Running and Stuff

by James Adams

I decided to write the introduction to this book myself. I could not trust even my closest friends to do the job for me. I was worried that they might try to sell you a lie. I feared that they might come up with some words like “James is an above average runner” or worse still, “James is actually quite good at this running thing”. I am not.But I have run across America, 3200 miles in ten weeks during the worst heat wave in living memory. Not many people have done that. I have run in many amazing places over really long distances. Ernest Hemmingway said “there is no skill to writing, you just have to sit at the typewriter and bleed”. That has been my approach to both my running and my writing. I am not sure Churchill had ultra running in mind when he famously quoted his qualifications but that is all I have to offer you no skill or talent just blood, sweat, toil and tears smeared over 350 pages and six years.This is not a treatise on how to achieve ultra marathon awesomeness. It is an honest account of what ultra marathon running does to a person. I sincerely hope you don’t finish reading this book with the opinion that I am any good at this. I hope you don’t describe me as being “super human “ or “crazy” or other terms I have grown used to over the years. Instead, my goal is that you might complete the fourth line of this series of logical statements in a similar way to the way that I did at the start of this is a pretty regular guy2. He’s done some amazing stuff 3.I’m a pretty regular guy/girl4.-

Genres: Sports, Fitness

345 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I know James about from the forums and only recently realised we are in the same running club! Great account of amazing running. I've done a few ultras myself but James is on another level! Honest, funny, warts and all account. Great job James.

[Tristan Greaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into the ultra mindset, especially as the starting point is a runner that was happy enough doing marathons and thought ultras were a bit crazy! Going from that to running all the way across America over two months is a definite journey.

This suffered a bit towards the end in that the editing suddenly became sloppy and made it obvious that the book had been culled from blog entries made at the time. The same phrases and stories are duplicated between some of the chapters, as if the author had forgotten we'd already been given that information. That jarred and took away from the impact of the adventure.

[Ivana Meservey · Rating 5 out of 5]

All i was hoping for.

I was looking for a book that would look I into motivations and thoughts of an ultra runner. I got all that and so much more. Thank you James, for your perspective. It was super relatable. The technicalities and details were helpful. The book is a fantastic chronicle of some major races, including Badwater and Transamerica. I wish James all the best in his future endeavours and with his family! Again, awesome...

[Joanna Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Absolutely brilliant. I love running and have just started running ultras, I won't be doing the distances James does\did but it truly is inspiring stuff. Totally get his feeling at the end of a marathon of is that it, had that same feeling on my first one which was London. Highly recommend this book.

[Xavier Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

exactly what you'd want from the genre

[Stuart Airs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tells the story of the author stepping up from running marathons to the world of ultra-marathons. This culminates in him participating in a race from LA to New York. Pretty impressive stuff and Adams focusses on the actual races than training or travel which alot of these types of books can get bogged down in.

[Rachel Stansel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically inspiring

I will never be a runner like this, but just reading it makes me think I might be able to survive a lot more than I thought I might. Thank you for honestly sharing the highs and lows and not just making this a fluff piece on the spirituality of running.

[Theresa Cyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring!

I enjoyed reading about his ultra running experiences! I felt I was in his head as he ran across the U.S., which I felt was an amazing feat.

[Tim Clifton · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on running I've read. The descriptions of what he goes through mentally and still carries on are what's missing from other ultra runners books. Highly recommended

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional Rollercoaster

A thrilling story sure to be enjoyed by any runner. James has a fantastic sense of humour and engaging writing style; the highs and lows of his ultra marathon journey are inspiring. If you can finish this book without contemplating your own chances of running the GUCR or crossing America on foot...you probably passed some sort of sanity test.