To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance by Kirk Johnson

SUMMARY: A very interesting book. Well written account, fun to read.

I read Dean Karnazes book (Ultramarathon Man), and I wanted to read other books about endurance running, and ultramarathons. One thing that I have found is that there aren’t very many autobiographical books from ultrarunners. But searching through Amazon, I found this book. The author was working a sports writer when he interviewed Lisa Smith, an ultrarunner. He was surprised to find the woman who had run the Badwater Ultramarathon was a normal person. If you are not familiar with the Badwater Ultramarathon, it is one of the most extreme ultramarathons in existance, if not the most extreme. The race is from the lowest point in Death Valley to the trailhead on Mt Whitney 135 miles away. It takes place in June or July, with the temperatures over 120 degrees.
After running a short ultramarathon, he talks his way into admitance to running in the Badwater. He says he only plans to run what he can, so that he can write about it. But soon his plans changes, and he decides to finish it. I have seen video of this specific race in the movie Running On The Sun. He does manage to finish the race. If you are interested in the Badwater Ultramarathon, or ultramarathons in general, I think you will enjoy this book.
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Posted by Rob in Reviews on September 26th, 2006 |