Isolation Inspiration part 2: Running Reads
In our second edition of Isolation Inspiration we'd like to share some of our favourite running reads (we wouldn't want you to get square eyes!).
Once again we've put our favourite three at the top with a few more suggestions at the bottom. Living vicariously through the adventures of others is really helping us to keep the fires burning and we hope it can do the same for you.
Like the Wind Magazine
Our friends at Like the Wind have opened up their archives and collated some of their favourite stories from the magazine online. The motivation behind Like the Wind has always been 'It's not how to run, it's why we run' and each story allows you to lose yourself in the personal stories and journeys of your running peers and heroes.
You can read them here: Like the Wind
The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances
Matthew Inman, AKA The Oatmeal, is an American illustrator / author who started running to help manage his weight and unhealthy eating habits. His comic strip tale "The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances" has since been published in book form but you can still enjoy the original by clicking the following link. It's an honest and very funny look inwards at what compels the author to push his boundaries and his quest to beat the Blurch.
Running with the Kenyans
Adharanand Finn was curious to know what makes Kenyan runners so fast. As anyone would (haha) he packed up his family and moved them from Devon to Iten, Kenya to try and find out. His experiences living and training with some of the world's best athletes became the basis of his first book, the wonderful and insightful "Running with the Kenyans". His follow-up books "The Way of the Runner" and "The Rise of the Ultra Runner" lifted the lid on the Japanese Ekiden races and the fast-rising ultra running scene respectively. Finn's writing style is extremely relatable, and his books are engaging and thought provoking. We highly recommend working your way through all three.
Learn more about and buy his books through his website: thewayoftherunner.com/books
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami
A memoir of sorts, explaining why Murakami took up running, the effect it has had on his life and creativity and how he considers it to be a metaphor for life.
There is No Map in Hell - Steve Birkinshaw
Steve Birkinshaw sets out to beat the Wainwrights record, a continuous circuit of all 214 Wainwright fells over and over 300 miles.
North, Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail - Scott Jurek
In 2015 Scott set out to cover the 2189 miles of Appalachian Trail, crewed only by his wife, Jenny. Written from both of their perspectives, North details the inevitable struggles of running 50 miles a day for seven weeks and how Scott overcame physical and mental boundaries in the quest to complete his challenge.
Running Like a Girl - Alexandra Heminsley
The journey of the author from complete non-runner to marathoner, with all the lumps, bumps trials and tribulations in between, told in an honest and amusing style.
The Pants of Perspective - Anna McNuff
Anna's exhilarating account of taking on a 3000km solo adventure, running across New Zealand's Te Araroa Trail.
Beyond Impossible - Mimi Anderson
Aged 36, mother of three Mimi started running on the treadmill. This small act of self-improvement would evolve dramatically, leading her to compete in some of the toughest races on earth and become a world record holder.
Don't Stop Me Now, 26.2 Tales of a Runner's Obsession - Vassos Alexander
Vassos loves running - fact. This book recounts his foray into the sport (trying to run to the end of his street) and the highs and lows of his relationship with running, with peeks into the running histories of athletes such as Paula Radcliffe and the Brownlee brothers.
From Fat Man to Green Man - Ira Rainey
A friend's terminal cancer diagnosis sparks Ira to seriously reconsider his path in life. This book follows his journey from couch potato to ultra marathon runner, achieving things he could never have imagined.