To Be a Runner: How Racing Up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking on a 5-K Makes You a Better Person and the World a Better Place

by Martin Dugard

Overview

Now with a new introduction and additional stories accumulated in the eight years since its original publication, To Be a Runner is a fresh and exciting update on a running classic. With an exuberant mix of passion, insight, instruction, and humor, bestselling author and lifelong runner Martin Dugard takes a journey through the world of running to illustrate how the sport helps us fulfill that universal desire to be the best possible version of ourselves each and every time we lace up our shoes.   

To Be a Runner represents a new way to write about running by bridging the chasm between the two categories of running books: how-to and personal narrative. Spinning colorful stories of his running and racing adventures on six continents, Dugard considers what it means to truly integrate running into one's life. As entertaining as it is provocative, To Be a Runner is about far more than running: It is about life, and how we should live it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635653632
Publisher:	Harmony/Rodale
Publication date:	04/09/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	705,764
Product dimensions:	5.16(w) x 7.96(h) x 0.54(d)

About the Author

MARTIN DUGARD, a New York Times #1 bestselling author and lifelong runner, has written about running and endurance sports for more than thirty years. He is also the coauthor of the narrative nonfiction Killing series, works of history with eighteen million copies in print. In addition, he is the head cross-country coach at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Read an Excerpt

FIRST STEPS
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "To Be a Runner"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Martin Dugard.
Excerpted by permission of Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

First Steps

First Steps 3

Base Miles 9

Run Dates 17

Smooth 23

Fore! 29

A Breather 37

Superheroes 43

Thunder Thighs 49

The Runner's World

Pamplona (Part I) 57

A Runner's World 65

The Wild Place 73

Pamplona (Part II) 81

Pamplona (Part III) 89

Weather Or Not 95

Pamplona (Part IV) 99

Touch Guy 103

Pamplona (Part V) 113

Saipan 119

The Good Fight 127

Pay It Forward

Reason To Believe 135

The Price You Pay 141

Excuses, Excuses 147

New Shoes 153

A Time for Stretching 159

Ice Baths 165

Just Once … 171

One More Tree 179

Keep It Up 183

Hills 189

Slow Going 197

Time To Rack 201

The Mecca 207

The Beer Truck 215

Hard-Earned Wisdom

Deep Thoughts 223

Bruised And Battered 229

Process (The Little Things) 235

Time and Again 239

The "C" Word 245

Epilogue To Be a Runner 251

Acknowledgments 259

Editorial Reviews

Great summer beach read for the thinking runner...engrossing...if you're looking for the ideal running-related summer read, look no further than To Be a Runner. It is characterized by a rare combination of lightness and substance that makes it a pleasure to read.” —Matt Fitzgerald, Competitor.com

“Attention all runners. If running is your life, your lifeline, your escape, or even if you're hopelessly caught up in the What Makes Sammy Run rat race – this is your book.” —New York Times best-selling author James Patterson

“Anyone who has run has a story to tell as a result and usually behind that story is an important life lesson if we have open eyes to see it. To Be A Runner shares lessons that have been learned through the rocky, hard, sweat-filled miles as well as those miles that float by effortlessly, with extreme joy, and elation. Running is the ultimate school master. I learn something about myself, others, and life every time I lace up my shoes and head out the door. Whether you are a seasoned runner that can relate to the lessons shared in To Be A Runner or are just a beginner looking to avoid some of those painful lessons that those who have gone before can attest to you will be sure to find some gold nuggets to take with you for your next run around the block.” —Ryan Hall, Olympian and American record holder in the half-marathon and cofounder of a The Steps Foundation, a growing community of radical runners stepping together to end global poverty

“Martin Dugard on running is like reading Anne LaMott on faith, John Grisham on law, or William S. Burroughs on drugs. He is entertaining, enlightening and inspiring. Read this book, but keep your running shoes close by. Because when you put it down, you're gonna want to go find a trail.” —Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated Senior Writer

“Martin Dugard has filled every role a runner can—athlete, teammate, coach, adventurer, wanderer—and, as such, writes with a perspective any runner can appreciate. Whether you're a beginner or an ultra-runner, you'll see yourself in this book, which is a testament to the important places that running takes you.” —Dimity McDowell, co-author, Run Like A Mother: How to Get Moving and Not Lose Your Family, Job or Sanity

From the Publisher

Best-selling author Dugard (Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone) recalls the impact running cross-country has had on him in his latest book. A runner from an early age, he recounts the lessons learned after returning to the sport in his twenties and while coaching a high school cross-country team. With vivid imagery, he tells of his trials at the various events in which he has participated, including: the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain; the Tough Guy in Great Britain; and the Saipan XTERRA off-road triathlon in the Marianas Islands. Even as blood ran down his legs during a Disneyland marathon or as he plunged into icy water during the Tough Guy, his sense of humor shines through. In addition, he provides readers with various training tips: how to choose the proper running shoes, the proper technique for hill climbing, how to stretch, and when to rest. This book will inspire non-athletes, while former runners may find themselves lacing up their running shoes after reading just a few chapters. (May)

Publishers Weekly