The Longest Race

“It soon becomes clear that this book isn’t just about an athletic race. It’s also about the human race” (Bloomberg Businessweek). Having run in more than six hundred races over the span of fifty-five years, Ed Ayres is a legendary distance runner—and this book is his urgent exploration of the connection between individual endurance and a sustainable society. The Longest Race begins in 2001 at the starting line of the JFK 50 Mile—the nation’s oldest and largest ultramarathon and, like other such races, it’s an epic test of human limits and aspiration. At age sixty, his sights set on breaking the age-division record, Ayres embarks on a course over the rocky ridge of the Appalachian Trail, along the headwind-buffeted towpath of the Potomac River, and past momentous Civil War sites such as Harpers Ferry and Antietam. But even as Ayres focuses on an endurance runner’s familiar concerns—starting strong and setting the right pace, controlling his breathing, overcoming fatigue, and staying mindful of the course ahead—he finds himself as preoccupied with the future of our planet as with the finish line. A veteran journalist and environmental editor, Ayres reveals how the skills and mindset necessary to complete an ultramarathon are also essential for grappling anew with the imperative to endure—not only as individuals, but as a society—and not just for fifty miles, but over the real long haul, in a unique meditation that “ought to be required reading even for people who have never run a step” (The Boston Globe). “He seamlessly moves between discussing running to exploring larger life issues such as why we run, our impact on the environment, and the effects of the nation’s declining physical fitness . . . Thought provoking.” ―Booklist “To read this book is to run alongside a seasoned athlete, a deep thinker, and a great storyteller. And Ayres doesn’t disappoint: He is the best kind of running companion, generously doling out hilarious stories and hard-won insights into performance conditioning and the human condition. His lifetime of ultra-running and environmental writing drive his exploration of what keeps us running long distances―and what it might take to keep the planet from being run into the ground.” ―Nature Conservancy magazine

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In “one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation” (Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest scandals in running. Kara Goucher grew up with Olympic dreams. She excelled at running from a young age and was offered a Nike sponsorship deal when she graduated from college. Then in 2004, she was invited to join a secretive, lavishly funded new team, dubbed the Nike Oregon Project. Coached by distance running legend Alberto Salazar, it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime. Kara was soon winning a World Championship medal, going to the Olympics, and standing on the podium at the New York and Boston marathons, just like her coach had done. But behind the scenes, Salazar was hiding dark secrets. He pushed the limits of anti-doping rules and created what Kara experienced as a culture of abuse, the extent of which she reveals in her book for the first time. Meanwhile, Nike stood by Alberto for years and proved itself capable of shockingly misogynistic corporate practices. The Longest Race is an unforgettable story that is “as interesting as it is important” (Molly Huddle, two-time Olympian) and also a crucial call to action. Kara became a crusader for female athletes and a key witness helping to get Salazar banned from coaching at the Olympic level. The Longest Race will leave you “motivated, empowered, and ready to take on the world” (Allyson Felix, Olympic gold medalist) as it reveals how Kara broke through the fear of losing everything, bucked powerful forces to take control of her life and career, and reclaimed her love of running.

Get the Summary of Kara Goucher's The Longest Race in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "The Longest Race" is the memoir of Kara Goucher, chronicling her life from her family's history to her own experiences as a professional runner. The book details her mother Patty's marriage to Croatian soccer player Mirko Grgas, their life in New York, and Mirko's untimely death. Patty's activism with MADD and remarriage to Tom Wheeler, who brought both support and challenges, are also highlighted...

A New York Times bestseller 'A sensation ... a rollicking tale well told' - The Times At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an incredible cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark.

Recounts the 1968 nonstop, round-the-world sailboat race between nine men and narrates the preparations, adventures, and finishes of the contestants

The story of Al Howie is a remarkable and at times unbelievable adventure into the heart of the longest races in the world with one of modern history's most eccentric ultra-marathon runners. If you ran 7295 kilometres across Canada in 72 days, wearing three-ounce racing flats, then two weeks later took on the longest certified race on Earth and broke the world record (which happened to be your own), what would you be? Likely an alien. If you won 24-hour races and three-, six-, and seven-day races several times a year in your mid-40s, and ran marathons just for training, what would they call you? Crazy for sure. If you were forever broke and shipped your clothes on buses in order to run free of baggage for thousands of kilometres just to get to races, you'd be institutionalized. And if you did all these things and were institutionalized for the last 15 years of your life, you would be Al Howie. Al Howie was an eccentric among the extreme runners in the ultra-marathon world, and his life was as enigmatic as his runs. Based on interviews with Howie himself during his final two years (he died in 2016), Jared Beasley's book takes the reader into the amazing and complex world of an astounding figure in modern sports history.

Rachel Swaby and Kit Fox present Mighty Moe, the untold true story of runner Maureen Wilton, whose world record-breaking marathon time at age 13 was met first with misogyny and controversy, but ultimately with triumph. Fifty-two years ago, a girl known as Mighty Moe broke the women’s world marathon record at a small race in Toronto. This was an era when girls and women were discouraged from the sport and the longest track event at the Olympics for women was 25.6 miles shorter than a marathon. Thirteen-year-old Moe’s world-beating victory was greeted with chauvinistic disapproval and accusations of cheating—as were many of her achievements in the sport she had excelled at from the age of ten. Within less than two years, the controversy took its toll and Maureen quit running. Here is the untold story of Mighty Moe’s tenacity and triumph in the face of adversity as a young athlete—and of a grown-up Maureen finding her way back to the sport decades later. This inspiring biography for readers and racers of all ages showcases the truly groundbreaking achievements of an unassuming, amazing young athlete. Mighty Moe includes an introduction by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially register and run in the Boston Marathon (and Maureen’s only fellow female competitor at the 1967 record-setting race), and an afterword by Des Linden, the first-place finisher of the 11,628 women who raced the 2018 Boston Marathon.