Book Review: Running to Learn

By Carl | August 20, 2008

Running to Learn tells the unique story of Julia, an international marathon runner;  her struggle to reach peak performance, her battle with an eating disorder and the challenges of her personal relationships.

The book reads like a marathon; the story of Julia’s life is challenging, exposed, emotional but overall rewarding. Julia clearly has two traits of a marathon runner. An addictive personality and honesty. Addiction lead Julia to become a great marathon runner but it also lead her to develop an eating disorder and depression as she constantly strived for that elusive sub 2hr 30min marathon.  Whilst her shocking honesty led her to eventually address her long term eating disorder, numerous troubled relationships and write an enlightening book. 

Some of Julia’s thinking may be a little too ideological and spiritual for some people. However you can not question her ability to live and instill the message that your life is in your own hands. Continuously you are reminded that reality is what you create and the dreams that you dream can come true. I suppose this is quite apt during the recent / continued success at the Olympics. I doubt you would find many successful Olympians that question their own ability to influence their own destiny.

Running to Learn is not a book that I would typically read and from the outset I doubted that I could relate with Julia’s spiritual approach to life, and I must confess that I did not find it gripping. However, this developed into the books greatest quality. Being a confessed self doubter and realist, I initially started to read the book with cynicism. However, subconsciously I found myself implementing Julia’s thinking and reflecting on her journey. This in turn made me return to the book and give it more attention than I would have done otherwise. If I take one thing away from the book it is that like life, running is a journey and if you focus entirely on the end goal, often you miss enjoyment of the ride.

For further information about Julia and Running to Learn (RRP £8.99) please visit her blog by clicking on this link.

This October, Julia will be running her first ultra event, a 56 mile cross country race from London to Brighton - ‘from the River Thames at Greenwich to Brighton’. She’s currently in training with a group of friends, Rob, Jim and Stuart, and her blog will chart her thoughts, her training, and her increasing mileage as the event approaches.

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