Hello Slow twitchers,
I am going on vacation and am looking for good endurance themed book along the lines of:
Born to Run
Secret Race
I’m here to win
Any good suggestions? I love a good book on vacation.
17 hrs to Glory
It’s a collection of mini biographies of top Ironman champs and a few others.
Eat&Run by Scott Juric
Start kind of slow, but finishes well. He also gives his account of what all went down with “Born to Run”.
Hello Slow twitchers,
I am going on vacation and am looking for good endurance themed book along the lines of:
Born to Run
Secret Race
I’m here to win
Any good suggestions? I love a good book on vacation.
Non-fiction
‘A Life Without Limits’ - Chrissie Wellington. The best triathlon book I’ve read.
‘The Iron War’ - Well written, and pretty interesting even if you know the story well
‘Running with the Kenyans’ - Man moves to Kenya to try to learn to run like the Kenyans.
Fiction
‘The Rider’ - The best book about cycling ever (fiction or non-fiction). http://cyclingtips.com.au/2010/11/the-rider/
‘Once a Runner’ - A cult classic. There is a sequel too, but I didn’t like it as much.
I would say “It’s Not About the Bike” or “Every Second Counts”, but I can’t find them at any book store; it’s like the books never existed.
I liked “Death of Marco Pantani”. It’s dark, but fascinating from a psychological perspective.
On the lighter side “Once a Runner” is a cult classic fiction novel - great beach read.
Bowerman and the men of Oregon
Unbroken
.
x2 on Iron war, Bowerman and men of Oregon, and Death of Marco Pantani.
I also enjoyed Deul in the Sun ( Alberto Salazar, Dick Bearsley and the Boston Marathon). Scott Jurek’s book was pretty good.
Born to Run and it’s sequel *Again to Carthage. *
The latter is not as good. But still a decent enough read for vacation.
+1 on Eat & Run. I really enjoyed that book. It has some great recipes in there too!
Born to Run: Great book, great story. Probably the best overall as it is actually well written (written by a writer and not an athlete) and the story about the Mexican tribe is just fascinating. This is one of the books on the list that you can refer to when you’re enduring a workout and needing to dig deep.
Running with the Buffalo: story about Colorado U cross country team during one coincidentally eventful season. True story about Adam Goucher’s college days in the 90s, but still relevant. Gets in great detail about training regimen and races. Also well written.
UltraMarathon Man: This is what I have in mind when I mention Born to Run and Buffalo are well written…But regardless, Dean Karnazes is still pretty crazy and thus worth a read. This will take you one long flight to read. All of his books are the same for that matter…
Running with the Kenyans: Good book. Good story.
Secret Race: Great book, lots of details and despite what you already know about doping, you’ll probably learn some more. And most importantly you realize how much these animals can actually endure.
I’m Here to Win: Another tally in the “not written by a writer” column. Macca is a phenomenal athlete, but his arrogance is a bit overwhelming, and it’s displayed in his writting. This book also doesnt have much great info about training or too many racing tactics. Good easy quick read, but if you’re looking for more substantive stuff, this is not your best bet.
X2 on Unbroken…wow what a book.
Unbroken x1000
Running with the Kenyans
The Secret Race
.
“Breaking the Chain” by Willie Voet.
Book about the Festina 1998 Tour de France drug scandal written by the team’s sounigueur. Read this on the bus in France. Really interesting and an eye opener.
“I met a guy up on that mountain who I grew to like, and do you know who that guy was? That’s right, it was me.”___Tim Moore, from the book “French Revolutions…Cycling the Tour de France”. A great book. A guy with little to no cycling experience decides to ride the same route of the Tour de France. Hilarity ensues.
“To The Edge” by Kirk Johnson.
The book by the NY Time writer who takes up running after the suicide of his brother and eventually decides he has to run Badwater. Pretty interesting, especially the account of the race itself and the people who run it.
“Ultimate High–My Everest Odyssey” by Goran Kropp.
Kropp rode his bike 7,000 miles to/from Stockholm to Mt. Everest, attempted the summit and rode back and this is the story of that trip. He was killed a few years later in a climbing accident.
“A Rough Ride” by Paul Kimmage
Published in 1990, but an interesting read if you can find it.
Eat & Run 4/5
Racing through the dark 4.5/5
Gold In the water 5/5…maybe 6/5
From lance to landis 4/5
.
who is the author of unbroken?
http://gearpatrol.com/2013/02/04/100-essential-reads-the-definitive-mens-library/
Some of the books in the above are not necessarily related to endurance, but they are all great reads.
Laura hillibrand, same author as seabiscuit.
Not quite the same as those books but I really enjoyed:
Run to Overcome (Meb Keflezighi)
Running for My Life (Lopez Lomong)
They’re more about their lives before running and how running changed it. They aren’t very “science-y” but they are good reads.
- 1 for Bowerman, Men of Oregon and Gold in the Water.
my suggestion - A long walk: true story of a trek to freedom.
+1 to both Unbroken and Iron War.
I finished “Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run” by Andy Holgate this morning. Very enjoyable. Chrissie’s book is also a good read.