A British journalist and ultrarunner Adharanand Finn has hit the jackpot with his new book The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance. It's obviously every bit as good as my favorites in the genre: Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and North by Scott Jurek. Later on it became clear to me that it's actually in some ways considerably better.
What sets Finn's masterpiece apart is that instead of just focusing on the current challenge of the main character, it somehow manages to add much more comprehensive content, covering all the major ultrarunning events and people globally. Still, it also tells the interesting story of the author's personal evolution powered by innocent inspiration ignited by Karnazes' first book, and then spiralling through various crazy challenges from Oman to UTMB.
Finn has published running books about Kenya and Japan before, but TROTUR rises to totally another level. That's largely because tha author has been able to learn from the biggest ultra stars, while talking honestly about his own challenges and issues, possibly offering plenty of insights and solutions for the attentive reader along the way. His self-effacing Englishness creates a winning combination with professional British journalism, which remains quite broadly respected in Europe despite the unfortunate Brexit episode.
The book has a lot to offer both to the absolute neophyte and more experienced ultrarunning enthusiast. He touches many relevant current topics like training, racing, cheating, dieting, recovering, healing, and paincaving. The whole ultra spectrum from shorter FKT stints to the 3,100-mile self-transcendence race is discussed. He writes about the history of the sport, as well as the thriving global industry it has transformed itself with growing media coverage and bigger sponsors.
Finn describes the intriguing aspects of ultrarunning culture and its fascinating community values. I found it all entertaining, rewarding and pleasurable reading, perhaps hallucinations being the most hilarious accounts of all, just because they appear to be so real, while at the same time you may be well aware they aren't.
Finn even patiently attempts introducing Kenyan marathon runners to the modestly paying world of ultra racing. He also explores Gary Ward's Anatomy in Motion, which was featured in BBC's popular Doctor in the House TV show and follows a Neuro Kinetic Therapy lead all the way to California. Conflicts like the Hardrock 100 vs. ITRA controversy and other assorted dramas in various events are touched upon to add some spice.
Some typos and factual errors caught my attention, like for instance Jim Walmsley was in the Air Force, not Army. Some small unknown English events were perhaps covered in too much detail, while some events like American 200-milers didn't seem to fall on Finn's radar too much. However tiny mistakes couldn't bother me - I guess we ultrarunners aren't really nitpickers by nature, are we?
Finally, this book provides the best answer to the question why we run ultras. Why keep on pushing close to the edge, deep in the pain cave, when you could be comfortably laying on the sofa, watching reruns on the TV, or interacting with social media? Why do we seem to long for tough and wild aspects of life?
Finn concludes this rising ultrarunning phenomenon is not simply about running a long distance, or running at all. It has something to do with exhausting the mind, the body, the ego, until something fills the empty space. This something, the marathon monks of Japan once told Finn, "is the vast consciousness that lies below the surface of our lives, beyond the limits of our everyday experience."
No comments:
Post a Comment