Holiday Reading
With the holidays approaching, you may be looking for a perfect running-related gift. While I usually tell my family to buy me running shoes, socks, shorts, and shirts, I often have a book or two that I want as well. Here are a few of my top picks. These aren’t training books or nutrition logs, but rather novels and stories about running that I find interesting or inspiring.
1. Once A Runner: A Novel by John L Parker
This is my all-time favorite running book. It’s the inspirational story of Quenton Cassidy’s running career as a college-aged miler. The descriptions of what it’s like to run and race as a serious runner are very realistic. If you can’t quote entire passages from this novel, then I’m not sure you’re that dedicated as a runner.
2. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
Born to Run is an adventure that began with one question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of distance runners and learn their secrets. The reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico practice techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it.
3. Running With the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men’s Cross-Country Team by Chris Lear
Who wouldn’t want to read about one of the best cross country programs in the nation? Chris Lear follows the Buffaloes through the 1998 season, one with many high points but also marked by the tragic death of one of its team members. The book minutely details the training and coaching techniques used to produce a top team.
4. Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes
I think it’s impossible to read this memoir without wanting to go out and run a marathon yourself. Ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes claims “There is magic in misery.” It’s impossible to not admire his tenacity in pushing his body to reach one extreme goal after another.
5. Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America’s Greatest Marathon by John Brant
In 1982, Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley ran the entire 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon neck and neck, finishing within two seconds of each other. Brant describes the runner’s careers leading up to the race, describes the race itself, and, most significantly, analyzes its aftermath.
6. Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine by Tom Jordan
University of Oregon track star Steve Prefontaine finished fourth in the 5,000 meter race at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Beyond that, he set numerous American records. But it was his personality, not his records, that set him apart.
7. The Purple Runner: A Novel by Paul Christman
While this novel is no longer in print, I mention it because I love it and if you can get your hands on a copy, it’s definitely worth the read. It tells a story of a New Zealand woman marathoner who looks to break her cycle of “not quite good enough finishes” and a mystery man who is world class but has a disfigured face and is embarrassed by it.
8. Thirty Phone Booths to Boston by Don Kardong
This book will make you laugh out loud. It contains many humorous running stories by the former elite runner, but it also makes you think, as he describes the impact President Carter’s decision to boycott the 1980 Olympics had on his running career.
Happy trails!
Derek