10th January 2023

Books I’ve read recently #8

I’d like to start by saying good morning, good afternoon, good evening etc, and happy Tuesday. I hope that whoever reads what is going to be the final instalment in my ‘Books read recently’ series of blogs for a while had an amazing Christmas and New Year. If for whatever reason, you didn’t enjoy Christmas and New Year, I hope that the next twelve months are kinder.

One of my 2022 New Year’s Resolutions was to read more. Not just running-related books but all of the books I’ve purchased over the years and never made the time to read. I’m know I’m repeating myself, but since 2020, books have provided me with a much-needed break from the real world. Books have also provided my eyes with a break from my laptop. If you haven’t already done so, please check the rest of my ‘Books I’ve read recently’ posts.

Below are reviews of the running-related books I read between the end of October and December. Although I read a lot of books last year, I’m not a book blogger so I decided to stick to reviews of running(ish) related books on this blog. I’ve also included information about the books I’m currently reading. Wherever possible, I’ve included links to either the publisher or the author of each book.

Books I read between October and December

First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles of the Rebels, Rule Breakers, and Visionaries Who Changed the Sport Forever by Amby Burfoot

The ‘First Ladies of Running’ tells the stories of a selection of inspirational, independent female runners who refused to give up despite cultural and sports barriers, and who changed the sport of running forever. The ‘First Ladies of Running’ chronicles legends including Joan Benoit, Roberta Gibb, Mary Decker, Kathrine Switzer, and Grete Waitz. I’m not sure that Oprah Winfrey should have been profiled in this book, she’s not what I’d describe as a rebel, rule breaker, or visionary.

If I discount the Oprah Winfrey profile, I found the ‘First Ladies of Running’ easy to read and difficult to put down, a great combination. I found it hard to comprehend that in the United States, it wasn’t that long ago when female runners were not permitted to run further than 800m in competition. Given how popular the marathon distance now is, I also found it mind-blowing that there wasn’t a women’s marathon at the Olympics until 1984.

I enjoyed reading the ‘First Ladies of Running’, but I was slightly disappointed that except for Grete Waitz, all of the biographies were of American female runners. It felt like the book is a history of women’s running in the United States, with the marathon distance as its ultimate aim. The author completely failed to mention that in some countries outside of the United States, female runners were not constrained by archaic rules and regulations banning them from participating in long distance events.

I think this is a classic case where the title of a book is enormously important. Had I known that the ‘First Ladies of Running’ is, with one notable exception, limited to biographies of American female runners, I probably wouldn’t have purchased it. If you’re looking for a book outlining some of the history of women’s running in the United States, then I’d recommend you read the ‘First Ladies of Running’. Otherwise, I’m not sure the ‘First Ladies of Running’ would be anywhere near the top of my list of recommended running books.

We Can’t Run Away from This by Damian Hall

It took me less than fifteen minutes of reading ‘We Can’t Run Away from This’ to conclude that the subject matter of the book is so serious, trying to review the book in three or four short paragraphs hidden away amongst several other book reviews wouldn’t be doing the author Damian Hall or the book justice.

I’ll be reviewing ‘We Can’t Run Away from This’ in a dedicated review post. I genuinely believe that ‘We Can’t Run Away from This’ is perhaps the most important running book I’ve ever read and will ever read. I’m slightly concerned that I won’t be able to do the book justice when I review it later this month.

Could Have Happened at parkrun by Simon Jones

I know that I’m repeating myself, but I love parkrun and I love reading about parkrun. If I see a book with ‘parkrun’ in the title, I’ll purchase it and read it. Having said that, I’ve no idea why it took me several months to add ‘Could Have Happened at parkrun’ to my collection of parkrun related books.

During lockdown, some parkrunners sat around at home feeling gloomy wondering if parkrun would ever return. I know there were times I didn’t think parkrun would return. Other parkrunners were more positive and productive during lockdown. ‘Could Have Happened at parkrun’ wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for lockdown. The author, Simon Jones, wrote this anthology of short stories around scenarios that could have taken place at parkrun to cheer up parkrunners who could no longer run because of COVID-19 and lockdown.

I don’t want to provide too much detail about the short stories as I hope that people support the author and consider purchasing a copy of ‘Could Have Happened at parkrun’. Anyone who starts their weekend at a parkrun event will identify with the book and will probably recognise some of the characters who feature in the book. I’m a born worrier and overthinker, so I found the story about Martin the funnel manager very relatable.

I enjoyed reading ‘Could Have Happened at parkrun’ and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves parkrun. Those who participate in parkrun will probably find it funnier than runners who don’t participate in parkrun. I just wish that the book was a little longer as it only took me an hour to read the 12 short stories. No pressure Simon, I hope you write a follow-up to ‘Could Have Happened at parkrun’.

The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal

I need to start this review with a confession, I’d never heard of Peter Sagal until I purchased a copy of ‘The Incomplete Book of Running’. I did what all good researchers do, I turned to Wikipedia, and learned that Peter Sagal is an American humourist, writer, and host of the National Public Radio game show ‘Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!’ and the PBS special ‘Constitution USA with Peter Sagal’.

Stephen Colbert describes Peter as ‘the funniest person on radio’ and with reviews describing ‘The Incomplete Book of Running’ as funny, entertaining, amusing, etc, I rather naïvely looked forward to what I assumed was going to be a light-hearted, entertaining read. Spoiler, some sections of ‘The Incomplete Book of Running’ are not what I’d describe as light-hearted, in fact, I’d go as far to describe them as quite the opposite.

‘The Incomplete Book of Running’ is completely different from any other running book I’ve ever read. The book isn’t a self-help book on how to start running although it probably would inspire someone to start running. As a back-of-the-pack runner, it felt like the author continuously downplayed his abilities as a runner, this did get a little irritating after a while as did the statements about joggers and runners. ‘The Incomplete Book of Running’ is bookended with amazing stories about the Boston Marathon, both on the day of the terrorist bombing and the following year. In my opinion, these stories are the highlight of ‘The Incomplete Book of Running’.

The author unfortunately talks about his deteriorating marriage and subsequent divorce, a lot. I understand why divorce is discussed as the author used running as a way of coping with what was happening; however, my parents are divorced and I’m not sure how comfortable I would have found either of them sharing the details of their divorce so publicly. Despite this, I’d be happy to recommend ‘The Incomplete Book of Running’ to both runners and non-runners.

Just a Little Run Around the World: 5 Years, 3 Packs of Wolves and 53 Pairs of Shoes by Rosie Swale Pope

‘Just a Little Run Around the World’ is Rosie Swale Pope’s account of her journey around the world on foot in aid of cancer awareness. After her husband died of cancer, Rosie set off from her home in Wales to run around the world and so began an incredible journey that would take Rosie 20,000 miles around the world, crossing Europe, Russia, Asia, Alaska, North America, Greenland, Iceland, and back into the United Kingdom. I’m not sure why it took me so many years to buy myself a copy of ‘Just a Little Run Around the World’, I ended up unable to put the book down and read it in one sitting.

I’ll start with the positives; I loved Rosie’s style of writing. Rosie has a highly engaging, descriptive way of writing that really fires the imagination, I could almost feel the cold conditions and started to see the world through Rosie’s eyes. Given all the negativity in the world, it felt good to read the numerous stories of kindness Rosie received from complete strangers during her travels. People went out of their way to help Rosie achieve her goal, the planning of her friends and family to ensure she had the equipment she needed when she needed it was clearly integral to the success of Rosie’s journey around the world.

The positivity and resilience of Rosie are clear to see throughout. Rosie has the most amazing ability to see the best in the most challenging situations. Despite frostbite, broken ribs, attempted robbery, and a whole host of other challenging situations, Rosie managed to remain positive and to keep on going. I can only assume Rosie felt like she had no choice but to keep on putting one foot in front of another. Although I’m sure there were times Rosie was tempted to give up, I can only assume that contemplating failing to complete the run was not something Rosie wanted to dwell upon in the book. I actually ended up making quite a few assumptions about how Rosie felt as ‘Just a Little Run Around the World’ contained very little insight into what was going on inside Rosie’s mind during the tough times.

As for the not so positive aspects of ‘Just a Little Run Around the World’, the book would have benefitted hugely from a map of the route Rosie followed. Without a map, I found it difficult to comprehend Rosie’s achievements. It felt like large areas Rosie passed through were barely mentioned, other than for statements about there being a lot of snow. I understand that it would be impossible to include everything in one book, but at times the story flowed so quickly that I didn’t feel fully engaged with the story. Despite these minor gripes, I loved reading ‘Just a Little Run Around the World’ and would recommend this book to everyone.

Books I’m currently reading

Once a Runner: A Novel by John L Parker Jr.

Originally self-published in 1978, ‘Once a Runner’ is described as providing a rare insider’s account of the incredibly intense lives of elite distance runners that captures the essence of competitive running and of athletic competition in general. I’m not how I’m going to find ‘Once a Runner’ as I’m definitely more of a jogger than a runner. Some of the reviews I’ve seen suggest that ‘Once a Runner’ is a book for serious runners, whatever a serious runner is. Is there a definition? I’ve only read the first few pages; it will be interesting to see if I finish or if I ‘DNF’ ‘Once a Runner’.

Barefoot Britain: A running adventure like no other by Anna McNuff

In 2019, I followed Anna’s journey as she ran 2,352 miles through Britain, completely barefoot. At the time, I rather selfishly hoped that the barefooted adventures Anna shared would eventually form the basis of a book. I enjoyed reading ‘The Pants of Perspective’, ‘The United States of Adventure’ (previously ‘Fifty Shades of the USA’), and ‘Llama Drama’ so much, I had everything crossed Anna would write another book. ’Barefoot Britain’ was published at the start of December, I bought myself a copy as an early Christmas present, and although I’ve only read the first couple of chapters, I can tell I’m going to love this book.

Books I’m aiming to read next

I reached the bottom of my pile of running books several months ago, so I’ve been regularly checking out the local charity bookshops. I love the idea of not knowing what I’ll find when I go into a bookshop; last month I picked up a copy of ‘The Ghost Runner’ by Bill Jones. I also keep a lookout for book recommendations on social media, and if I’m offered the opportunity to review a book, I’m always going to say yes as I love reading.

Would you like to read any of the books I’ve reviewed here? If you’d like to read any of the books I’ve reviewed here, please let me know and we can arrange for me to send you my copy.

Have you read any running-related books recently you’ve enjoyed? With apologies for the repeat question but I’m always on the lookout for book recommendations.

**Full disclosure: I purchased all of the books reviewed in this post myself. As always, all opinions and typos are my own**

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