Running Books: Memoirs & History

Insights into individual runners and cultures that support running.

Updated September 20, 2023
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Choosing to run : a memoir
Linden, Des
Audiobook
Featuring both the story of an historic, unforgettable win and insight into the life of an indelible champion, Choosing to Run is a truly inspirational memoir from Boston Marathon winner and Olympian Des Linden, sharing her personal story and what motivates her to keep showing up. <...
Good for a girl : a woman running in a man's world
Fleshman, Lauren
Paper Book
* A New York Times Bestseller * Winner of the William Hill Sports Book Of The Year Award * A Financial Times Best Sports Book of 2023 Fueled by her years as an elite runner and advocate for women in sports, Lauren Fleshman offers her inspiring personal...
The incomplete book of running
Sagal, Peter
Paper Book
"Sagal has created a new genre--the five-minute-mile memoir. Combining commentary and reflection about running with a deeply felt personal story, this book is winning, smart, honest, and affecting. Whether you are a runner or not, it will move you." --Susan Orlean In the...
Let your mind run : a memoir of thinking my way to victory
Kastor, Deena
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ."Deena Kastor is one of the greatest bodies in distance running, but this book captures what is so groundbreaking about her mind."-Alexi Pappas, Olympian, writer, and filmmaker "Inspiring, fascinating, and insightful. Practical for anyone...
The longest race : inside the secret world of abuse, doping, and deception on Nike's elite running team
Goucher, Kara
Ebook
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In "one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation" (Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest...
The perfect mile : three athletes, one goal, and less than four minutes to achieve it
Bascomb, Neal.
Ebook
New York Times-Bestselling Author: An "enthralling" account of the three world-class athletes who became the first runners to break the four-minute mile (The New York Times Book Review).A San Francisco Chronicle and ESPN Best Book of the YearThere was a time...
A runner's high : my life in motion
Karnazes, Dean
Paper Book
"A Runner's High wakes up the appetite to run long distances. Dean takes us on a lifelong journey of ultramarathons, through the ups and downs, the friendships and lonely moments, and the struggles and rewards of each race. Dean writes in a direct and intimate way that keeps us reading like he...
Running while Black : finding freedom in a sport that wasn't built for us
Désir, Alison Mariella
Paper Book
A searing expose on the whiteness of running, a supposedly egalitarian sport, and a call to reimagine the industry "Runners know that running brings us to ourselves. But for Black people, the simple act of running has never been so simple. It is a declaration of the right to...
Running with the Kenyans : passion, adventure, and the secrets of the fastest people on earth
Finn, Adharanand.
Paper Book
"A dusty road stretches into the distance like a pencil line across the arid landscape. Lions, rhino, and buffalo roam the plains on either side. But I haven't come to Kenya to spot wildlife. I've come to run."   Whether running is your recreation, your religion, or just a...
Tigerbelle : the Wyomia Tyus story
Tyus, Wyomia
Paper Book
"Tyus proves as winning a storyteller as she was a runner . . . The 'a' in Wyomia is silent, but thankfully, the woman who owns that name is not." --New York Times Book Review "Tigerbelle offers a fresh perspective on the history of women's sports in the United States. From her one-of...
The way of the runner : a journey into the fabled world of Japanese running
Finn, Adharanand
Paper Book
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...

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