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A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York
by
Liz Robbins
The New York City Marathon: 26.2 grueling miles across five bridges and through five distinct boroughs, accompanied by the cheers of two million fans and propelled by the unique motivation that churns inside every participant.
"New York Times" reporter Liz Robbins brings the famed New York City Marathon to life, capturing the day's festivities mile by mile. She
...morePaperback, 336 pages
Published
September 22nd 2009
by Harper Paperbacks
(first published October 1st 2008)
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Quick read covering the 2007 New York Marathon, won by Paula Radcliffe and Martin Lel in exciting fashion over Gete Wami and Hendrick Ramaala, respectively. Delves into history of NYRRC, the NY marathon and the various neighborhoods through which the race goes (e.g., an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in mile 10 that author describes as not having embraced the race at all). Nice background material on wheelchair competition and on the main male and female contenders esp. Ramaala and his upb...more
A- YAY! Perfect to read the day before running my 4th NYC marathon! Inspirational, motivational, a lot of behind-the-scenes action, really interesting stuff to NYC marathon runners. A little too focused on the 2007 race, but really interesting. Mark, you'd dig this.
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This one's probably 3.5 stars. An interesting look at the 2007 New York Marathon, from start to finish. I loved that the marathon was simply a jumping off place to learn about different people's stories, from the long-time volunteers to the elite runners to the ordinary participants. It was interesting to read about the histories of various decisions, such as the women choosing to sit down for ten minutes rather than start before the men when they first allowed the women to run competitively ...more
There is lots of cheese in this book, which tells the story of the 2007 NYC Marathon through anecdotes, history and runner profiles in mile-by-mile chapters. I read it during an unusual month in my own running life. So I was susceptible to the drama of Paula Radcliffe's comeback, Ryan Shay's sudden death during the Olympic Trials, and the perseverance of ordinary runners. Even though I don't want to take on the time commitment and mental challenge of training for a marathon, the book left me wit...more
We met Liz Robbins when she visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. You can listen to her talk about "A Race Like No Other" here: www.authorsontourlive.com/?p=210
About this podcast:
New York Times sportswriter Liz Robbins reads from and discusses her new book A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York. When 39,195 competitors begin the thirty-eighth running of the famed New York City Marathon, they experience one of the most exhilarating m...more
About this podcast:
New York Times sportswriter Liz Robbins reads from and discusses her new book A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York. When 39,195 competitors begin the thirty-eighth running of the famed New York City Marathon, they experience one of the most exhilarating m...more
This is a great book for runners. It takes you through several different level runners as they prepare for and complete the New York Marathon. The author does a great job connecting you with the experience. As I run, and especially on race days, I always think about the fact that every single runner there has a story to tell. Everyone had a journey in getting to this race. This book explores some of those journeys and I so enjoyed going along for the run (though I was actually snuggled in a...more
this was a great book about the NYC marathon! the author really took you through each and every mile of the race and interweaves the various stories of about 20 different people. i like how it captures the marathon experience through numerous people from elite runners to ordinary individuals who run it for various reasons. really felt i was taken through it all. the excitement of new york city and the fans, all the burroughs, the pain, the determination, the struggle, the journey, the finish,...more
I picked this up last week thinking that it would be a nice retrospective on my running of the NY marathon, which I found to be an incredibly rewarding. However, the writing in this book is atrocious, with short jokes or comments that read like the author was going for the glibness of Elizabeth Gilbert, but instead read like a young driver grinding the gears of manual car. There are countless running books out there, and quite a few on the NY marathon. This book just doesn't work for me.
Very fast read and great for anyone who has done or will be training for a marathon. I liked the mix of professional stories mixed with stories of regular folks. The writing is not particularly special, but all of the stuff is there: the facts and the emotional pulls.
I trained for my 1st marathon in 2007 - the race profiled here. I trained in NYC and ran in Richmond. Then, I got to run NYC in 2009. So, I am intimately familiar with the running grounds in the book and the race day exp...more
I trained for my 1st marathon in 2007 - the race profiled here. I trained in NYC and ran in Richmond. Then, I got to run NYC in 2009. So, I am intimately familiar with the running grounds in the book and the race day exp...more
Oh this book makes me think I might could possibly muster up the where-withal and the energy and the stamina to actually run another marathon. But I’d only do it if my running buddies would come along and we’d promise ourselves that we’d pee off the bridge – or at least squat on the bridge, and stop in the middle of the pack and snap pictures of ourselves (but not while peeing) with the SOL in the background and make sure we sang along to New York, New York as we strolled up to the starting lin...more
Pretty good book for anyone preparing to run the NYC marathon and wanting to get in the right mind set for the event.
It breaks down the course mile by mile and provides some interesting stories and background information about the race and why many consider it to be the greatest marathon in the world.....
Importantly, this book is not a training book. Don't read it to get tips on running a marathon!
It breaks down the course mile by mile and provides some interesting stories and background information about the race and why many consider it to be the greatest marathon in the world.....
Importantly, this book is not a training book. Don't read it to get tips on running a marathon!
I love reading books about personal journeys and this one fits the bill. The author follows several runners in the 2007 New York City Marathon, including elites like Paula Radcliffe. The most moving profiles are about the recovering alcoholic mom, the young man who beat cancer, and the countless New Yorkers who volunteer every year on race day. Fantastic read and you don't have to be an runner to "get it".
A fast read about the NYC Marathon. Follows a few elites & a few "normal" runners as they prepare and run the marathon. It was a little gimmicky, but I liked that there were 26.2 chapters in the book. Reminds me of the 'Spirit of the Marathon' movie, just in a different city & in book form. Not sure how non-runners would take to the book, but I enjoyed this one.
A "play by play" of-sorts of the 2007 New York City Marathon. This book highlights the very different journeys of some interesting runners, all of whom are at different stages in their running life. There is a great deal of focus on the women's and men's elite runners group, including the exciting drama that existed all the way until the end of the race between Paula Radcliffe and Gete Wami. This is an exciting compilation of the many inspiring and heartwarming stories of runners who d...more
The author, New York Times reporter Liz Robbins, followed several competitors through their backgrounds, training and their race in the 2007 New York City Marathon. Very compelling to the point that you find yourself there, smack in the middle of the marathon itself. This book makes me realize that marathons are for the heroes inside of us.
This book was very informative and while I don't really want to go out and run a marathon, I think the athletes who run there are even more amazing than I knew.
Every chapter in the book is a mile from the marathon, which is a clever idea, but around Mile 20 ("The Wall" of the book) things started to drag. I liked the final chapter, where it went over finish times (especially the part about Katie Holmes), but the photos in the book gave away the results of the race, making t...more
Every chapter in the book is a mile from the marathon, which is a clever idea, but around Mile 20 ("The Wall" of the book) things started to drag. I liked the final chapter, where it went over finish times (especially the part about Katie Holmes), but the photos in the book gave away the results of the race, making t...more
Lesley
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
marathoners and marathoner-wannabes (like me).
Shelves:
running,
non-fiction
This book was very interesting, and definitely inspired me to want to run the New York City Marathon! I enjoyed the book's layout of one mile per chapter, which included some geography, traditions, neighborhoods, and history of the city covered in each mile of the 26.2 mile race. Occasionally, the stories about some of the runners were a bit much, but all in all, I enjoyed the character/runner development as well.
This makes me want to run the NYC marathon. I liked how each chapter was a mile of the marathon. Since I started this book and then put it down for a few weeks before picking it up again, I felt a little lost by all of the people and their backstories, but overall, it was inspirational.
Borrowed from the library
Borrowed from the library
A lot of running books out there lately. This is my second one about a specific race; I read one about Boston earlier this year. Well written and fun to read - flipped around between the history of the race, the battles between the leaders of the mens and womens races, and some great stories of people running at different paces throughout the race. I's organized by mile, so you get a feel of what parts of the city the race winds through.
This made me realize a couple thing: I'v...more
This made me realize a couple thing: I'v...more
A very interesting -- but quick -- read. More like a large-ish stack of newspaper articles than anything else, but I liked the way she split the stories up mile-by-mile.
I wonder if it would be as interesting to people who haven't run the New York Marathon. (Or, at least, a marathon.)
I wonder if it would be as interesting to people who haven't run the New York Marathon. (Or, at least, a marathon.)
I thought this book was fantastic - very motivating! While I'm still not sure I'll ever run the full 26.2, this book made me feel like I was part of the NYCM experience. Highly recommended for my running friends, especially those running/have run/will run NYCM!
I enjoyed this a lot, as I read it just a week before doing the 2010 Pittsburgh marathon. Not phenomenal, but it was great to read about the different sorts of people doing the New York City marathon, the locations on the route, and the history.
As a New Yorker and a very casual runner, this was a really fun book to read, and certainly strengthens the urge I have to run the NYC marathon some day. I give it three stars because the writing itself wasn't anything spectacular, and it wasn't exactly thought-provoking. Plus, it really seemed to dwell on cancer more than I would have preferred in a book ostensibly about running a race.
Loved reading this right before running the nyc marathon, got me pumped up. Also lots of history of the race and profiles of elite runners. A must read for anyone running nyc!
I didn't enjoy this as much as I'd hoped. The writing was kind of blah, not really engaging at all. The author just didn't have the knack for sucking the reader in, and she even made the most exciting parts of the book (Paula Radcliffe's spectacular win, for example) pretty drab. I'd much rather read Fred Lebow's or Mary Wittenberg's biography...I imagine you'd get a much more intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the New York Marathon if one of them were telling the story.
I read this after finishing the NYC marathon. It is a great read for any runner or marathoner. It has stories of the elites, to the everyman. Inspiring read.
Great book because it is a topic I am interested in. If you are not into running I would not recommend it as it is really only one dimensional.
Quite compelling. Thought I'd be bored reading about just one marathon but this book was well written (one exception) and cleverly done. You get a bit of everything - history of the race, description of the course, bios of the elite runners as well as everyday folks with their compelling stories. Quite an enjoyable read. My one problem: some of the elements/facts are repeated in the book.... It gave me the impression that perhaps this book started as a series of newspaper or magazine arti...more
Sounds like it'd be fun to run the New York City Marathon. 40,000 runners, and streets lined with noisy onlookers....
I am so inspired to run the New York Marathon after reading this book!!! Yay November 1st, 2009....!!!
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