Reviews
Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn
henryspencer's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
Reading this was a marathon. Didn't like Finn's ultra running book so I don't know why I read this one. He writes on interesting subjects but is not a very interesting writer at all. Would have liked to read more about the Kenyans and less about himself.
ego8's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
cat55's review against another edition
4.0
Glad I got back into this book. So many name drops and amazing achievements. A beautiful story about determination and passion.
alisarae's review against another edition
This book was fine but not exceptionally compelling. One major takeaway for me was how simply even succesful Kenyan runners live. They train in very basic camps, they eat the same simple foods day in and day out, they don’t complain.
Today I was grumbling about not having a track to train on (the closest one available to me is an hour travel time just to arrive there). But then I thought about Kenyans. They don’t train on tracks. They run and they run fast. Their workouts are pretty straightforward— easy runs seem to build to negative splits or perhaps ladders, fartleks are 1’ on 1’ off and repeat for an hour, routes routinely include hills, and most don’t use a watch. The book mentions one runner who ran on an indoor track for the first time in his life at a European championship and he won. Another complains about using spikes. So the lesson here is that doing speedwork on a track won’t make you faster.... doing work will.
May their monastic dedication be a lesson to us all.
Today I was grumbling about not having a track to train on (the closest one available to me is an hour travel time just to arrive there). But then I thought about Kenyans. They don’t train on tracks. They run and they run fast. Their workouts are pretty straightforward— easy runs seem to build to negative splits or perhaps ladders, fartleks are 1’ on 1’ off and repeat for an hour, routes routinely include hills, and most don’t use a watch. The book mentions one runner who ran on an indoor track for the first time in his life at a European championship and he won. Another complains about using spikes. So the lesson here is that doing speedwork on a track won’t make you faster.... doing work will.
May their monastic dedication be a lesson to us all.
eldiente's review against another edition
4.0
Analysis of Kenyan runner by the author reveals that many factor contribute to dominance in the world long distance running scene. The author himself improves his marathon time and modifies his running style, diet, and techniques. An interesting read and motivational to my running pursuits.
lizlizreads's review against another edition
4.0
Born To Run is probably one of my favorite books of all time. The first quarter of the book felt like it was going over the same things as Born to Run. But as I kept reading, it was much more than that. The quest to find the secret of running with Kenyans was endearing. Finn does an amazing job putting us in his shoes (literally) and diving deep into the Kenyan culture.
tmah23's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced