Running with the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth [hardcover] Finn, Adharanand [May 15, 2012]

Running With the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth

Politics & Social Sciences

Finn, Adharanand

Anthropology

Ballantine Books

“Completely satisfying, as well-paced and exhilarating as a good run.”—The Boston Globe Whether running is your recreation or your religion, Adharanand Finn’s incredible journey to the elite training camps of Kenya will captivate and inspire you, as he ventures to uncover the secrets of the fastest people on earth. Finn’s mesmerizing quest combines a fresh look at barefoot running, practical advice on the sport, and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream: to run with his heroes. Uprooting his family of five, Finn traveled to a small, chaotic town in the Rift Valley province of Kenya—a mecca for long-distance runners, thanks to its high altitude, endless paths, and some of the top training schools in the world. There Finn would run side by side with Olympic champions, young hopefuls, and barefoot schoolchildren, and meet a cast of unforgettable characters. Amid the daily challenges of training and of raising a family abroad, Finn would learn invaluable lessons about running—and about life. With a new Afterword by the author “Not everyone gets to heaven in their lifetime. Adharanand Finn tried to run there, and succeeded. Running with the Kenyans is a great read.”—Bernd Heinrich, author of Why We Run “Part scientific study, travel memoir, and tale of self-discovery, Finn’s journey makes for a smart and entertaining read.”—Publishers Weekly “A hymn to the spirit, to the heartbreaking beauty of tenacity, to the joy of movement.”—The Plain Dealer

Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth

Random House Publishing Group

Book DescriptionAn epic personal quest to discover the remarkable secrets of the world's greatest runners.Product DescriptionAfter years of watching Kenyan athletes win the world's biggest races, from the Olympics to big city marathons, Runner's World contributor Adharanand Finn set out to discover just what it was that made them so fast - and to see if he could keep up. Packing up his family (and his running shoes), he moved from Devon to the small town of Iten, in Kenya, home to hundreds of the country's best athletes. Once there he laced up his shoes and ventured out onto the dirt tracks, running side by side with Olympic champions, young hopefuls and barefoot schoolchildren. He ate their food, slept in their training camps, interviewed their coaches, and his children went to their schools. And at the end of it all, there was his dream, to join the best of the Kenyan athletes in his first marathon, an epic race through lion country across the Kenyan plains. With global attention on both the London Marathon in April 2012 and the London Olympics in the summer, there has never been a more exciting time to experience what it is really like to train and race with the stars of distance running.About the AuthorAdharanand Finn is an editor at the Guardian and a freelance journalist, writing regular features for the Guardian, the Independent and Runner's World. He is a former junior county cross-country runner and recently won a 10k in Exeter, Devon, where he and his family usually live. Follow his journey on http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/series/running-with-the-kenyans or @adharanand.

Running with the Kenyans

Faber&Faber

Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award Winner - Best New Writer category at the British Sports Book Awards After years of watching Kenyan athletes win the world's biggest long-distance races, Runner's World contributor Adharanand Finn set out to discover what it was that made them so fast - and to see if he could keep up. Packing up his family, he moved to Iten, Kenya, the running capital of the world, and started investigating. Was it running barefoot to school, the food, the altitude, or something else? At the end of his journey he put his research to the test by running his first marathon, across the Kenyan plains. This edition includes a new chapter covering the 2012 Olympics.

Sports & Outdoors

Biographies

Welcome to Japan, the most running-obsessed nation on earth, where: a long-distance relay race is the country's biggest annual sporting event; companies sponsor their own running teams, paying the athletes like employees; and marathon monks run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment. Adharanand Finn - award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans - moved to Japan to discover more about this unique running culture and what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan. As an amateur runner about to turn forty, he also hoped find out whether the Japanese approach to training might help him keep improving. What he learned - about competition, about team work, about beating your personal bests, about form and about himself - will fascinate anyone who is keen to explore why we run, and how we might do it better.

The Way of the Runner

An electrifying look inside the wild world of extreme distance running. Once the reserve of only the most hardcore enthusiasts, ultra running is now a thriving global industry, with hundreds of thousands of competitors each year. But is the rise of this most brutal and challenging sport—with races that extend into hundreds of miles, often in extreme environments—an antidote to modern life, or a symptom of a modern illness? In The Rise of the Ultra Runners, award-winning author Adharanand Finn travels to the heart of the sport to investigate the reasons behind its rise and discover what it takes to join the ranks of these ultra athletes. Through encounters with the extreme and colorful characters of the ultramarathon world, and his own experiences of running ultras everywhere from the deserts of Oman to the Rocky Mountains, Finn offers a fascinating account of people testing the boundaries of human endeavor.

The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance

Individual Sports

Pegasus Books

An electrifying look inside the wild world of extreme distance running. Once the reserve of only the most hardcore enthusiasts, ultra running is now a thriving global industry, with hundreds of thousands of competitors each year. But is the rise of this most brutal and challenging sport--with races that extend into hundreds of miles, often in extreme environments--an antidote to modern life, or a symptom of a modern illness? In&nbsp;The Rise of the Ultra Runners, award-winning author Adharanand Finn travels to the heart of the sport to investigate the reasons behind its rise and discover what it takes to join the ranks of these ultra athletes. Through encounters with the extreme and colorful characters of the ultramarathon world, and his own experiences of running ultras everywhere from the deserts of Oman to the Rocky Mountains, Finn offers a fascinating account of people testing the boundaries of human endeavor.

Welcome to Japan, the most running-obsessed nation on earth, and home to a unique running culture unlike anything Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans, has even experienced.
It may come as a surprise to many people, but Japan is the most running-obsessed country on earth. A 135-mile relay race, or "ekiden" is the country's biggest annual sporting event. Thousands of professional runners compete for corporate teams in some of the most competitive races in the world. The legendary "marathon monks" run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment.
Yet so much of Japan's running culture remains a mystery to the outside world, on par with many of the unique aspects of contemporary Japan. Adharanand Finn, the award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans, spent six months immersed in this one of a kind running culture to discover what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan.
As an amateur runner about to turn 40, he also hoped to find out whether a Japanese approach to training might help him run faster. What he learns―about competition, team work, form, chasing personal bests, and about himself―will fascinate and surprise anyone keen to explore why we run and how we might do it better.

The Way of the Runner: A Journey into the Fabled World of Japanese Running

Japan is the most running-obsessed country on earth. A 135-mile relay race, or "ekiden," is the country's biggest annual sporting event. Thousands of professional runners compete for corporate teams in some of the most competitive races in the world. The legendary "marathon monks" run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment.Yet so much of Japan's running culture remains a mystery to the outside world. Adharanand Finn, the award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans, spent six months immersed in this one-of-a-kind running culture to discover what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan.As an amateur runner about to turn 40, he also hoped to find out whether a Japanese approach to training might help him run faster. What he learns—about competition, team work, form, chasing personal bests, and about himself—will fascinate and surprise anyone keen to explore why we run and how we might do it better.

The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A journey into the heart of the world's toughest sport

Guardian Faber

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Finn, Adharanand. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Finn, Adharanand

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Finn, Adharanand. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Running With the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth

Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth

Running with the Kenyans

Running with the Kenyans

The Way of the Runner

The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance

The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance

The Way of the Runner: A Journey into the Fabled World of Japanese Running

The Way of the Runner

The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A journey into the heart of the world's toughest sport