To Be a Runner
How Racing Up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking on a 5-K Makes You a Better Person and the World a Better Place
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
With an exuberant mix of passion, insight, instruction, and humor, best-selling author—and lifelong runner—Martin Dugard takes a journey through the world of running to illustrate how the sport helps us fulfill that universal desire to be the best possible version of ourselves each and every time we lace up our shoes.
To Be a Runner represents a new way to write about running by bridging the chasm between the two categories of running books: how-to and personal narrative. Spinning colorful yarns of his running and racing adventures on six continents—from competing in the infamous Raid Gauloises to coaching his son's high school cross-country team—Dugard considers what it means to truly integrate the activity into one's life. For example, how the simple act of buying a new pair of running shoes can be a source of meaning and hope. As entertaining as it is provocative, To Be a Runner is about far more than running: It is about life, and how we should live it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Best-selling author Dugard (Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone) recalls the impact running cross-country has had on him in his latest book. A runner from an early age, he recounts the lessons learned after returning to the sport in his twenties and while coaching a high school cross-country team. With vivid imagery, he tells of his trials at the various events in which he has participated, including: the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain; the Tough Guy in Great Britain; and the Saipan XTERRA off-road triathlon in the Marianas Islands. Even as blood ran down his legs during a Disneyland marathon or as he plunged into icy water during the Tough Guy, his sense of humor shines through. In addition, he provides readers with various training tips: how to choose the proper running shoes, the proper technique for hill climbing, how to stretch, and when to rest. This book will inspire non-athletes, while former runners may find themselves lacing up their running shoes after reading just a few chapters.