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A review by nedjem
Courir ou mourir by Kilian Jornet
5.0
I am far from the runner Kilian Jornet is, nor do I aspire to be. Still “Run or Die” turned out to be a great source of inspiration. I still don’t aim to be able to run 40 hours in one go, nor to break records and run up and down mountains, but it was really amazing to read about the life of someone who does. That was what intrigued me the most about the book – getting the glimpse into the mind of someone who does something I don’t really understand, and with such passion!
The book was written in a quite relaxing sort of way, recounting runs, both the “dry” parts such as what was included in preparations, blisters and other injuries, and then the more abstract parts, such as what went through his mind while running, day dreams etc. It gave me a glimpse into a world I knew nothing about – I had no idea that professional runners have such a team around them! Neither did I know that they have these so called “pacers” running with them.
The language might not have been perfect at all times, at times it did not “flow” as it could have, but that did not disturb me that much. It kinda fit, actually – gave the book more of a personal feel, than a perfectly written narrative would have.
A final thing to comment on would be the amount of personal details – in this book he focuses on his life as a runner, only touching a bit on his life outside running. The parts where he does include personal details, seem at points a bit forced, and comes a bit abruptly. Now, I understand not wanting to include every detail of oneself, even in an autobiography, but the way these details were included did make for a bit of a fragmented picture. This might be the only minus I’d give the book, from what otherwise is a five-star review. I’ll still round it up to 5 stars though, as it really is not that much of a big deal in my over all experience of the book.
If you would like to read the longer version of this review with more of my personal thoughts and insights added, please visit my blog at https://iansphere.wordpress.com/2021/08/19/book-review-personal-thoughts-insights-run-or-die-by-kilian-jornet/
The book was written in a quite relaxing sort of way, recounting runs, both the “dry” parts such as what was included in preparations, blisters and other injuries, and then the more abstract parts, such as what went through his mind while running, day dreams etc. It gave me a glimpse into a world I knew nothing about – I had no idea that professional runners have such a team around them! Neither did I know that they have these so called “pacers” running with them.
The language might not have been perfect at all times, at times it did not “flow” as it could have, but that did not disturb me that much. It kinda fit, actually – gave the book more of a personal feel, than a perfectly written narrative would have.
A final thing to comment on would be the amount of personal details – in this book he focuses on his life as a runner, only touching a bit on his life outside running. The parts where he does include personal details, seem at points a bit forced, and comes a bit abruptly. Now, I understand not wanting to include every detail of oneself, even in an autobiography, but the way these details were included did make for a bit of a fragmented picture. This might be the only minus I’d give the book, from what otherwise is a five-star review. I’ll still round it up to 5 stars though, as it really is not that much of a big deal in my over all experience of the book.
If you would like to read the longer version of this review with more of my personal thoughts and insights added, please visit my blog at https://iansphere.wordpress.com/2021/08/19/book-review-personal-thoughts-insights-run-or-die-by-kilian-jornet/