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tombuoni's review
Marathon memoir from the unique Des Linden, told in her entertaining personal style. It was great to read the week leading up to the Boston Marathon, especially while learning about her grueling win during a rainstorm in 2018. Saw her speak last year and looking forward to rooting her on as she races tomorrow.
A few highlights:
“I was doing what I once doubted was possible: creating the lifestyle I wanted as a runner, with plenty of room for the passions I’d made a point of cultivating over the last few years. Travel, reading, music, taking the dogs to the beach, refining my tastes in coffee and bourbon—I wasn’t anywhere near willing to give them up.”
“I needed to put together a schedule that would prepare me for Boston. I circled April 16, 2018, on the calendar and started to work backward. I would run the New York City Half Marathon in March, a standard part of my build in recent years.”
“It snowed Sunday morning, killing my incentive to leave the hotel for a shakeout run. I bunkered in and relaxed, trying to stick to my normal day-before routine. Late in the day, it occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten much all weekend. What if I decide to finish? No matter how far I’m going to run, I have to be prepared. I walked to the hospitality room and filled a to-go box with traditional prerace carbs: pasta and Bolognese sauce, plain rice.”
“I checked the hourly forecast: temperatures in the high thirties at the start, relentless heavy rain, and winds of fifteen to twenty-five miles per hour, gusting to forty-five. Insane.”
““Everybody is going to freak out, and you know how to run in this garbage,’’ Ryan said. “You’ve done enough workouts during the buildup to be competitive. Just try, and see what happens. If you have to drop out, fine, but don’t head to the line planning on dropping out. You’re mentally tougher than everyone. This is perfect for you.’’”
“It’s impossible to get quality sleep the night before a major marathon. Anyone who says differently is either a liar or a psychopath.”
“Routine is everything, and I stuck to mine despite my internal churning. I knew that when I emerged from the bathroom in my race gear, my coffee and breakfast would be waiting, and Ryan would be prepping a second coffee for me to take on the fifty-minute bus ride to the start in Hopkinton. Sure enough, my fuel was ready: a bagel with peanut butter, a bowl of white rice, and hot coffee, along with Ryan’s ever-encouraging smile.”
“The first six miles are predominantly downhill. The race isn’t won on those descents, but it can be lost there. Each runner’s bottles, pre-filled with fluids to replenish electrolytes, carbs, and caffeine, are set up on tables at 5k intervals, and it’s vital to hit them early and often.”
“On one of those backward glances, I see another American, Serena Burla, wrestling with a trash bag that’s flapping wildly in her hands. She had started in racing briefs and a bra top, and now has detoured to a garbage can to grab the bag and use it as a makeshift windbreaker. If I didn’t know it before, this confirms it: Today is insane.”
“The I-95 overpass is the first real sustained climb on the course, and I think of it as the first true Newton hill, even though most people count only the three after the fire station.”
“Chesir blows by Daska as the pair crest Heartbreak Hill, just before Mile 21. In a mere fifteen seconds, I’m on Chesir’s heels. It’s decision time. I can either sit behind her or test her. I don’t hesitate. I pass her with an authority I couldn’t have summoned a few months before—or even the previous night, when I pondered whether I was capable of being competitive on this day and what it could cost me to try… The race resets when we come off Heartbreak.”
“When did I think it was going to be my day? “When I made the right on Hereford. Honestly, I was running totally afraid. I’ve been in a sprint on Boylston Street. I tried not to let up on the gas until I hit the tape.’’ Last words? “This is hands down the biggest day of my running career, and if it hadn’t been difficult, I don’t think it would mean as much.’’”
“My respect for the event grew exponentially as I saw how drained, yet gratified, runners looked at the finish. I was able to see how the activity and the sport—masses and elites running on the same course on the same day—coexisted and complemented one another. The professionals at the front were testing their athletic boundaries; I’d been wrong to think they’d merely lost a step on the track and were headed out to pasture. Likewise, the amateurs straggling over the finish line hours later—whom I’d foolishly viewed as running for the sake of running—were working every bit as hard, digging deep and finding out what they were made of. Some looked strong and powerful, as if they’d conquered a beast. Others were glassy-eyed with miscalculation and defeat.”
“[After choosing Arizona State], in my parents’ eyes, I was choosing running over education… I’ll always remember my mom saying, “We’re not mad. We’re just disappointed.” It bothered me. It also felt deeply fulfilling to chart my own path. I was very much the queen of I’ll show you.”
“On Sunday mornings [at ASU], we would head for South Mountain, where our typical route took us on a rugged uphill eight-mile trail and back again, baking in a landscape of red dirt and cacti. The experience was a living contradiction of hell and sanctuary: the Church of the Sunday Long Run.”
“I never had to worry about following any particular diet or counting calories. I ate until I was full and then stopped, and I was judicious about alcohol consumption during the track and cross-country seasons. That was the limit of what I was willing to do. I didn’t go off the rails the rest of the year, but I gave myself a break. There is a reason it’s called the off-season.”
“I hadn’t been running much, giving myself a break before I dove into a more intense lifestyle, but the rolling green oasis of Central Park beckoned from just a couple of blocks away, and I made an exception to lace up with Natalie. Sharing a few miles on those paths that serve as a training ground for both the mediocre and the mighty was one more way of savoring our time together.”
“I appreciated the beauty and novelty of my surroundings: The flat water of the Tiber mirrored high, curving stone walls softened by trailing ivy, the trees above, and the arched bridges. As the session progressed, my body felt more fluid working at a quicker pace. I was in my element, training alone, yet in the company of people sharing in the ritual of exercise… We ran along the river Tiber every morning and spent our afternoons sampling amazing wine and touring the marvels of the Colosseum and the Vatican. In Marrakesh, we walked the Jemaa el Fna marketplace and took in the Yves Saint Laurent museum, feasted on lamb tagine and sipped mojitos made from the famously sweet Moroccan mint.”
“Travel generally reminds me that most people are good-hearted, ready to look out for a stranger. It takes leaving the comfort zone and going there to understand it.”
“We stepped into the palatial, blindingly bright expanse of the Fairmont lobby. Pendulous crystal chandeliers reflected off mirrored walls, gilt molding, and pristine white marble floors. The space was rapidly filling with lean figures in sweatsuits and neon running shoes. Running royalty, in all our finery.”
“I feel myself smiling at the bizarre dichotomy: the worst weather I’ve ever raced in; the best thing that could have happened to me.”
— Choosing to Run: A Memoir by Des Linden
https://a.co/gNHkfvg
A few highlights:
“I was doing what I once doubted was possible: creating the lifestyle I wanted as a runner, with plenty of room for the passions I’d made a point of cultivating over the last few years. Travel, reading, music, taking the dogs to the beach, refining my tastes in coffee and bourbon—I wasn’t anywhere near willing to give them up.”
“I needed to put together a schedule that would prepare me for Boston. I circled April 16, 2018, on the calendar and started to work backward. I would run the New York City Half Marathon in March, a standard part of my build in recent years.”
“It snowed Sunday morning, killing my incentive to leave the hotel for a shakeout run. I bunkered in and relaxed, trying to stick to my normal day-before routine. Late in the day, it occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten much all weekend. What if I decide to finish? No matter how far I’m going to run, I have to be prepared. I walked to the hospitality room and filled a to-go box with traditional prerace carbs: pasta and Bolognese sauce, plain rice.”
“I checked the hourly forecast: temperatures in the high thirties at the start, relentless heavy rain, and winds of fifteen to twenty-five miles per hour, gusting to forty-five. Insane.”
““Everybody is going to freak out, and you know how to run in this garbage,’’ Ryan said. “You’ve done enough workouts during the buildup to be competitive. Just try, and see what happens. If you have to drop out, fine, but don’t head to the line planning on dropping out. You’re mentally tougher than everyone. This is perfect for you.’’”
“It’s impossible to get quality sleep the night before a major marathon. Anyone who says differently is either a liar or a psychopath.”
“Routine is everything, and I stuck to mine despite my internal churning. I knew that when I emerged from the bathroom in my race gear, my coffee and breakfast would be waiting, and Ryan would be prepping a second coffee for me to take on the fifty-minute bus ride to the start in Hopkinton. Sure enough, my fuel was ready: a bagel with peanut butter, a bowl of white rice, and hot coffee, along with Ryan’s ever-encouraging smile.”
“The first six miles are predominantly downhill. The race isn’t won on those descents, but it can be lost there. Each runner’s bottles, pre-filled with fluids to replenish electrolytes, carbs, and caffeine, are set up on tables at 5k intervals, and it’s vital to hit them early and often.”
“On one of those backward glances, I see another American, Serena Burla, wrestling with a trash bag that’s flapping wildly in her hands. She had started in racing briefs and a bra top, and now has detoured to a garbage can to grab the bag and use it as a makeshift windbreaker. If I didn’t know it before, this confirms it: Today is insane.”
“The I-95 overpass is the first real sustained climb on the course, and I think of it as the first true Newton hill, even though most people count only the three after the fire station.”
“Chesir blows by Daska as the pair crest Heartbreak Hill, just before Mile 21. In a mere fifteen seconds, I’m on Chesir’s heels. It’s decision time. I can either sit behind her or test her. I don’t hesitate. I pass her with an authority I couldn’t have summoned a few months before—or even the previous night, when I pondered whether I was capable of being competitive on this day and what it could cost me to try… The race resets when we come off Heartbreak.”
“When did I think it was going to be my day? “When I made the right on Hereford. Honestly, I was running totally afraid. I’ve been in a sprint on Boylston Street. I tried not to let up on the gas until I hit the tape.’’ Last words? “This is hands down the biggest day of my running career, and if it hadn’t been difficult, I don’t think it would mean as much.’’”
“My respect for the event grew exponentially as I saw how drained, yet gratified, runners looked at the finish. I was able to see how the activity and the sport—masses and elites running on the same course on the same day—coexisted and complemented one another. The professionals at the front were testing their athletic boundaries; I’d been wrong to think they’d merely lost a step on the track and were headed out to pasture. Likewise, the amateurs straggling over the finish line hours later—whom I’d foolishly viewed as running for the sake of running—were working every bit as hard, digging deep and finding out what they were made of. Some looked strong and powerful, as if they’d conquered a beast. Others were glassy-eyed with miscalculation and defeat.”
“[After choosing Arizona State], in my parents’ eyes, I was choosing running over education… I’ll always remember my mom saying, “We’re not mad. We’re just disappointed.” It bothered me. It also felt deeply fulfilling to chart my own path. I was very much the queen of I’ll show you.”
“On Sunday mornings [at ASU], we would head for South Mountain, where our typical route took us on a rugged uphill eight-mile trail and back again, baking in a landscape of red dirt and cacti. The experience was a living contradiction of hell and sanctuary: the Church of the Sunday Long Run.”
“I never had to worry about following any particular diet or counting calories. I ate until I was full and then stopped, and I was judicious about alcohol consumption during the track and cross-country seasons. That was the limit of what I was willing to do. I didn’t go off the rails the rest of the year, but I gave myself a break. There is a reason it’s called the off-season.”
“I hadn’t been running much, giving myself a break before I dove into a more intense lifestyle, but the rolling green oasis of Central Park beckoned from just a couple of blocks away, and I made an exception to lace up with Natalie. Sharing a few miles on those paths that serve as a training ground for both the mediocre and the mighty was one more way of savoring our time together.”
“I appreciated the beauty and novelty of my surroundings: The flat water of the Tiber mirrored high, curving stone walls softened by trailing ivy, the trees above, and the arched bridges. As the session progressed, my body felt more fluid working at a quicker pace. I was in my element, training alone, yet in the company of people sharing in the ritual of exercise… We ran along the river Tiber every morning and spent our afternoons sampling amazing wine and touring the marvels of the Colosseum and the Vatican. In Marrakesh, we walked the Jemaa el Fna marketplace and took in the Yves Saint Laurent museum, feasted on lamb tagine and sipped mojitos made from the famously sweet Moroccan mint.”
“Travel generally reminds me that most people are good-hearted, ready to look out for a stranger. It takes leaving the comfort zone and going there to understand it.”
“We stepped into the palatial, blindingly bright expanse of the Fairmont lobby. Pendulous crystal chandeliers reflected off mirrored walls, gilt molding, and pristine white marble floors. The space was rapidly filling with lean figures in sweatsuits and neon running shoes. Running royalty, in all our finery.”
“I feel myself smiling at the bizarre dichotomy: the worst weather I’ve ever raced in; the best thing that could have happened to me.”
— Choosing to Run: A Memoir by Des Linden
https://a.co/gNHkfvg
olivia54321_'s review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
alarason03's review
3.0
I have always admired Des Linden and so I was extremely excited to read her memoir. However, after reading, I felt like I wanted more.
My absolute favorite thing about the book was the recap of the 2018 Boston marathon. I loved hearing about the different emotions and how things changed for her leading up to and during the race. I remember watching her win in 2018 and being ecstatic that an American had finally won after so many years so I loved listening to what was going through her mind during that race.
I really wanted this book to be more inspirational though. It is really just a telling of her story as opposed to weaving in any themes that you can take away as empowering to an average runner. I felt that there was very little depth and rather unemotional.
One of the issues may have been that I listened to this in audio. Unfortunately Des is not a great narrator. There are strange pauses and breaks and little inflection. Perhaps with a better narrator I could have been drawn more into the story and felt more emotion
My absolute favorite thing about the book was the recap of the 2018 Boston marathon. I loved hearing about the different emotions and how things changed for her leading up to and during the race. I remember watching her win in 2018 and being ecstatic that an American had finally won after so many years so I loved listening to what was going through her mind during that race.
I really wanted this book to be more inspirational though. It is really just a telling of her story as opposed to weaving in any themes that you can take away as empowering to an average runner. I felt that there was very little depth and rather unemotional.
One of the issues may have been that I listened to this in audio. Unfortunately Des is not a great narrator. There are strange pauses and breaks and little inflection. Perhaps with a better narrator I could have been drawn more into the story and felt more emotion
alicevae's review
4.0
This was a quick, fun window into who Des is and what her career trajectory has been thus far.
bit101's review
5.0
Listened to the audiobook - mostly while running. Des narrates it. Not perfectly, but very authentically. Loved it. Got pretty choked up at the end.
vaisforbooklovers's review
5.0
Thank you NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book!
I loved this! Some books are targeted for specific audiences, and this may be one of those that you won't enjoy as much if you haven't ever run. I think anyone can benefit from it whether they are a runner or not, but runners will find it exceptionally enjoyable!
5 stars from me and I will be purchasing my own copy for the personal shelves. I have been a runner for almost a decade now and this story felt so inspirational and motivating, I am ready to lace up my shoes and hit the roads. I learned things about Des I didn't know before, details to her health and training and I appreciate her willingness to be open and transparent with her readers/fans.
I honestly cried at the end when she crossed the finish line in Boston! I thought the chapters were setup nicely jumping back and forth between the Boston race and her past stories. I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys sports, running in particular.
I loved this! Some books are targeted for specific audiences, and this may be one of those that you won't enjoy as much if you haven't ever run. I think anyone can benefit from it whether they are a runner or not, but runners will find it exceptionally enjoyable!
5 stars from me and I will be purchasing my own copy for the personal shelves. I have been a runner for almost a decade now and this story felt so inspirational and motivating, I am ready to lace up my shoes and hit the roads. I learned things about Des I didn't know before, details to her health and training and I appreciate her willingness to be open and transparent with her readers/fans.
I honestly cried at the end when she crossed the finish line in Boston! I thought the chapters were setup nicely jumping back and forth between the Boston race and her past stories. I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys sports, running in particular.