Sierra Nevada.
Despite believing he was bionic as a child, Ira Rainey was far from an elite athlete with superhuman running abilities like the ones he read about in books. He was in fact an overweight and unfit slacker who felt a bit sorry for himself because he had sore feet. Sure he ran a bit, but he also sat around a lot and ate and drank too much. Why? Because he could, and because he was a delusional optimist who thought everything would always be just fine.
Marathons have become too easy for some runners. What was once the pinnacle of achievement in a runner's life is now a stepping stone for extraordinary adventure in ultramarathoning. The number of ultrarunners - those running distances of 50k (31 miles), 50 miles, 100k (62 miles), or 100 miles - is growing astronomically each year. To date, there has been no practical guide to ultramarathoning. Now, Bryon Powell has written Relentless Forward Progress, the first how-to manual for aspiring ultrarunners.
A dominant force in the sport of ultrarunning, Scott Jurek is a seven-time winner of the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run and a two-time winner of the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon through Death Valley. Eat & Run offers an inspirational account of Jurek’s life as a runner and vegan. Regaling listeners with jaw-dropping tales of endurance, Jurek also delivers sound science and practical advice—as well as his favorite plant-based recipes.
Scott Jurek is one of the world's best known and most beloved ultrarunners. Renowned for his remarkable endurance and speed, accomplished on a vegan diet, he's finished first in nearly all of ultrarunning's elite events over the course of his career. But after two decades of racing, training, speaking, and touring, Jurek felt an urgent need to discover something new about himself. He embarked on a wholly unique challenge, one that would force him to grow as a person and as an athlete: breaking the speed record for the Appalachian Trail.
Travis Macy has summited glacial peaks in the French Alps, rappelled into limestone caves in China, and raced through parched deserts in Utah. In 2013 he famously won the Leadman Series, a combination of nearly 300 miles of high-altitude trail running and mountain biking over the course of five epic endurance races. Macy achieved all of these victories without elite professional training or even exceptional strength, speed, or flexibility.
Karnazes reveals the mind-boggling adventures of his nonstop treks through the hell of Death Valley, the incomprehensible frigidity of the South Pole, and the breathtaking beauty of the mountains and canyons of the Sierra Nevada.
Despite believing he was bionic as a child, Ira Rainey was far from an elite athlete with superhuman running abilities like the ones he read about in books. He was in fact an overweight and unfit slacker who felt a bit sorry for himself because he had sore feet. Sure he ran a bit, but he also sat around a lot and ate and drank too much. Why? Because he could, and because he was a delusional optimist who thought everything would always be just fine.
After a decade-long addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, Charlie Engle hit bottom with a near-fatal six-day binge that ended in a hail of bullets. As Engle got sober, he turned to running, which became his lifeline, his pastime, and his salvation. He began with marathons, and when marathons weren't far enough he began to take on ultramarathons, races that went for 35, 50, and sometimes hundreds of miles, traveling to some of the most unforgiving places on earth to race.
Writing from both the cutting edge of scientific discovery and the front-lines of elite athletic performance, National Magazine Award-winning science journalist Alex Hutchinson presents a revolutionary account of the dynamic and controversial new science of endurance.
An incredible but true account of achieving one of the most awe-inspiring midlife physical transformations ever
In October 2006, the night before he was to turn forty, Rich experienced a chilling glimpse of his future. Nearly fifty pounds overweight and unable to climb the stairs without stopping, he saw where his sedentary lifestyle was taking him. Most of us look the other way when granted such a moment of clarity, but not Rich.
Finding Ultra is Rich Roll's incredible but true account of achieving one of the most awe-inspiring midlife physical transformations ever. One evening in 2006, before turning 40, Rich experienced a chilling glimpse of his future. Nearly 50 pounds overweight at the time and unable to climb the stairs without stopping, he plunged into a new way of eating that made processed foods off-limits and prioritized plant nutrition and daily training. Rich morphed - in mere months - from out-of-shape midlifer to endurance machine. Revised and updated edition with a new and original foreword and a bonus chapter.
One year after her astonishing victory at the Badwater Ultramarathon, Pam Reed again made distance running history when she braved the hottest weather in years - 135 degrees - to successfully defend her title. How does this 100-pound mother and stepmother of five muster the endurance and courage for the 28-hour climb from the hottest desert floor on Earth to the shadow of the continental United States' tallest point?
Why we think it’s a great listen: Want to join the “superhumans”? Luckily you don’t have to run to catch up with them, thanks to McDougall’s and Sanders’ inspiring (and motivating) journey through history, science, physiology, health, entertaining characters and unlikely friendships. Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure.
From the best-selling author of Kafka on the Shore comes this rich and revelatory memoir about writing and running and the integral impact both have made on his life. Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers Murakami's four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon. Settings range from Tokyo, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston, among young women who outpace him.
David Clark went from the rock bottom of bankruptcy, addiction, and obesity to becoming an accomplished athlete. In this compelling story of his life, he not only shares his journey with complete honesty, but he also lays out a blueprint for change that anyone can use to redefine what is possible.
In 490 BCE Pheidippides ran for 36 hours straight from Athens to Sparta to seek help in defending Athens from a Persian invasion in the Battle of Marathon. In doing so he saved the development of Western civilization and inspired the birth of the marathon as we know it. Even now, some 2,500 years later, that run stands enduringly as one of greatest physical accomplishments in the history of mankind.
Deena Kastor was a star youth runner with tremendous promise, yet her career almost ended after college, when her competitive method - run as hard as possible, for fear of losing - fostered a frustration and negativity and brought her to the brink of burnout. On the verge of quitting, she took a chance and moved to the high altitudes of Alamosa, Colorado, where legendary coach Joe Vigil had started the first professional distance-running team. There she encountered the idea that would transform her running career: the notion that changing her thinking - shaping her mind to be more encouraging, kind, and resilient - could make her faster than she’d ever imagined possible.
Featured in the best-selling book Born to Run, coach and performance guru Eric Orton has spent a lifetime learning and thinking about running and about the limitless possibilities of the human body and mind. In The Cool Impossible, Orton shares his wealth of knowledge in an inspiring step-by-step guide that will open up a new world of achievement for runners of all levels of ability and experience. The truth is: Athleticism is awareness. That simple phrase is at the core of The Cool Impossible.
In 2007, Chrissie Wellington shocked the triathlon world by winning the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. As a newcomer and a complete unknown to the press, Chrissie's win shook up the sport. A Life without Limits is the story of her rise to the top, a journey that has taken her around the world, from a childhood in England, to the mountains of Nepal, to the oceans of New Zealand, to the trails of Argentina, and finally, across the finish line. A Life without Limits reveals the heart behind her success.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.