Running on Empty Review & Giveaway!

When I have some downtime, things I read usually fit into a few general categories:

• The back of the shampoo bottle or whatever else is within reaching distance of the toilet (because I forgot my phone)
• Blogs on my phone
• The free local paper that is mysteriously delivered to my neighbor’s driveway my driveway every Thursday and Friday
• Books about running, running training, or other people who have done crazy things while running

When Marshall Ulrich’s publicist said that she was coordinating a virtual book tour for Marshall’s new book Running on Empty I was all in. If you’ve never heard of him, Marshall is an extreme ultra marathoner who has not only completed 122 ultra marathons averaging over 100 miles each but also completed a 586-mile 'Badwater Quad,' covering the 135 mile death valley Badwater course FOUR times (twice up and back). Oh, and did I mention that he is 60 years old? Yeah, he’s hard core. So hard core that he had his toenails removed in order to avoid chronic problems he experienced due to the extreme number of miles he was racing and training. Crazy.Hard.Core.

In his book, “Running on Empty” Marshall chronicles his 3000 mile journey across the US – from California to New York – while he was 57 years old! Do you want to know what I plan on doing when I am 57 years old? I’ll tell you, absolutely nothing. But I digress….. As I read the book, I was honestly surprised at how much of a page turner it was. When I woke up in the morning, it was one of the first things that I thought about doing.

In front of my wife’s massive collection of kids books, getting my read on

In her robe, because that is how I roll on the weekends

Sitting in my easy chair, all that I needed was a pipe

Honestly, I half expected the book to be a day by day running log about what he was feeling (tired), where he ran (east), and what he saw (roadkill). Instead, what I read was almost a memoir on his life where he dives into failed marriages, where he gets is immeasurable drive, and why he does some of the amazing things he does. It was very interesting to read the many back stories on the planning that is required, the politics of pulling off such feats, and how he leaned on the ones that he truly loved.

Specifically, I loved how he spoke of the trials and tribulations of his crew. While always supportive, I found it interesting how he didn’t always feel like listening to them – but knew deep down that it was the right thing to do. I think that we all feel that way on occasion – I know that I certainly do. I sometimes need to be told something three or four times before it finally “sinks in”. It was really good to hear that I wasn’t the only one.

Finally, possibly one of the best parts was that Marshall completely understood his audience and provided all of the dirty details of his 3000 mile run (in appendix format). How many shoes, injuries, calories, etc. For a numbers guy like me, it was the icing on the cake.

Since you’ve read this far down and had your eyes burned by that picture of me in the robe, the publisher has made available a second copy to give away to one of YOU! No Marshall Ulrich type feats here, just 5 seconds of your time! Just follow my blog and leave me a comment saying that you do.

Received the book for free (and so can you! Why are you reading this down here?? enter enter enter!!), but wasn't asked for a positive review