Ten Year Run: A Marathoning Memoir (Be Who You Are, Like What You Like, and Do Cool Stuff: The Collection)

Ten Year Run is a wry memoir of the author’s experiences training for and running in marathons following a life spent largely on the couch. With a style reminiscent of Bill Bryson, Ten Year Run covers the first ten years of Baker’s running hobby, from his decision to do something about skyrocketing cholesterol to the successful completion of four marathons and the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch. Baker recounts humorous anecdotes from his marathon training (including mail order fashion disasters), discusses coming to terms with the absurdity of running the marathon (it’s 26 miles, for crying out loud), shares the sacrifices made (such as the big toe nail on his right foot), and offers down to earth advice to let you know that, yes, even you can run a marathon without joining a running club or spending two months’ salary on shoes and wicking underwear. Ten Year Run provides a humorous look at Baker’s experience in setting a goal to run a marathon, training for the event, the highs and lows of going the distance, and the decision to do it again. Punctuated with “The Twelve Noble Truths of Running” (including, “Hills are steeper than they appear through the windshield of your car”) and the “22 Rules of Running Marathons” (including Number 19: “Never operate heavy equipment or attempt algebra after 15 miles”), Ten Year Run will charm both the serious runner and those with the nagging feeling that they should put down the pork rinds, turn off the TV, and go for a run.