The World’s Toughest Races
Ali Clarke
Affirm Press
People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer. But I don’t think that’s the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life—and for me, for writing as well. I believe many runners would agree.
– Haruki Murakami
I dig running.
No matter where, it is a fantastic and easy was to work out as well as a means to explore new territory while travelling.
Now, I have done my share of half-marathons, 10kms, and loads of fun and other runs in between and while I am always eager to explore new ways of exerting myself per pedes, there are races that I enjoy more reading about than necessarily participating in them.
Ali Clarke’s The World’s Toughest Races compiles those ones: No matter if it is ultra-distances, involving dangerous species interfering and territory that was never meant to be run on, the book sheds lights on all the details of those challenging races and unusual competitions with first-hand insights from those who experiences and participated in them.
Apart from factual details, the fact that most of the contributors have the ability to spin a yarn makes the anecdotes immensely enjoyable no matter if you are uninitiated or someone who pushes his limits on a regular basis.
The red thread of the book frames the book in the beautiful and inspiring context of a story of a woman and her endeavours to overcome childhood experiences and traumata.
