Though we all run at different paces, I think it is fair to say we all have at least some level of curiosity regarding the fastest among us, those who complete at an Olympic level. Depending on the races you attend, there is often even a chance to see one at a race, or even line up at the same starting line. Being able to read a book, such as ‘Abdi’s World, by Abdi Abdirahman,…
Add Chasing Excellence to your “need to read” list for this summer and fall to get ready for your return to racing … or if you’re not sure about racing quite yet, your return to training. The book by Pat Melgares is about the life and influence of Coach Joe Vigil on countless runners, other coaches, and the people you meet in day-to-day life. As a former athlete on Coach Vigil’s Adams State XC team, Melgares…
The first 100-year-old to run a marathon, Fauja Singh, is also the first Sikh to be the main character in a book from a major publisher. Written by Simran Jeet Singh, the book tells the story of Fauja Singh including his 2011 marathon which made him the oldest person documented as having completing the distance. At 109 years old, Singh is still going strong, although he’s since retired from marathons. The book chronicles his entire…
While you cannot judge a book by the cover, the cover might be enough to get you to pull it off the shelf. In the case of Swim, Bike, Bonk: Confessions of a Reluctant Triathlete, it was the title that had me hooked before the first page. I have been a runner for over a decade now. I learned how to bike (barely) and was on swim team in high school. But I’ve never been…
If you’re already reading Run Oregon, chances are you already have some interest in running or walking, but how would you rate your fitness? Are you out of service after your long run or feel incredibly sore after attempting hill repeats? And let’s not even get into how we handle stress! Feel-Good Fitness by Alysia Montaño is a friendly, approachable guide to raise your fitness foundation. The book starts out with a short, honest and…
Fast Girls, an amazing new novel by Elise Hooper, is based on the lives of three women from the 1936 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team. The stories of Helen Stephens, Louise Stokes, and Betty Robinson describe the challenges of being an amateur athlete during a time when women’s sports were given much less support and attention than men’s. (The book also includes runner Tidye Pickett, whose individual story isn’t told, but is another woman…
The following has been submitted by Run Oregon reader, Brian James Siddons – Runner, Writer, Poet. We’ve all been there on race day. Plans made, gun goes off and instantly our brain becomes a balloon let loose at the fair. Thoughts we had prepared for weeks, maybe months, to succeed on race day are dispersed to the wind, as is our only chance for success. Holding back at the start of a distance race is…
There’s been a book in the news lately that was written to capture the immigrant experience. It was then panned as being unrealistic. Spirit Run is not that book. This is a book that paints such vivid images of a real immigrant family’s experience that there were times I had a visceral reaction to the story. The author’s story begins when he’s still a high school student in Yakima, Wash. The conditions in which his…
In case you hadn’t guessed, I’m a runner. But first and foremost, I’m a mother. Trying to explain why mommy leaves for hours at a time to run or having to justify why I’m too tired to keep up after doing a 50k can be difficult for my children to grasp. The book My Mommy Runs, written by Matt Sorenson and illustrated by Andrew Langston, was a great addition to our library for many reasons.…
When a book on the shelf matches one of your sayings, well obviously it needs to be bought, read, and written about. And this quick, informative read did not disappoint that decision. In Running is my Therapy, the author Scott Douglas uses a balanced mix of personal story, conversations with friends, interviews with professional athletes, and data from studies to explore the psychological benefits of running. Throughout the book, he includes caveats that running…
