The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
luisamariah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
rachel_reece's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book!! "Run freely and naturally for fun in environments that make you happy". Good advice!!
eiriee's review against another edition
3.0
I would recommend this book to someone else. I did really enjoy reading it, and found myself agreeing with just about everything Richard said. If you are not already considering going out running more in the countryside, it is pretty likely this book will convince you, especially if you have a dog.
...that is, if you can get past the moments where he seems so intent on promoting the benefits of 'running free' and the negatives of 'Big Running' but can't quite bring himself to dismiss road running/incremental gains etc. It leaves the writing of those parts quite stilted and I kept thinking, "If you're not going to reject it entirely, why are you bringing up the comparison at all?". Which I entirely realise is a wholly unfair thing to say - if he had not maintained this /fairly/ v
balanced view throughout I would have been affronted as well (being, as I am, in my First Age of running and soon hoping to reach my Second Age). I guess it's just the dissonance between trying to promote running off-road without buying in to much of the consumerism of Big Running, with a consistent attempt to not dismiss the joy other people find in running e.g. on road, with all the gear. Maybe it gives a feeling of hypocrisy?
But if you are looking over one person's entire life of running, there's bound to be some cognitive dissonance.
Another point is that the book seems to be aimed at middle-aged people who have been running for ten or twenty years, which I am not.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading this book (the two chapters about being hunted by bloodhounds and men respectively stand out as particularly fun) and would recommend it to others (though I wouldn't blame you if you waited for the paperback).
...that is, if you can get past the moments where he seems so intent on promoting the benefits of 'running free' and the negatives of 'Big Running' but can't quite bring himself to dismiss road running/incremental gains etc. It leaves the writing of those parts quite stilted and I kept thinking, "If you're not going to reject it entirely, why are you bringing up the comparison at all?". Which I entirely realise is a wholly unfair thing to say - if he had not maintained this /fairly/ v
balanced view throughout I would have been affronted as well (being, as I am, in my First Age of running and soon hoping to reach my Second Age). I guess it's just the dissonance between trying to promote running off-road without buying in to much of the consumerism of Big Running, with a consistent attempt to not dismiss the joy other people find in running e.g. on road, with all the gear. Maybe it gives a feeling of hypocrisy?
But if you are looking over one person's entire life of running, there's bound to be some cognitive dissonance.
Another point is that the book seems to be aimed at middle-aged people who have been running for ten or twenty years, which I am not.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading this book (the two chapters about being hunted by bloodhounds and men respectively stand out as particularly fun) and would recommend it to others (though I wouldn't blame you if you waited for the paperback).
baileybird's review against another edition
4.0
Some great descriptions of muddy adventures in the countryside with Nutmeg the dog
camprocter's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.5
Enjoyed this a lot, but I feel like he was just preaching to the choir with me. Don't run with headphones, y'all.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
3.0
Askwith had reached the point where he had had enough with running. Not the actual act, but the way that the sport had been hijacked by global brands whe were only interested in selling you more expensive pointless kit, the never ending drive to better yourself incrementally and the proliferation of heavily marketed extreme challenges. He wanted to return to what made him love running in the first place. A move to Northampton meant that he had the opportunity to change.
He stopped pounding the pavements, set aside his watch and headphones and liberated himself. He found new routes through muddy fields and over the fells, got utterly soaked and mud splattered regularly and frequently got very lost. A chance encounter in a car park ended up with him being chased on a regular basis by bloodhounds, all for fun of course, but mostly he discovered whilst running for the sheer pleasure of it, the delights of wildlife and nature. He has many practical tips for those wishing to avoid the relentless expense and just get back to the simpler art of running, as well as key pointers for rural running.
This is not a book I would have normally selected; preferring two wheels to two legs, but as it was one of the books that had appeared on the Wainwright Prize longlist last year so it has got to be worth reading, right? And it was. Askwith has endless passion for what he now calls running free. For example, rather than run with shoes that cost the earth; he now uses a lightweight shoe, almost glove like and has changed his running style to suit. What really comes across in the book is his discovery of the wildlife and nature as he runs, but not having headphones jammed in his ears, he hears the bird song and water in streams, and even as he runs early in the morning with his dog, Nutmeg, they still come across deer and raptors out early. 3.5 stars overall. Well worth reading, even if the last time you ran anywhere was at school.
He stopped pounding the pavements, set aside his watch and headphones and liberated himself. He found new routes through muddy fields and over the fells, got utterly soaked and mud splattered regularly and frequently got very lost. A chance encounter in a car park ended up with him being chased on a regular basis by bloodhounds, all for fun of course, but mostly he discovered whilst running for the sheer pleasure of it, the delights of wildlife and nature. He has many practical tips for those wishing to avoid the relentless expense and just get back to the simpler art of running, as well as key pointers for rural running.
This is not a book I would have normally selected; preferring two wheels to two legs, but as it was one of the books that had appeared on the Wainwright Prize longlist last year so it has got to be worth reading, right? And it was. Askwith has endless passion for what he now calls running free. For example, rather than run with shoes that cost the earth; he now uses a lightweight shoe, almost glove like and has changed his running style to suit. What really comes across in the book is his discovery of the wildlife and nature as he runs, but not having headphones jammed in his ears, he hears the bird song and water in streams, and even as he runs early in the morning with his dog, Nutmeg, they still come across deer and raptors out early. 3.5 stars overall. Well worth reading, even if the last time you ran anywhere was at school.
rmtbray's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting concept and ideas but not, IMHO, enough to fill a book...