Falling Forward: Tales from an Endurance Saga

by Dallas Smith

Falling Forward is a beautifully written story of one man's quest for individual accomplishments in the sport of long distance running (marathons, ultra-marathons, and Iron Man.) His most spectacular exploit was running three ultra-marathons...on three consecutive weekends he ran 100 miles, 100 miles, and 50 miles in Arkansas, Kansas, and Texas respectively, and on the fourth weekend he won his age division in a big 5K in yet a fourth state. Indeed, in the three years following the resignation of a long held professorship, he ran a dazzling array of races. In the process he set several age-group records and won the Tennessee State Running Tour championship. And he's over sixty. Smith draws on this race saga to write a book of genuine adventure, one accessible to runner and non-runner alike. He writes like he runs, with a sharp eye for the details surrounding him -- and he embraces all, taking the reader along for the journey. His story deals honestly with the stark reality of pushing endurance to the limit. The experiences are at time poignant and funny, at other times painful and scary, but always human and personal. Falling Forward covers a lot of territory.

292 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Dallas at my very first marathon in 2011 when he was 71 years old. As I was fading around mile 16 he passed me by and tried to encourage me by saying "We can't let all these youngters beat us". After I limped across the finish line about ready concede this as the last one he encouraged me with the prophetic "Your second marathon will be better". The book is fun and informative. I enjoyed the stories and the people he met along the way. Most of all the book is encourging for middle age folks who are just starting to run races that your best times are ahead of you. I met Dallas again in 2012 at the same race and picked up his second book and am looking forward to reading it.