Product Description

"There is nothing complicated about running. It is merely one foot in front of the other, the most basic mode of transportation. Yet run long enough and a transition takes place where running becomes rich with meaning and intuition. It is this road to spiritual insight that Mike Bouscaren pursues by doing races beyond the marathon, where oxygen comes hard, electrolytes deplete, and life is stripped down to real, true, honest, simple meaning." Rich Benyo, editor, Marathon&Beyond

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103489 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-06
• Released on: 2007-08-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 212 pages

About the Author
Mike Bouscaren began running long distance events following decades of team and individual sports competition. He found ultrarunning's elemental spirituality so refreshingly free of hype and fanfare that he was compelled to chronicle his adventures. For athletes and truth seekers alike, his story recalls the essential message that while in competition there is only one first place, others who contend are not precluded from winning in a more personal sense. Mike attended Yale University and Harvard Business School and has spent most of his professional life as an investment advisor. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with his wife and three children.

Customer Reviews

Running to spirituality
A truly enjoyable and at times profound read. As a fellow ultrarunner, I found the parallels between the author's life and my own to be somewhat startling. In fact we unknowingly intersected at his last 100 miler, and my first, with finishes within 5 minutes of one another.

What I appreciate most about Mike's story is the transparent way in which he exposes his own search for spiritual meaning. The supremely difficult struggle to unmask himself, to lose his pretensions and all the false ideas embedded within, is both mirrored and aided by the enormous effort required to complete ultras. This kind of extreme physical endurance lends itself very well to spiritual enlightenment - if one is paying attention. Mike is paying attention, and the result is not a grim struggle for success, as you might expect, so much as it is a joyful acquisition of genuine self knowledge. There is no better gift.

In my opinion this is a far better book than those offered by some of the other "superstars" of ultrarunning, such as Karnazes and Reed (though these are worth reading too). Mike is one of us, the huge majority of mid and back of the pack runners, but he is one of the top leaders in the race for the soul.

Awesome
For those of us desk jockeys who long for something bigger and better in life -- something more meaningful than shuffling paper, answering the phone and fending off email -- this is one man's unusual and inspiring struggle to take the bull by the horns and do something about it. This book serves as a valuable layman's guide and experiential reference manual of what to expect should we decide to "go the distance." The lure of the book's message is made all the more compelling by the reader's easy identification with the writer - Mike is getting on in years, at the back of the pack; he is one of us. In addition to the physical dimensions of training, nutrition, clothing, gear, mental preparation and hands-on ultra racing experience, this book sets itself apart with original insights on the mental and spiritual expansion experienced by ultra runners and the unexpected renewal of life's lost magic in our post industrial age.

Wow
What a great read, you don't need to be an ultra runner to appreciate this book. Mike sheds light on all aspects of life. He made me laugh out loud, think about my relationships with family and friends, and my own commitments to achieving goals I set for myself. For the endurance athlete, you will find it amazing that Mike put many of the same thougts and feelings we experience into words and paragraphs everyone can understand. Mike's book also makes it very hard to hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off @ 4:00am!