Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness

It was an odd experience to find the book simultaneously so inspiring and yet find the author so irritating. Fiercely competitive in the way that turned me off anything athletic for 90% of my life, sexist (eff anyone using the word “Chicked” to describe the humiliation (eyeroll) of being passed by gasp a woman), and not without at least one racial slur.

Still, for some reason I persisted, and I did really resonate with the idea of “doing what needs to be done” and pushing through challenges instead of giving up.

Would I recommend it to others? Probably not. I bet there are way more inspiring books out there by people that wouldn't bug me as much. Still, I suppose that having found this on the side of the road in a free box it was worth every penny.

the style is intermittently interesting or pretty, to me, but on the whole feels forcefully simplified and gets repetitive. Jurek's an amazing runner, obviously, and it's nice to pick up some advice on what vegan runners eat when i'm trying to be a runner again, and i'm vegan too. he does frequently come off as self-aggrandizing and haughty about his diet and accomplishments compared to his peers. i won't judge his personal life, but there are some odd aspects about the way he decided to talk about particular parts of it (his ex-wife and Dusty).

it's one of those books where once you've read 10% of it you've encountered all the author will do, really, and the rest is just repeating whatever their formula is. if you're interested enough and can get through i quickly enough, it's worth a beach/bed read.

*3.5 stars