The following review by Laura Clark features The Last of the Giants, written by Doug Mayer and illustrated by William Windrestin. Helvetiq, 2025. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Last of the Giants presents a unique approach to explaining, yet again, why folks subject themselves to… Read more »
The following feature was written by ATRA team member Anita Ortiz and captures the essence of Laz and a review of the book, The Endurance Artist. These days, in the world of ultra running, Laz is the buzz. He might even be the buzz in groups that are not perseverating on loops, hours, rat jaw,… Read more »
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,… Read more »
“I’d take a break and walk around the block. I would push my way through the hustle of tourists and smartly dressed professionals and peer up at the office buildings, studying their stark geometry and trying to appreciate the long line and hard angles. But the architecture didn’t move me. It was too sterile. In… Read more »
Laura Clark reviews Runner 13, by Amy McCulloch. Doubleday, 2025. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Normally, I avoid mysteries, probably because I can never come close to predicting the outcome, but this mystery/thriller pulled me right in. I read it in three days while recovering from… Read more »
The Unforgiving Hours, the first book by Washington-based ultrarunner, long-suffering cyclist, swimmer and mother Shannon Hogan, takes readers on a multi-sport journey into the most intense, improbable and unknown tests of human endurance and athletic ability. In contrast to other works in the endurance sports genre that are written by or about well-known athletes, Hogan’s… Read more »
Laura Clark reviews the book, The Unforgiving Hours: The Grit, Resilience, and Perseverance at the Heart of Endurance Sports, by Shannon Hogan. Velo Press, 2025. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. If—by Rudyard Kipling …If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your… Read more »
Laura Clark reviews the book, Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes: Your Nutrition Guide for Optimal Performance, Kylee Van Horn, LD, RDN. Human Kinetics, 2026. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. As a non-mathematically inclined runner with fairly loose food standards, I have been regrettably turned off by… Read more »
Laura Clark wrote the following book review featuring, Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women, by Maggie Mertens. Algonquin Books, 2024. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. A particularly apropos read for Women’s History Month, journalist Maggie Mertens begins before our usual starting… Read more »
Laura Clark reviews Trail Running: Science & Training, by Nacho Martinez, Sportraining, 2024. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. This book is not a relaxing bedtime read. It takes as much mental fortitude to fully understand the scientific advice offered by Coach Nacho Martinez as it does… Read more »
Laura Clark reviews Running Past 50: Your Guide to Running Longevity and Success, by Caolan MacMahon. Human Kinetics, 2025. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Is 50 the new 30? One could only wish. When I was younger, I figured that if I just kept running, I… Read more »
Toni White’s, Big Run Big Fun Ultrarunning Crew Activity Book, is the perfect gift for your ultrarunning crew. This paperback is complete with fill-in-the-blank crew trivia, crew journaling, ultrarunning-specific coloring pages and word searches. Big Run Big Fun Contents To crew is to care. It is not easy to crew an ultrarunning race. It often… Read more »
Trials of Miles for the Legs and Mind It’s not about how many miles you run but about how and why you run those miles that determine the kind of runner (and human) you are becoming. In her first book, The Examined Run: Why Good People Make Better Runners, philosopher, assistant professor at Christopher Newport… Read more »
Trail Runner’s Book Review: Ultra Running for Normal People “I believe ultrarunning is not only possible but profoundly beneficial for most Normal People.” Sid Garza-Hillman, author, coach, and trail race director based in Mendocino, CA, aims to “demystify” ultramarathon trail running to the general population in his fourth book: Ultra Running For Normal People. Garza-Hillman,… Read more »
Laura Clark reviews The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State, by Aime Alley Card. Lyons Press, 2024. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Individually, the Tigerbelles of Tennessee State, headlined by Wilma Rudolph, were each formidable athletes. As a Black, female team, championed by Coach Edward Temple… Read more »
Trail runner and children’s librarian Laura Clark reviews The Resilient Athlete A Self-Coaching Guide to Next Level Performance in Sports & Life, by Andrejs Birjkovs. Hatherleigh Press, 2023. According to Andrejs Birjukovs, a coach and multisport competitor, the resilient athlete needs to perfect three interrelated areas: mindset, lifestyle and training. As such, his book is… Read more »
Laura Clark reviews Long Run to Glory: The Story of the Greatest Marathon in Olympic History and the Women Who Made It Happen, by Stephen Lane. Lyons Press, 2023. Laura is a trail runner, snowshoer and children’s librarian based in Saratoga Springs, NY. In August, 1984, four of the greatest marathoners joined forces at the… Read more »
Ultimate Guide to Trail Running, by Adam W. Chase and Nancy Hobbs. Falcon, 2023. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark. Laura is an avid mountain, trail, and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she is a children’s librarian. You can read more about Laura on page 15 of this book. Now in… Read more »
Choosing to read Des Linden’s Memoir Choosing to Run We’ve all read self-centered sports memoirs. Athletes who struggle writing (even with help from their editors), hastily craft stories that read like Wikipedia summaries of their superhuman medal-winning moments. Often the “book’s” purpose is to earn a few extra bucks for the athletes and their sponsors… Read more »
Feature Photo: Peter Maksimow. When Good Trails Go Bad: Planning, Surviving, & Being Rescued From Your Worst Day on the Trail, by Stephen W. Littlewood. Littlewood, 2022. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark. Laura is an avid mountain, trail, and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she is a children’s librarian. As… Read more »
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