Book Review Published by Bantam Books in the United States and Canada in September 1980
ISBN 0-553-01275-4
For the last few years I’ve collected books on running. What started as a passing interest has by this stage developed into something only a little short of an obsession, although I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me. By this stage I’m an eBay aficionado and on first name terms with every secondhand book dealer within fifty miles of home. Even though I’ve quickly built a nice little library detailing the exploits of various runners from near and far, my collection of books relating to ultrarunning has remained depressingly small. In short, there are relatively few books on this topic. What has surprised me though is the exceptional quality of writing that can be found in this ‘sub-genre’. Although I can’t claim to have read all of the books in my little library I can say that the ultrarunning stuff is amongst the best.
Unfortunately, in some cases the best books on ultrarunning can be difficult to source. However, if you look in the right places, these books can be tracked down. Many of the best publications are out of print but most, if not all, remain available if you persevere. In my, admittedly biased, opinion the fact that a book can be tricky to get your hands on is absolutely no reason not to go looking for it. A perfect case in point is the subject of this short review, namely “Ultramarathon” by James Shapiro. Written over a quarter of a century ago, when the running of standard marathons was considered the preserve of an eccentric few, this book describes the evolution of ultrarunning from a ultrarunner’s perspective. Shapiro mixes fascinatingly detailed descriptions of his own races along with some historical passages and, perhaps best of all, conversations with past ultrarunning greats. If you were ever interested in gaining an insight into the world of those runners who have really pushed themselves far beyond what even they thought was possible, this book delivers in spades.
We get a taste of Shapiro’s own mindset when in the book’s first chapter when he describes his feelings during the despairing late stages of a twenty-four hour track race at the Crystal Palace Sports Stadium, South London in October 1979. He says,
“It is not pain I feel but sinking. My involvement with the world grows dimmer. It occurs to me that it would be nice to fall over. A barely audible whisper says that it would be a good way out. It seems almost impossible to bother any more…but I do.”
Having established his credentials as a runner he can and does move on to deal with the broader themes of running extreme distances. His research is continually impressive. Entire chapters of the book are devoted to both the London to Brighton race and Comrades and although the book never pretends to be a comprehensive description of the sport he misses very little. Every small niche of ultrarunning has a little light shed upon it at some point, normally with accompanying good humour and considerable insight. The penultimate section of the book, “Solo Artists, Crazies and Great Achievers” gathers together the best collection of stories I’ve seen anywhere about some of the strange and bewildering individuals that make this sport such a compulsive activity. As an added bonus to all this, although the book was written for a predominantly American audience, the author’s outlook is refreshingly internationalist and broadminded.
In short if you’ve ever been interested in finding out how the sport of ultrarunning has developed over the years you won’t find a better starting point than this publication. I’ve seen this book described elsewhere as the best book ever written about ultra distance running and it’s hard to disagree – I certainly can’t think of a better one. In the final analysis what elevates this book above most others I have read is the author’s obvious personal devotion to the topic and we all know how much that counts for.
This and other hard to find titles can sometimes be sourced using;
https://www.bookfinder.com/
https://www.ebay.co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk
https://www.alibris.com
By this stage I’m an eBay aficionado and on first name terms with every secondhand book dealer within fifty miles of home. Even though I’ve quickly built a nice little library detailing the exploits of various runners from near and far, my collection of books relating to ultrarunning has remained depressingly small. In short, there are relatively few books on this topic. What has surprised me though is the exceptional quality of writing that can be found in this ‘sub-genre’. Although I can’t claim to have read all of the books in my little library I can say that the ultrarunning stuff is amongst the best.
Unfortunately, in some cases the best books on ultrarunning can be difficult to source. However, if you look in the right places, these books can be tracked down. Many of the best publications are out of print but most, if not all, remain available if you persevere. In my, admittedly biased, opinion the fact that a book can be tricky to get your hands on is absolutely no reason not to go looking for it. A perfect case in point is the subject of this short review, namely “Ultramarathon” by James Shapiro. Written over a quarter of a century ago, when the running of standard marathons was considered the preserve of an eccentric few, this book describes the evolution of ultrarunning from a ultrarunner’s perspective. Shapiro mixes fascinatingly detailed descriptions of his own races along with some historical passages and, perhaps best of all, conversations with past ultrarunning greats. If you were ever interested in gaining an insight into the world of those runners who have really pushed themselves far beyond what even they thought was possible, this book delivers in spades.
We get a taste of Shapiro’s own mindset when in the book’s first chapter when he describes his feelings during the despairing late stages of a twenty-four hour track race at the Crystal Palace Sports Stadium, South London in October 1979. He says,
“It is not pain I feel but sinking. My involvement with the world grows dimmer. It occurs to me that it would be nice to fall over. A barely audible whisper says that it would be a good way out. It seems almost impossible to bother any more…but I do.”
Having established his credentials as a runner he can and does move on to deal with the broader themes of running extreme distances. His research is continually impressive. Entire chapters of the book are devoted to both the London to Brighton race and Comrades and although the book never pretends to be a comprehensive description of the sport he misses very little. Every small niche of ultrarunning has a little light shed upon it at some point, normally with accompanying good humour and considerable insight. The penultimate section of the book, “Solo Artists, Crazies and Great Achievers” gathers together the best collection of stories I’ve seen anywhere about some of the strange and bewildering individuals that make this sport such a compulsive activity. As an added bonus to all this, although the book was written for a predominantly American audience, the author’s outlook is refreshingly internationalist and broadminded.
In short if you’ve ever been interested in finding out how the sport of ultrarunning has developed over the years you won’t find a better starting point than this publication. I’ve seen this book described elsewhere as the best book ever written about ultra distance running and it’s hard to disagree – I certainly can’t think of a better one. In the final analysis what elevates this book above most others I have read is the author’s obvious personal devotion to the topic and we all know how much that counts for.
This and other hard to find titles can sometimes be sourced using;
https://www.bookfinder.com/
https://www.ebay.co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk
https://www.alibris.com
