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Running With The Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, And The Secrets Of The Fastest People On Earth (2010)

by Adharanand Finn(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0345528794 (ISBN13: 9780345528797)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Ballantine Books

review 1: I enjoyed this book. The author uproots his wife and children to spend a year living and training in Iten, running with Kenyans and trying to figure out their "secrets." How does this group of people so effectively dominate the sport of distance running? I knew I wouldn't relate to much of it when he finds out that the SLOWEST 10K time in this city is 35 minutes, haha! But I enjoyed reading about a city full of runners - world champions, marathon record holders, training camps, etc. and Finn's own experience learning from them. I couldn't keep up with any of them but I would love to sit and watch the magic happen!
review 2: I'm not quite sure what to make of this. It says it's the running secrets of the fastest people on earth. It says it's the memoir of ... moresomeone who wanted to see how good a runner he could be. It's a travelogue of Kenya. Well, it's sort of all of those, but not really any of them. For starters, there are no secrets revealed. It's all pretty obvious: Kenyans are fast because they run a lot as children, miles day in day out as part of their lives. They live and run at altitude. They eat a lot of carbs, eat a low fat diet, and rest a lot. They are often barefoot so they evolve a natural running style that is more fluid and less injury prone than us western plodders. Well, yeah, but I don't call these "secrets". More like common sense that is well known to even the average runner. As for the memoir of an above-average recreational runner who wanted to see how good he could be - yes, it is this, but while Finn improved (of course he did), on the surface, it seems to be the improvement that anyone would get if they ran more, ate better, and ran at altitude with faster people.The travelogue part was more interesting, but I was somewhat put off by the Great White Man approach. To be fair, I think this was unintentional, but it imparted an "us and them" feel to the book, and to Finn's experiences in Kenya. What I did enjoy were the descriptions of some of his runs. The pitter-patter of feet running together. Harsh breath. Being out there, running fluidly. The joy of it all. These passages were wonderful, and elevated the book to three stars for me. As a runner (on hiatus), I can read and enjoy passages about running, about training, about forefoot strikes, and running shoes. Non runners will probably find their eyes glazing over.Overall, while there was quite a bit to enjoy, I felt it suffered from a lack of purpose and direction. It tried to be too many things: personal sports story, travelogue, factual book, memoir, and as a result it never really succeeded in any of them. less

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