Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth

by Martin Dugard, Dizinno (Photographer)

"A Great book...the reader sees through Marty's eyes, feels his joy and his pain, experiences adventure racing close up." - National Geographic. The Raid Gauloises - an eight-to-twelve day adventure race in remarkably inhospitable environments - is an event in which simply finishing is a victory. Experience every exhilarating step in Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth, Martin Dugard's highly praised, intensely personal account of this grueling and remarkable journey.

Genres: Adventure, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Travel, Sports

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Martin Dugard is the New York Times #1 bestselling author of the Taking Series — including Taking Berlin (2022) and Taking Paris (2021).

Book Two in the Taking series is titled Taking Berlin, covering the final nine months of World War II in Europe. Taking Berlin goes on sale November 1, 2022.

He is also the co-author of the mega-million selling Killing books, the bestselling non-fiction series in history: Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, Killing Reagan, Killing England, Killing the Rising Sun, Killing the SS, Killing Crazy Horse, Killing the Mob, and the upcoming Killing the Killers.

Other works include the New York Times bestseller The Murder of King Tut (with James Patterson; Little, Brown, 2009); The Last Voyage of Columbus (Little, Brown, 2005); Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone (Doubleday, 2003), Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook (Pocket Books, 2001), Knockdown (Pocket Books, 1999), and Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth (McGraw-Hill, 1998). In addition, Martin lived on the island of Pulau Tiga during the filming of Survivor's inaugural season to write the bestselling Survivor with mega-producer Mark Burnett.

Reviews

[Reginaldo Espinoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read —even if you’re not a racer

Dugard paints word pictures that draw you into his story. I appreciate the honesty with which he shares the highs and lows of his career and his experience with adventure racing. I won’t be embarking on an adventure race any time soon, but thanks to Dugard’s skilled pen, I feel as if I have been a close spectator.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of his first books he wrote, but it is my 22nd book that he has either written or co-written. I was so looking forward to reading it, and I finally found a used copy on Amazon from a great price.

Without being too harsh, I am glad I read his other books as opposed to reading this first. I might not have wanted to read his others... I was expecting something different, and really thought this was going to be focused on 1 Raid Gauloises, but it was really a story of him becoming a journalist, then covering the first event, doing another one, going on a airplane trip around the world, back to another challenge, doing a race, etc. I think the story would have been much better if he focused on 1 race. That or how he wrote it being a series of events and finally finishing the race at the end I think he really needed to expand a lot more on certain events. His writing style was really good with fantastic descriptions and then within the same chapter the choice of words, descriptions, and what he included (we don't need to read about personal intimate relationships of some of the men and women there) was not needed at times.

I am glad his writing has gotten a lot better and his two bok (Knockdown) was excellent. That was an incredible book followed by other outstanding books. Most of his books are 4 plus stars to 5 stars. I am glad I read it though and still have read an early book (Chasing Lance), a couple "Killing" books, and "Taking" books.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marty Dugard is lashed to the corporate wheel, pursuing a successful marketing career while his dreams of world travel and high adventure slowly fade. So he quits. While building a new life as a freelance sports journalist, Dugard snatches the opportunity to cover the Raid Gauloises, the notorious eight-to-twelve day race across hundreds of some of the most forbidding miles on the planet. The race pits teams from around the world against hostile wilderness, extreme weather, injuries, and exhaustion. Simply reaching the finish line is a victory. In this well-written tale of danger and perseverance, Dugard follows racers through the withering desert heat of Madagascar and the clinging mud and leeches of Borneo, and celebrates the stunning victory of underdog Team Jura in their epic trek across the Makay Massif. Although written in 1998, for fans of adventure racing and extreme sports, this one’s a classic.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only a book about adventure racing, it is a book about following your dreams and living your best life. How can we do the things we are passionate about and still make a living? How do you balance your personal goals and family goals? While Dugard doesn't go into a lot of detail on these things, he talks about his struggles with balance in his life and the lessons he learned from the races. Never having been on an adventure race, I ate up all the descriptions of the pain, misery, beautiful scenery and adventure to be had while running or covering the races.

[Fern Musselwhite · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the concept of adventure racing to be fascinating so I was interested in the story of how it all started. The author places the reader in the environment for the wild ride. I vacillated between wanting to join a team to thinking I was very comfortable sitting on my couch reading about it. If you’re curious about extreme sports, it’s worth the read.

[Jean Offutt-Lindt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+/4-. Interesting to read about the inception and growth of Adventure Racing

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a journalist and does a good job. The theme is the relatively new sport of adventuring racing which started in the mid-90s. People who enter races that are intentionally created to be difficult are a different breed from me. I don't understand why they would give up so much of their lives (family, work, etc.) for such a cause. My only guess is races are measurable - you know how well you are doing. But in the race of life we don't have such clear feedbacks.

However, I enjoyed reading the book because it was written well, gave insight on this new sport so I can be conversant on the topic, and it was short.

[Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I know where Mark Burnett got his inspiration for the reality show, Survivor. He was part of the Raid Gauloises in Madagascar, which is covered here in detail. The writer is a self-described former office jockey who covered two races before attempting one himself. He and his team did not complete the Raid in Patagonia, but there is plenty to learn from failure.

[Dave Tobin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointed...

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one man's chronicle of leaving the corporate world to cover and ultimately compete in the early days of adventure racing. An interesting read.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so want to do that (adventure race)!