Runners on Running

Five recent running related titles to inspire and inform your inner marathoner:

Runners on Running : the best nonfiction of distance running (M)
by Rich Elliott, editor

I Just Ran : Percy Williams, world’s fastest human (M)
by Samuel Hawley

– At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics an unknown Vancouver runner named Percy Williams shocked the sports world by capturing the 100- and 200-metre gold medals. Some said the feat was a fluke. It wasn’t. In 1929 Percy silenced naysayers by sweeping the US indoor track circuit, then he went on to set a world record in the 100 metres that would stand until the advent of Jesse Owens. And in between he waged a speed duel with the fleetest men on the planet, a battle for track supremacy and the title “World’s Fastest Human.

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) (M)
by Martin Dugard

– 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. 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.

Run! : 26.2 stories of blisters and bliss (M)
by Dean Karnazes

– Dean Karnazes chronicles his exploits and explorations in gripping detail. Karnazes runs for days on end without rest, across some of the most exotic and inhospitable places on earth, including the Australian Outback, Antarctica, and the back alleys of New Jersey. From the down right hilarious to the truly profound, the stories in Run!provide readers with the ultimate escape and offer a rare glimpse into the mind-set and motivation of an extreme athlete.