For you bookish types

The bear-wrasslers at The Runners' Lounge were kind enough to send me a review copy of their first book, The Ultimate Runner.  [Disclosure: I've podcasted with those guys, moderated one of their fora, and generally participated in that community.  They're cool, especially since they sent me a free book. Maybe next time they could send cash?  As a bookmark?]

The Ultimate Runner is primarily a compilation of brief essays from Lounge community members grouped into categories, like inspirational stories, charity running stories, etc.  At the end of the book, there's also a section of essays by experts in the field -- people with lots of acronyms behind their names -- on subjects like stretching, nutrition, recovery from injury, and other junk nobody cares about.  [Kidding.]  Most of the entries are a couple pages in length, perfect for bathroom reading or a pre-run pep talk.  As you might expect from "user-generated content," the quality varies from writer to writer.  There is such a variety of voices that it's safe to say anybody should find something worth reading here.

And that is the chief strength of the book.  If you are an Ironman or a weekend warrior struggling through your first 5Ks, if you are a chubby 39-year old father or a lean marathon mama, if you are a cancer survivor, or if you are mourning the loss of someone dear, chances are you will find a story that touches you.  The editors have done a superb job finding a variety of deeply personal stories that address the universal anxieties and joys of running shared by newbies and veterans alike.  Keep a box of Kleenex handy. 

I'm glad Amy and Tom are back to running the site after a long hiatus.  Check out their site and buy their book.

In other news, I have been running well lately.  I did 21 miles last week and am more-or-less on schedule for this week.  I need to run some trails, though.  Maybe I'll get to that this weekend.