Scan barcode
jhigginbottom's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
It was interesting to see the journey and how much work and pain goes into ultrarunning, but the book did feel a bit disjointed, especially at the end where it seemed to kinda just fall off instead of end in a completed way. Fun read anyway and I enjoyed the recipes.
morgob's review
5.0
Okay, I am going to be coherent in this review. Well, I'm going to try my best. I debated between four and five stars and then I thought, life is too short to give four stars, so here it is. This book was exactly what I needed right now. It strikes me as extraordinary how often that seems to happen to me. In a time where I'm low, possibly at my lowest point, running-wise, this book brought me some clarity, some inspiration, and happiness.
First, some background. My senior track season has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I am heartbroken, as it means I will never get to run for Cornell College ever again, I will never get to run the steeplechase again, I will never earn another All-MWC medal, and I will never run with my beloved teammates again. Eat & Run taught me a lot of things, but one of the messages that stuck out to me the most was how amazing it is to connect with people through running, and that those are some of the strongest and longest-lasting relationships. Almost all of my best friends have been runners, probably because it's something I've been doing for the past decade. Part of what I love about trail racing is the people are so cool and friendly. And, yeah, reading about Scott's friendships and running buddies made me miss my own quite a bit.
Another thing I loved about this book was just reading about all the different races and ultras out there. True, I had heard of most of them before, but that doesn't mean I knew what they were like or heard it from someone who had actually run them. The races were more like legends to me, so far out there and unreachable, but this book made them seem closer, like that is something I could actually do someday. It's just another race. I loved reading about all of his adventures, and I saw a bit of my competitiveness in Scott as well. I wasn't always a competitive runner, that is something that has developed more recently, but I have always loved running. I have signed up for possibly my first ultra this summer, and I guess we'll see how it goes, but this book made me a little less scared of it. So many things can happen during a race, and an ultra--because of the long distance--just increases the amount of things that can happen to you. I suppose that's what scares me about ultras. This book eased my fears because the author talked a lot about how we are human. We are human and it means we won't always succeed, but we can survive.
Born to Run was the first running book I read, and I read it just before starting my freshman year of college running cross country. It taught me that anyone can become a runner, and anyone can become good at running. My best friend and I, the slowest people on the team, called ourselves Las Tortugas, the turtles, and we worked hard together to get better. That was where my running journey really took off and I began to see just what I could do. Now, after having gotten 19th at Conference in cross country in my last season, Eat & Run is about a different kind of running journey. Sure, Scott talks a lot about his running victories and the times he crushed, but towards the end is what got me, when he was lost, and when he didn't know why he was running anymore. That's sort of the boat I'm in right now. I have to figure out why I'm running. At the end of the day, I have to get back to "running free," back to the joy in running, before I can set any goals for myself. There are good days and bad days, but it needs to stop being a chore and needs to start being my passion again. I'm working on it, and it's gotten better over the past couple of weeks, but I'm not where I used to be and I would like to be. This book has helped me pick up the pieces of my running life and start to put them back together. Scott's checklist is something I will definitely keep in mind, especially since my mother keeps telling me I need to get better at compartmentalizing. These next few months, I plan to rediscover running and make my running life something new. I can't go back to where I was; my collegiate racing career is over prematurely. But I can still do things I want to do, and I can still make my races mean something. I think that's the biggest part of what's happened. Collegiate running was, in my mind, something that mattered. Signing up for races on the weekends and running for fun just didn't seem to matter, to stack up. But it does, and I think that's a big part of what this book taught me. Anyway, that was really long, but there were so many things I didn't talk about. I really did enjoy this book, and I'm grateful for all that it taught me.
First, some background. My senior track season has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I am heartbroken, as it means I will never get to run for Cornell College ever again, I will never get to run the steeplechase again, I will never earn another All-MWC medal, and I will never run with my beloved teammates again. Eat & Run taught me a lot of things, but one of the messages that stuck out to me the most was how amazing it is to connect with people through running, and that those are some of the strongest and longest-lasting relationships. Almost all of my best friends have been runners, probably because it's something I've been doing for the past decade. Part of what I love about trail racing is the people are so cool and friendly. And, yeah, reading about Scott's friendships and running buddies made me miss my own quite a bit.
Another thing I loved about this book was just reading about all the different races and ultras out there. True, I had heard of most of them before, but that doesn't mean I knew what they were like or heard it from someone who had actually run them. The races were more like legends to me, so far out there and unreachable, but this book made them seem closer, like that is something I could actually do someday. It's just another race. I loved reading about all of his adventures, and I saw a bit of my competitiveness in Scott as well. I wasn't always a competitive runner, that is something that has developed more recently, but I have always loved running. I have signed up for possibly my first ultra this summer, and I guess we'll see how it goes, but this book made me a little less scared of it. So many things can happen during a race, and an ultra--because of the long distance--just increases the amount of things that can happen to you. I suppose that's what scares me about ultras. This book eased my fears because the author talked a lot about how we are human. We are human and it means we won't always succeed, but we can survive.
Born to Run was the first running book I read, and I read it just before starting my freshman year of college running cross country. It taught me that anyone can become a runner, and anyone can become good at running. My best friend and I, the slowest people on the team, called ourselves Las Tortugas, the turtles, and we worked hard together to get better. That was where my running journey really took off and I began to see just what I could do. Now, after having gotten 19th at Conference in cross country in my last season, Eat & Run is about a different kind of running journey. Sure, Scott talks a lot about his running victories and the times he crushed, but towards the end is what got me, when he was lost, and when he didn't know why he was running anymore. That's sort of the boat I'm in right now. I have to figure out why I'm running. At the end of the day, I have to get back to "running free," back to the joy in running, before I can set any goals for myself. There are good days and bad days, but it needs to stop being a chore and needs to start being my passion again. I'm working on it, and it's gotten better over the past couple of weeks, but I'm not where I used to be and I would like to be. This book has helped me pick up the pieces of my running life and start to put them back together. Scott's checklist is something I will definitely keep in mind, especially since my mother keeps telling me I need to get better at compartmentalizing. These next few months, I plan to rediscover running and make my running life something new. I can't go back to where I was; my collegiate racing career is over prematurely. But I can still do things I want to do, and I can still make my races mean something. I think that's the biggest part of what's happened. Collegiate running was, in my mind, something that mattered. Signing up for races on the weekends and running for fun just didn't seem to matter, to stack up. But it does, and I think that's a big part of what this book taught me. Anyway, that was really long, but there were so many things I didn't talk about. I really did enjoy this book, and I'm grateful for all that it taught me.
cantkeepmehere's review against another edition
5.0
Read in one sitting. To the point. Humble. Insightful. Felt like I peeked into his brain and how he thinks. No drama - just a passion for running. Inspiring.
felixmarauder's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
libellum_aphrodite's review
3.0
A book about nutrition and fitness is automatically on a fast track to my heart, particularly when really awesome vegetarian recipes and reflections about running are involved. While I wouldn't call this a particularly eloquent running memoir (for that, check out What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami), I enjoyed reading about Jurek's life story and really loved all the vegan recipes included in the book. Vegetarians (vegan or not) should own this one just for the recipes, although those vegetarians might get a little sick of Jurek's frequent lectures on the importance of putting quality foods into the body for peak performance. His choices throughout the book illustrate this without him stating the obvious repeatedly and his results (a slew of ultramarathon victories and records) are impossible to argue with.
mrs_bonaventure's review against another edition
5.0
Finished it about a week ago but only now getting around to reviewing it. I found it really inspiring and a week later several things stay with me - his Dad's saying "Sometimes you just do things" translating into lifelong determination; the idea that at the point the body is ready to give up, the mind can go on, and find the part of you that is bigger than the pain; and the emphasis on eating well. I won't be becoming vegetarian but more and more I find myself craving greens and fruit instead of just food that comes to hand.
Overall it's the determination to challenge yourself that is most striking and encouraging.
Overall it's the determination to challenge yourself that is most striking and encouraging.