Running With Joy--A Book Review

   Ryan Hall gets no slack. If you don't believe me, go to the website, letsrun.com. He has accomplished more in his short tenure as a professional runner than most in their entire running careers. And he has done all of this, in the midst of the apex of African distance running domination. He has also done this in the midst of constant anger from the running community. It seems he can do no right. I understand this, but I also don't know where it comes from, but then again, I do. Running is about pain. Running is about bleeding through your socks and shoes in order to win a race. It is about winning by thousandth of a second because you wanted it most. It is about throwing up because you gave everything you had including your bile. America wants another Pre. They don't want excuses. They want blood covered shoes and a collapsed runner, even if it is a fourth place finish, they will still have evidence that the runner almost died in order to win. They thought Ryan would be that for them, but then he was not Pre and they threw him away. Running is not all of this for Ryan Hall. This really gets to the "real" running community. As an example of this, look at the finish of the 2010 Boston Marathon. In the last tenth of a mile, Ryan could have maybe gone for a third place finish, but instead got caught up in the euphoria of the moment and instead ran the final meters with his arms stretched wide-open and a big smile on his face as he finished in 2:08; an American record for the historic race. As he finished, the American running community went ballistic.

    They ignored the fact that he had just run faster than any American ever has on one of the hardest marathon courses in the world. He had not, in their minds, gone for the "win". This was unacceptable to them and this seemed to seal the deal for them. Hall wanted to seek something besides what running was all about and would not live up their potential for him. He was supposed to the Last Great White Hope for American Running. He had failed them and they let their anger out about once a week. They are busy now frantically looking for his replacement; especially now that he has left the Mammoth Track Club and is seeking the advice of others, but mainly God for how he should train and race. He has become a fool and is officially through. They have written him off. However, what I think really bothers them is that he seems to completely ignore all of this. That is what this book is all about.

   In, Running With Joy, Hall recounts his build up to the 2010 Boston Marathon, but also gives a lot of running advice about a multitude of items. He begins with how he got involved in running and the varied places that it has led him. He tells of the many ups and downs involved with being an elite runner. He tells of his struggles and his triumphs. He tells of his goals, visions, and downfalls. He does all these things within one prism though and this is the prism of his relationship with Christ. To Hall, running is nothing without it being a place to worship, correspond with, commune with, interact with, find pleasure in, and represent Christ. To remove Christ from Hall's running would be to remove his epicenter.

  Hall began his venture into running with a vision as a young boy, he was traveling to an away, basketball game and saw a lake (Big Bear Lake) and felt that he needed to run around the lake. He told his father and they took a run around the lake. It took him a long time. It was a 15 mile run. After the run, his father told him two things and he has been chasing those two things for his whole life. His father told him that he could compete with the best runners in the world and that he could use his God-given abilities to help others. I feel it is important to know of this vision in order to understand why Hall runs. And as a follower of running, you cannot ignore him. He holds the American record for the half marathon and is the fastest, natural-born American marathoner to ever live.

 I liked this book for three main reasons and here they are:

1) I found it both interesting and refreshing to know that elite runners have bad workouts, nagging injuries, more off days than on days, struggle to even run the length of certain runs, and finish races wondering how they could do so poorly. As a middle of the pack recreational runner, it is easy to get discouraged and begin wondering often why you have chosen such a foolish hobby. It is easy to forget why you run. In this book, Hall reminds the reader why he began running and this helps you remind yourself why you began running. It was for joy and the freedom you get from it. It was not for a personal best or an award.

2) Hall's father was his high school cross country coach and told him and his high school teammates something that registered deeply with me. It was a quote from the Disney movie "Cool Runnings" . I actually feel a little silly being affected by a quote from a Disney movie. The coach in the movie tells the very serious sled driver that if he isn't enough without the medal, then he won't be enough when he gets it. This is a paraphrase of course, but you get the drift. I will remind myself and my runners of this often. It is too easy too feel valuable when you are winning or setting one goal after another, but it is quite another to feel you are enough when you are losing. And to Hall, being enough can only be found in one place and that is to constantly remind yourself that you are a chosen son or daughter of God. He has saved you, redeemed you, and is coming back to get you. That is all there is and all there ever needs to be. God is enough. You need nothing else.

3) I liked reading about his workouts. They were very impressive and crazy at the same time. I liked seeing them for one main reason and that was that it is easy to make yourself push to the brink on every workout because you know that hard work pays off instead of letting your body rest. Hall tells you that he often runs his easy days at 2-3 minutes slower each mile than when he is going through hard workouts. This is something very hard to let myself and my runners understand. I always want to push hard in hopes of becoming better and my runners are constantly nagging me for harder and harder workouts in hopes of becoming stronger and I have to give them an easy one instead so they stay healthy and hungry. They are always so surprised when they win or do well because as one of my runners said last week, "Coach, we really need to work harder. We only have like one or two hard workouts a week." And I asked him if we weren't winning and if he wasn't doing well. And he told me that we were undefeated and that he was running better than he ever has. And this left him guessing as he took off on his very easy warm up lap. This is very hard to understand. And it is easier to make someone else follow than yourself. I give my runners much more grace than I give myself. We cannot, as Hall says, "go to the well", every workout or there will be nothing left when it is time to do so. This is one of the most valuable pieces of information found in this book.

  Read this book if you like running, hate running, or need inspiration. Read this book if you are a Hall supporter, a Hall hater, or don't even know who he is. The lessons he writes about can be used in a variety of places in every one's life.

Hope I didn't bore you and as the guy from Reading Rainbow would say, "Don't take my word for it....

David