While I usually read books on climbing mountains instead of running marathons around them, this book read like a good mountaineering book on a new event and I learned a lot about the event and the sport. Here is my review of a book on the trail running race around Mount Blanc.
Title/Author:
“The Race That Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB” by Doug Mayer
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
While trail running is not a new sport, it has grown in popularity during the first two decades of the 20th century. This book on the sport’s most popular event, an ultra marathon around Mount Blanc – Ultra Trail du Mount Blanc (UTMB) - that covers ground in Italy, Switzerland and France and ends in the latter, is probably the best illustration of that popularity.
Author Doug Mayer, who has run in the UTMB himself, gives the reader an extensive look at the course, the people who took the concept of the event and made it reality and of course the runners themselves. This includes a wide swath of people of various ethnicities and backgrounds and just the stories of these people would make for excellent reading.
However, for one to truly enjoy the book and appreciate all that goes into putting on the event, be sure to read the entire thing. Just like when reading books about team sports such as American football or baseball, there is extensive work done to provide the reader information on the training and mindset of the athletes, the costs involved to both participants and organizers, sponsorships and other business aspects and more. This is the reason why I give the book such high marks – every possible topic about the race is covered in excellent detail by Mayer. If you are at all curious about trail running, then this book is for you.
I wish to thank Helvetiq for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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