Laura Clark reviews the book, Chasing the Grid: An Ultrarunner’s Physical and Spiritual Journey in Pursuit of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, by Kenneth Posner. Velo Press, 2025. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast — US Navy Seals
Like most of us, Kenneth Posner began running to mitigate stress and enjoyed seeing just how fast and how far his legs could take him. As a Wall Street analyist, his work was confined to isolated cubicles located in a world made of steel. At first, roads provided the necessary mental break, but then Posner discovered trails and never looked back. Ultrarunning seemed a good fit, as he was shy of speed, but possessed plenty of grit and determination. Again, this is a journey familiar to many of us.
But approaching his fifties and beset with less-forgiving body parts, he needed to reassess his goals in order to reach the edge of what was possible. Hence, he tackled the Long Path, a 350-mile trek from New York City, through the Hudson Valley, then into the Catskill Mountains. In Chasing the Grid, join Posner as the mountains further expand his horizons with the initial journey evolving into a pilgrimage. He dedicated himself to the obscure Catskill Grid, a challenge where you summit 35 peaks every month of the year for a total of more than 400 separate ascents. Adirondack 46ers might scoff since their peaks are generally higher, but the Catskills require careful pre-plotting and bushwhacking skills. Like Posner, I am one of those odd people who doesn’t mind running the same trail day-in and day-out—there is always something new to observe as the seasons change. The If It’s Tuesday, It Must be Belgium mentality simply does not probe deep enough.
Slowed down by a recurrent ankle injury, this was the perfect challenge for Posner, since speed bore no relevance. Accompanied by his faithful Labradoodle, Odie, he could trek patiently, observing what the trail offered. Do turn to the extensive appendages for the listing of species observed, grid charts completed, and sample operational plans coming close to a military campaign. Visit this recently published article and contemplate Tayte Pollmann’s interview with the author. I often wonder, “If you don’t record it, has it even happened?” Posner reveals that he carries an old-fashioned notebook with him to jot down his observations and insights, which eventually translated to a lucid, thoughtful account of his footfalls and an evolving reverence for nature.
I wondered how he found the time to do it all—navigate a high-powered job, drive all those miles back and forth from NYC to the Catskills and still have time for his family. Turns out he had some adjustments to make and his writing chronicles the tough choices he made. Fortunately, the introspection he learned in the mountains taught him empathy. He took a year’s leave and fueled by the naturalist approaches of John Burroughs, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau, reassessed. He experimented with a back-to-nature approach, running barefoot when possible, going shirtless, eschewing water and food. His insights provide what Matt Fitzgerald, author and coach, terms “a Walden for the Garmin age.” With the help of nature, he teaches us how to go beyond performance obsession to thoughtful enjoyment. From reading Posner’s account, I have learned that the seasons of life echo the seasons of nature. There is more than one way to approach a fulfilling running experience where “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
Editor’s Note: To read more of Laura Clark‘s book reviews and articles, visit this link.
