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Destined to Run: My Spiritual Journey from Couch Potato to Ironman
This is more than just a story about a fat guy turned triathlete. Destined to Run tells Wes Harding's story of traveling through life and overcoming the immense challenges that have been tossed in front of his feet. Though he has stumbled and often fallen, he always had the strength and courage to get back up again while never losing faith in God.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 30, 2013
The uplifting memoir of a Christian man whose strength and perseverance brought him from self-confessed "couch potato" to Ironman in a mere four year span. With humor and grace, Wes Harding narrates his incredible journey and the obstacles that faced him as he set out to achieve his dreams. Facing food addiction, heart abnormalities, physical ailments and emotional setbacks, Wes never lost sight of his target - to run the Boston Marathon. Nor does he ever stop thinking positively; his mantra "Yes You Can" is ultimately what drives this memoir. At length, he discusses how he believes his faith in God led him to the great heights he achieved, never faltering in his religious ideals and always believing that God was the impetus for his successes and achievements. Wes's story illustrates, ultimately, that believing in yourself is the key to happiness and fulfillment. An inspiring biographical account of one man who realized his dreams and who encourages us all to do the same.
July 3, 2013
The author represents his true self in his first book.
September 22, 2017
This book needs an editor. BADLY.
It was extremely difficult to get past all the bad grammar and into the content and spirit of the book. Misplaced modifiers, subject-verb agreement errors, incorrect spelling, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, verb tense switches, parallel construction errors, pronoun-antecedent errors, incorrect punctuation, mixed metaphors, incorrect preposition uses and every other grammatical error that I have ever seen distracted me from the content of this book. Many sentences could not even be corrected; they would need to be rewritten in order to be understood.
The author describes with pride his successful attempt to graduate with a university degree while bypassing the required English language competency test by taking advantage of an inadequate computer program. I am distressed by the fact that he is a qualified educator. He cannot teach students what he does not know.
I am not criticizing him for lack of talent in writing. I am criticizing him for doing something for which he is not qualified and for not having the wisdom to get assistance. He did not learn by himself how to run. He sought out others who could help him. Perhaps he is not interested in developing his English skills sufficiently to be able to write a book, but then he should be wise enough to find a good editor. God calls us to do things for which He has given us a gift. Either God did not call Harding to write this book by himself or God called him to write this book and he did a sloppy job. I personally think that God called him to write this book but he did not realize that God has put different gifts in His church and that nobody has every gift. I love to listen to music but I would never record my singing and distribute it to the public. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I am as bad a singer as he is a writer. My heart is in the song but I get my enjoyment from listening to it from those with talent in singing. His heart is in this book but he needs someone else to put his heart into language.
Please realize that I am NOT saying "This is not a good STORY."
I AM saying "This is not a good BOOK."
There is a big difference between the two comments.
He said that God called him to write this book. I would not disagree with a person's perception of what he has heard from God. I question the results. As Christians, our standards should be higher than those of the world. I shudder to think that he has given God the glory for this book. God deserves better than this. Surely God would have provided a better editor.
I tried to get into this book. I am inspired by people who are led by God in every detail of their lives. I am inspired by people who rise above difficulties and change their lives.
But Harding did not have extraordinary circumstances to overcome. He was not born disabled. He was simply a couch potato who knew that he had to change his lifestyle for the sake of his health. There are many Boston marathoners, even in the small Ontario city in which he lives. How many hundreds of people have achieved the same results without feeling that these results deserved a book?
However, without the many grammatical errors, this book would have received a higher rating from me. It does encourage people to rise above obstacles and to believe that anything is possible. It gives some insight to the inexperienced about training and preparation for a marathon. It describes the dangers of dehydration and glycogen depletion and knee injuries while participating in an extreme sport. It shows how people can be led by God in every detail of their lives if they are open to hearing from Him. But it is still the story of an ordinary person overcoming ordinary obstacles which were actually self-inflicted.
It is an interesting book. It is not an amazing book which deserves a 4.5 star rating. There are very few reviews of this book, many of them local. The author has even reviewed his book and given it a 5-star rating.
I realize that this review might not be well received. However, I do not discredit the other reviewers. Read their reviews. They do describe the inspirational aspects of Harding's story. But be forewarned. The substance of the book is quite good; the style is quite bad. I felt as if I was listening to an enjoyable song by someone who did not know how to sing. I could no longer focus on the song because of the constant mistakes. If you can see beyond this, you can enjoy this book.
It was extremely difficult to get past all the bad grammar and into the content and spirit of the book. Misplaced modifiers, subject-verb agreement errors, incorrect spelling, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, verb tense switches, parallel construction errors, pronoun-antecedent errors, incorrect punctuation, mixed metaphors, incorrect preposition uses and every other grammatical error that I have ever seen distracted me from the content of this book. Many sentences could not even be corrected; they would need to be rewritten in order to be understood.
The author describes with pride his successful attempt to graduate with a university degree while bypassing the required English language competency test by taking advantage of an inadequate computer program. I am distressed by the fact that he is a qualified educator. He cannot teach students what he does not know.
I am not criticizing him for lack of talent in writing. I am criticizing him for doing something for which he is not qualified and for not having the wisdom to get assistance. He did not learn by himself how to run. He sought out others who could help him. Perhaps he is not interested in developing his English skills sufficiently to be able to write a book, but then he should be wise enough to find a good editor. God calls us to do things for which He has given us a gift. Either God did not call Harding to write this book by himself or God called him to write this book and he did a sloppy job. I personally think that God called him to write this book but he did not realize that God has put different gifts in His church and that nobody has every gift. I love to listen to music but I would never record my singing and distribute it to the public. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I am as bad a singer as he is a writer. My heart is in the song but I get my enjoyment from listening to it from those with talent in singing. His heart is in this book but he needs someone else to put his heart into language.
Please realize that I am NOT saying "This is not a good STORY."
I AM saying "This is not a good BOOK."
There is a big difference between the two comments.
He said that God called him to write this book. I would not disagree with a person's perception of what he has heard from God. I question the results. As Christians, our standards should be higher than those of the world. I shudder to think that he has given God the glory for this book. God deserves better than this. Surely God would have provided a better editor.
I tried to get into this book. I am inspired by people who are led by God in every detail of their lives. I am inspired by people who rise above difficulties and change their lives.
But Harding did not have extraordinary circumstances to overcome. He was not born disabled. He was simply a couch potato who knew that he had to change his lifestyle for the sake of his health. There are many Boston marathoners, even in the small Ontario city in which he lives. How many hundreds of people have achieved the same results without feeling that these results deserved a book?
However, without the many grammatical errors, this book would have received a higher rating from me. It does encourage people to rise above obstacles and to believe that anything is possible. It gives some insight to the inexperienced about training and preparation for a marathon. It describes the dangers of dehydration and glycogen depletion and knee injuries while participating in an extreme sport. It shows how people can be led by God in every detail of their lives if they are open to hearing from Him. But it is still the story of an ordinary person overcoming ordinary obstacles which were actually self-inflicted.
It is an interesting book. It is not an amazing book which deserves a 4.5 star rating. There are very few reviews of this book, many of them local. The author has even reviewed his book and given it a 5-star rating.
I realize that this review might not be well received. However, I do not discredit the other reviewers. Read their reviews. They do describe the inspirational aspects of Harding's story. But be forewarned. The substance of the book is quite good; the style is quite bad. I felt as if I was listening to an enjoyable song by someone who did not know how to sing. I could no longer focus on the song because of the constant mistakes. If you can see beyond this, you can enjoy this book.
October 28, 2017
An incredible story that anything is possible! A story that God equips ordinary people to do extraordinary things when you step out in faith.
July 23, 2025
Incredible motivational book about chasing after your dreams! Well written and highly recommended!
November 30, 2016
If you need encouragement, read this book. We all have a race to run. For Wes Harding, it was a literal race. For all of us it is a race of faith. This book encouraged me to think big about God's involvement in my everyday life, ask myself what dreams he has put in my heart and confront the obstacles that hold me back. I wrote down quotes to help me remember the challenge. It is a spiritual challenge. No matter what the race is we are called to run, it is an opportunity to find God's faithfulness in the midst of all the challenges and obstacles.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews