The Pursuit of Endurance: Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience, by Jennifer Pharr Davis. Viking, 2018. Book review written by trail runner Laura Clark for the Fall 2018 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Laura is an avid mountain, trail and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she is a… Read more »
Sky Runner: Finding Strength, Happiness, and Balance in Your Running, written by Emelie Forsberg, Photography by Kilian Jornet. Blue Star Press, 2018. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark for the Fall 2018 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Laura is an avid mountain, trail and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she… Read more »
A River Trilogy: A Fly-Fishing Life, written by W.D. Wetherell. Skyhorse Publishing, 2018. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark for the Summer 2018 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Laura is an avid mountain, trail and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she is a children’s librarian. Many men go fishing all… Read more »
Families on Foot, by Jennifer Pharr Davis and Brew Davis. Falcon, 2017. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark for the Summer 2018 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Laura is an avid mountain, trail and snowshoe runner who lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she is a children’s librarian. Her honors include the Parks and Trails… Read more »
When Running Made History, by Roger Robinson. Syracuse University Press, 2018. Book review 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. One of her favorite races is the Greylock Uphill Road Race, an 8 mile hill climb… Read more »
Running Anatomy, 2nd edition, by Joe Puleo and Patrick Milroy, Human Kinetics, 2019. Book review by trail runner Laura Clark. Whether you are a recreational or a competitive runner, there comes a time when either youth or beginner’s magic fails to guarantee improvement. There is a saying that every new runner has a ten year… Read more »
Run Forever, by Amby Burfoot. Hachette Book Group, 2018. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark. While sustainability is the new buzzword, spawning a return to cloth napkins and wooden toys, a true lifestyle approach should embrace more than just the outer trappings and delve more deeply into personal motivation. As runners, we choose an outdoor-centered… Read more »
The Nature Lover’s Quotation Book: An Inspired Collection for Hiking, Camping and the Great Outdoors, compiled by Hatherleigh Press, 2018. Reviewed by trail runner Laura Clark. The beauty of a compilation of quotations about nature is that you can absorb the essence of great writers and naturalists without having to plough through pages of dense… Read more »
Trail runner Laura Clark reviews North: Finding My Way By Running the Appalachian Trail, by Scott Jurek with Jenny Jurek. Published by Little, Brown and Company, 2018. Folks who set out to hike the 2,189 mile Appalachian Trail are most likely on a quest to discover their inner selves. If they have no compelling reason… Read more »
Book review by Laura Clark for the Spring 2018 edition of our Trail Times Newsletter. Not all ultrarunners are humans. Meet Gobi, a sturdy, sandy-colored mutt with Chihuahua-style ears, a flagship tail and the focused stare of a runner determined to put in the miles however difficult they might prove. Incredibly, this resolute dog materialized… Read more »
Reviewed by Laura Clark and originally published in the Winter 2017/18 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Running the Long Path: A 350-Mile Journey of Discovery in New York’s Hudson Valley, by Kenneth A. Posner. “There lies before me a long brown path, leading wherever I choose.” — Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road… Read more »
Book review written by ATRA member Laura Clark and originally published in the Fall 2017 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. The Tao of Running: Your Journey to Mindful and Passionate Running, by Gary Dudney. Meyer & Meyer Sport, 2016. The keys to The Tao of Running are contained in the subtitle: journey, mindful and… Read more »
American Trail Running Association (ATRA) president Adam W. Chase and executive director Nancy Hobbs have joined forces again to coauthor a series of four trail running guide books. These “where-to” guides follow on the heels of their successful “how-to” book, The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running, first published in 2001, with a second edition published… Read more »
The Way of the Runner: A Journey into the Fabled World of Japanese Running, by Adharanand Finn. Pegasus Books, 2015. Reviewed by Laura Clark for the Fall 2017 edition of the Trail Times newsletter. Upon his return from Kenya (Running with the Kenyans), A. Finn posted an impressive series of PRs in a variety of distances…. Read more »
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate, by Peter Wohlleben. Greystone Books, 2015. Reviewed by Laura Clark for the Fall 2017 edition of the Trail Times newsletter. Deep into a difficult trail race, I always seem to recall this common quote: “I ran by the trees as if they were standing… Read more »
Base Camp Las Vegas: 101 Hikes in the Southwest, by Deborah Wall. Imbrifex Books, 2017. Fly nonstop to Las Vegas (as easy as flying the tourist nonstop to Disney World), take in a few shows and then escape to the desert trails. What a deal! Described public recreation areas are handily sorted by distance from… Read more »
The Brave Athlete: Calm The F*uck Down and Rise to the Occasion. Velopress, 2017. By Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson. Book review by Laura Clark. Photo above by Nancy Hobbs. I must admit my initial difficulty in dealing with the title of this book. Outside of exceptions like Terry Fox, the cancer amputee who… Read more »
Book review written by Laura Clark for our Summer 2017 Trail Times Newsletter. The Trail Runner’s Companion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trail Running and Racing, 5Ks to Ultras, by Sarah Lavender Smith. Falcon, 2017. The first thing I do when I approach a book is admire the jacket, glance at the table of contents and… Read more »
Written by Laura Clark for ATRA’s Spring 2017 Trail Times Newsletter. Cresting Homer’s rosy-fingered dawn is a new interest in Greek heroes. Sparked by Rick Riordan’s middle-grade Percy Jackson series two offerings for adults have recently made their debut. As a matter of pride for all of us, they are written by ultrarunners accustomed to… Read more »
Endurance and Selected Essays on Autism, Neurodiversity, and Deep Sport, by Hal Walter. Out There Publishing, 2016. Reviewed by Laura Clark What you get is not always what you expect. Those who endure do their best with the cards they are given. This rule of thumb pretty much sums up the life of Hal Walter,… Read more »
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