As a child, John Terry McConnell felt limited; his asthma made playing sports difficult, and being a distance runner seemed impossible. When he got his first inhaler at the age of fifteen, he discovered that distance running was possible for him. He joined his school's track and cross-country teams and, thanks to a great coach, soon excelled as a distance runner.
A severe asthma attack in college ended his running career-until, in his thirties, he decided to try again and even became a coach. His troubles resurfaced in his forties, and while it required some major life changes, he resumed running in his late fifties. Even after a case of pneumonia at sixty-five, he still runs to this day.
More than a motivational memoir, Running with Asthma explicitly describes how he created a personal exercise program that helped him safely manage his asthma and achieve his running goals. He learned how to deal with the environmental factors that triggered his condition, practiced deep breathing techniques, and properly paced himself so he could successfully run the distance with his asthma. He started out slow and easy. He surprised himself with how fast and how far he could run!
