Endure Smarter Not Harder: Consolidated wisdom from extreme endurance athletes who have been there and done that

by Grant Shymske, James Raymond Vreeland (Editor)

The world of adventure racing and obstacle course races has exploded in the past few years. This rapid expansion has resulted in a number of heavy hitting companies emerging as the standard bearers for difficulty and innovation in this newly minted ‘sport’. While all of them are different in their own way, they center around the objective of getting people outside of a usual or expected setting, pushing some personal boundaries, and in the end allow participants the opportunity to surprise themselves with their ability to overcome their predispositions.
One of the facets of these challenges that makes them so hard and interesting is the variability not only between event brands but within the events themselves. These challenges can combine running, load carrying, rope climbing, swimming, dynamic lifts, neck deep mud, sleep deprivation, and hunger all in the same event! This multifaceted nature also makes these sorts of events somewhat overwhelming to prepare for, especially for the uninitiated. But because of this variability, any but the very best and most detailed ‘how to’ book (more like encyclopedia) could hope to prepare people completely.
So what to do? Well I don’t have all the solutions (and that is sort of the point of this book) but I figure I can take a stab at helping out those interested by utilizing a learning technique that has never failed me yet: asking those who have gone before you for advice. You can study a task until your eyes itch but sometimes the best information comes from the person in front of you who just successfully completed the task without breaking a sweat.

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 2014

About the author

A Masters in Philosophy of Science, 8 years in the Army, and 5 years of experience in the world of extreme endurance challenges and expedition style adventure races set me up to hungrily devour physical challenges and anything experts research or write about them simultaneously. Today as an ACE certified Personal Trainer, GORUCK Expeditions instructor, and active event participant in the endurance challenge world I want to share everything I have learned and everything I have heard with my peers and those soon to be. The good, the bad, and the ugly is all welcome at the discussion table because setting the stage for unbiased, scientific, humble, and no BS discussions is the best and most efficient way to push back the boundaries of the human condition.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book about a week after failing in my first attempt at a Goruck Challenge. It was exactly he right book, at exactly the right time. It lifted my spirits, showed me a number of things I hadn't thought of and/or could have done better, and has restored my motivation to finish a Challenge and a whole bunch of other events. I will read it again before my next attempt.