Run the World: My 3,500-Mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the Globe
Great book! This runner takes a break from routine training to travel, visit some of the best known countries in the world of running, and absorb wisdom. And recipes, but that's beside the point. You can skip those.
She travels to Ethiopia, Japan, Finland (or was that Sweden? sorry), and a few other places and in each one she makes amazing friends, runs a lot of miles both fast and slow, and writes about it all in a perfect, easygoing style that makes you feel like you know these people and feel these places.
I say feel, not see, because I didn't see/hear/taste the world in the way the some rare travel authors can do for me. But I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed, either. She wasn't as focused on the sights and scenery as some of the authors I love; instead she writes more about her interaction with the sights and scenery--especially the uneven ground at her feet, the trails and paths and cross-country routes that fill the life of a runner, and most especially, the running people along the way. It's a whole different perspective from that of a driver tourist (William Least-Heat Moon) or a walker (Colin Fletcher) or even a train/plane/automobile tourist (Alice Steinbach). It's a runner's perspective and that is fascinating.
The marathon she runs at the end rocks!
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