Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Luis read it. Loved it. Talked about it incessantly. Now wants to run barefoot. The NY Times referred to it in an article this weekend. I don't have much to say about it since I've only read about 2 pages, but it does give me an excuse to post a Daily Show clip (which always makes me happy).

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This book

is awesome: Spark: the Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Very informative and inspiring. It gave me the science behind what I've known intuitively all along: My life did a 180 when I started running, and it wasn't just a coincidence.

Finally...

Someone else publicly admits to NOT liking Once a Runner. You already know I found it to be unreadable.

Book Review: Strides, by Benjamin Cheever

Meh. Take it or leave it. Some interesting stuff about the history of running, but it had a really self-indulgent feel. Cheever is clearly trying to work out his daddy issues, and I don't really care to read about it. Also, running's great and all, but I was turned off by this guy's deification of the sport. Check this out: "Then I break through the invisible plastic shield that separates me from life...I'm not myself. I am all men, and I'm not man at all. Just will. Just spirit." That's fine once in a while, but this book is packed with that kind of shit. Cheever also seems to make a point to set runners apart as a "separate breed." It's all just a little much. Still, it was relatively readable (aka better than Once A Runner), and I did like that he ended the book with a chapter about the New York City Marathon.

Book Review, Part 2 : Once a Runner (not really)

I ditched it.

I'm now reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. Nothing to do with running, but much, much, much better. I'm sure Luis would have preferred I stick with Once a Runner, since I just informed him that we are now only allowed to eat meat and dairy from organic, grass-fed cows. That's what he gets for making me throw out my toxic plastic Nalgene.

I joke, but I do love my Sigg bottle. Keeps water cold nicely, perfect for hydrating through out the day.

Book Review Part 1: Once A Runner (by John L. Parker)

Luis tells me I shouldn't do what I am about to do. He thinks I'll get hate mail. As if anyone reads this. I haven't finished Once a Runner, so maybe he's right I shouldn't review it yet, but I'm really feeling compelled.

First some background. This book was published in like 1978 or something. I guess it has some kind of cult following, people who swear it's the best book ever written and what not. It's got this mystique surrounding it becasue it's been out of print for a long time so it's hard to find a copy, amazon has used copies starting at $160 and up $990, blah, blah, blah... So Luis quite illegally downloaded a PDF of the entire book (and printed it at work - I'm so proud of him); he read it, and now I'm trying to read it.

Frankly, I am having difficulty getting through it. It's like a bad young adult novel. I just can't get passed lines like "What's wrong with me? Am I in love? For true this time? For real?" Vomit. The characters are so shallow and the dialogue so contrived, it makes me cringe. There are some interesting descriptions of running and the mindset it takes to be competetive, but I'm not sure it's worth struggling through just to get to those few readable paragraphs. It's such a bummer to not look forward to the book I'm reading. I may abondon it. My advice - read and heed the 1 & 2 star reviews on Amazon.