To keep up with my goal of a book a month, I decided to start the year reading about something which I love to do.
Running
“To live among people who don't think that running is ridiculous, no matter how hard their lives are, but who value running and the opportunity it brings, who revere it, almost. Even if you never become an Olympic champion, or even manage to race abroad, just being an athlete here seems to lift you above the chaos of daily life. It marks you out as one of the special people, who have chosen a path of dedication and commitment. You can see it in the runners' eyes when they talk to you. Even the slowest of the runners talk about their training with an almost religious devotion. [...] Running matters.”
This book is all about running.
You need to understand the passion that drives those long distance runners to enjoy the authors decision to move to a small town in Kenya. Iten, home to champion runners!
Many of us born in 70s and 80s were hooked to watching Olympics on TV. We have seen how the Africans, especially Kenyans and Ethiopians dominated the long distance running scene with a few stray American and European medalists.
The author, a runner, decides to study how and why this happens. He uproots his family, to go live and train with the Kenyans in a small town famous for its training camps. He also aspires to run his first marathon in Kenya, in the wild!
Watching them run, winning big money at the world championships, makes you appreciate the handwork they have put in to reach that level of talent.
Where do they come from?
A small town with primitive facilities, producing world class athletes on a regular basis!!!
Does the author understand the secret behind these Kenyans.
There is no talk about strength training, weights, cross training, nothing! Shoes, pacing strategy, hydration techniques, everything we worry about before a run,during a run, analysis after a run, does not bother them.
Kenyans are born to run!
To survive they run!
To make it matter, they run!
To win, they run!
Even if they do not win, they run!
It's the only thing they know about life!
Run, Eat, Sleep!
The author through his stay in Iten, helps us understand the subtle differences between the city based recreational runners and the focused poverty stricken Kenyan runners.
resilience, hope, camaraderie, humility, a primal need!
The book will not make you a runner, if you are not a runner and have watched and wondered at the ease and smooth form of the Kenyans in long-distance running events , it's a must read!
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