book review

Run Oregon Bookshelf: I Can Do Hard Things: How Small Steps Equal Big Impact

January 6, 2019 // 1 Comment

Since I started running nine years ago, I have read about 40 books on running. My favorite style is what I call “autobiographies by nobodies.” What I mean is the stories by real world people who may be aiming to change their lives, but the [read more...]

Run Oregon Bookshelf: Racing Heart

December 3, 2018 // 0 Comments

As a lifetime reader, and a runner for nearly is long, it’s funny to think that I rarely read books about running or runners. Whether this is a planned habit or merely chance, my often daily escape to the written world rarely touches upon my [read more...]

Run Oregon Stocking Stuffer: Hood to Coast Memories Book

October 24, 2018 // 0 Comments

As a runner in the Pacific Northwest, you have probably heard of, if not participated in, the Hood To Coast Relay, running around 200 miles from Timberline Lodge to Seaside. The relay is an experience like no other, and whether you love it or not, [read more...]

Run Oregon Bookshelf: The 30-Minute Runner – Smart Training for Busy Beginners

August 13, 2018 // 0 Comments

Ever since I started running many years ago, I have best intentions to stick to training plans and to keep up a base fitness so that I don’t ever have to “start over” in my training. But then life happens and I get busy, lazy, or [read more...]

Run Oregon Bookshelf: The Hungry Brain by Stephan J. Guyenet

June 16, 2017 // 0 Comments

When I started running 6 1/2 years ago, the impetus was first to lose some weight and second to get into shape. A combination of slow running and resistance training was enough to get me about 1/2 of the way to my goal, but it wasn’t until I [read more...]

Run Oregon Bookshelf: Simple Rhythms, Poetry for Runners

April 6, 2017 // 0 Comments

Ray Charbonneau, a runner and writer, has come out with a book of poetry just for runners. Simple Rhythms, Poetry for Runners is a collection of poems that all runners can relate to. The poems in this short book are a variety of styles including [read more...]

Run Oregon bookshelf: Grand Trail: A Magnificent Journey to the Heart of Ultrarunning and Racing

December 14, 2016 // 0 Comments

Portland-area runner Marya Van Metre read Grand Trail: A Magnificent Journey to the Heart of Ultrarunning and Racing by Alexis and Frédéric Berg and shared her thoughts Run Oregon. Van Metre, mom to 4-year-old twins, has countless 5ks, 10k, and [read more...]

Run Oregon Bookshelf: An interview with author Jen A. Miller and a GIVEAWAY of her book “Running: A Love Story”

September 14, 2016 // 1 Comment

Jen A. Miller is an award-winning freelance journalist who is now the New York Times’ “Well” section running writer. Her work has also appeared in the Washington Post, Guardian, Runner’s World, Running Times, Allure and [read more...]

What Run Oregon is Reading – Hit Reset: Revolutionary Yoga for Athletes by Erin Taylor

July 18, 2016 // 0 Comments

Book: Hit Reset: Revolutionary Yoga for Athletes Author: Erin Taylor Release Date: May 1, 2016 Purchase: Amazon ($14.74 as of this posting) “You’re reading a book on yoga?” my wife asked, surprised. I am not particularly [read more...]

Run Oregon Bookstore: “Million Dollar Marathon” by Philip Maffetone with Richard A. Lovett

June 15, 2016 // 0 Comments

The dream of the sub-2:00 marathon has gotten a lot of attention in the media in the last few years as the marathon world record and “world best” have crept closer to that symbolic milestone than anybody could have anticipated just a [read more...]

Run Oregon Bookshelf: Where the Road Ends – A Guide to Trail Running

June 7, 2016 // 0 Comments

Isn’t it just amazing the people you meet in the running community? I remember, with what seems like forever ago, meeting a guy named Scott Wolfe. He sold my husband and I some awesome bicycles. I was in the process of training for an Iron Man [read more...]

What Run Oregon is Reading: Marathon Journey, An Achilles Story

April 18, 2016 // 0 Comments

Book: Marathon Journey, An Achilles Story Author: Stephen F. Balsamo Release Date: July 2013 Purchase: Amazon ($7.99) “Perseverance in times of weakness can lead to strength.” Generally, when you think about running books, your mind goes [read more...]

What Run Oregon is Reading: How Bad Do You Want It? & Hanson’s Marathon Method

March 19, 2016 // 0 Comments

When Run Oregon is relaxing after a day of running, we sometimes like curling up in front of a fire with a good book. Below are a few that have been passed along to us. Book: How Bad Do You Want It? Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle by [read more...]

What Run Oregon is Reading: Core Envy & Running Your First Ultra

March 7, 2016 // 0 Comments

When Run Oregon is relaxing after a day of running, we sometimes like curling up in front of the fire with a good book. Below area few that have been passed along to us. Book: Core Envy by Allison Westfahl Cost: $16.79 on Amazon (can also be [read more...]

Book Review: Trailhead by Lisa Jhung – “The Dirt on All Things Trail Running”

June 20, 2015 // 0 Comments

As a guy that discovered running about five years ago and discovered trails about six months after that, I will tell you that not everyone is an expert when it comes to running trails. Certainly there are those who know a little about their favorite [read more...]

Book Review: The Art of Running – The Steve Prefontaine Story

May 22, 2015 // 1 Comment

I’m not the biggest comic book reader in the world, but I completely appreciate the medium. There is just something amazing about being able to convey a full story within a storyboard and have to get through the plot without having the luxury [read more...]

Book Review: Tales from Another Mother Runner

April 11, 2015 // 0 Comments

Five years ago, before the start of my second half marathon, I was browsing the vendors and came across two tall women selling their book “Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving–and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity” (by Dimity [read more...]

Product Review: Hal Koerner’s Field Guide to Ultrarunning

March 7, 2015 // 0 Comments

I have a handful of running idols that I look up to. Not many, but a few. One of them is Hal Koerner. For those of you not familiar with the name, Hal owns a running shop in Ashland, Oregon called Rogue Valley Runners. But owning a running store [read more...]

Running Roundup – a collection of running-related links

November 1, 2014 // 0 Comments

Which state has the best runners? Well, it depends on what you mean by “best,” but according to this Runner’s World column, Oregon is #2 overall. We’re #1 in “runs per person.” Data comes from RunKeeper. (Why is [read more...]

Running Roundup – a collection of running-related links

July 25, 2014 // 1 Comment

I spent a week in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and did some trail running. But I did not try to pass this big old bison, which was trotting along the camp area. Hey, there’s no shame in losing a footrace to a bison; they can run [read more...]

Book review: From First to Last by Charlie Spedding

July 20, 2014 // 0 Comments

This book was not one I really planned to read. I tend to collect books that I like to think I’ll read some day (like the biography on Nicola Tesla), and then I dust them off about four times a year before out-of-town visitors come to stay in [read more...]

Book Review: Spartan Up! by Joe De Sena

July 12, 2014 // 0 Comments

Billed as a self-help book, Spartan Up! written by Spartan Race founder, Joe De Sena, can be seen as a motivational book or a shameless plug for the Spartan Race. Either way, this often strongly worded book is not for the faint of heart. Spartan [read more...]

Book Preview: Spartan Up! by Joe De Sena

April 11, 2014 // 0 Comments

Joe De Sana, founder of the well-known Spartan Race series, has a hot new book about to hit the shelves. Spartan Up! is a “take-no-prisoners guide to overcoming obstacles and achieving peak performance in life” and will be out on May [read more...]