- Highly recommended, even for non-runners. Gripping book about Tarahumara Indians and love of running.
- Amazon.com review here.
- "Vigil could smell the apocalypse coming, and he’d tried hard to warn his runners. “There are two goddesses in your heart,” he told them. “The Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth. Everyone thinks they need to get wealth first, and wisdom will come. So they concern themselves with chasing money. But they have it backwards. You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, give her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you.” Ask nothing from your running, in other words, and you’ll get more than you ever imagined. "
My Rating : 3/5
11 comments:
You can’t pay someone to run with such infectious joy. You can’t bully them into it, either, which Zatopek would unfortunately have to prove. When the Red Army marched into Prague in 1968 to crush the pro-democracy movement, Zatopek was given a choice: he could get on board with the Soviets and serve as a sports ambassador, or he could spend the rest of his life cleaning toilets in a uranium mine. Zatopek chose the toilets. And just like that, one of the most beloved athletes in the world disappeared.
At the same time, coincidentally, his rival for the title of world’s greatest distance runner was also taking a beating. Ron Clarke, a phenomenally talented Australian with Johnny Depp’s dark, dreamy beauty, was exactly the kind of guy that Zatopek, by all rights, should hate. While Zatopek had to teach himself to run in the snow at night after sentry duty, the Australian pretty boy was enjoying sunny morning jogs along the beaches of Mornington Peninsula and expert coaching. Everything Zatopek could wish for, Clarke had to spare: Freedom. Money. Elegance. Hair.
Ron Clarke was a star—but still a loser in the eyes of his nation. Despite breaking nineteen records in every distance from the half-mile to six miles, “the bloke who choked” never managed to win the big ones. In the summer of ’68, he blew his final chance: in the 10,000- meter finals at the Mexico City Games, Clarke was knocked out by altitude sickness. Anticipating a barrage of abuse back home, Clarke delayed his return by stopping off in Prague to pay a courtesy call to the bloke who never lost. Toward the end of their visit, Clarke glimpsed Zatopek sneaking something into his suitcase.
“I thought I was smuggling some message to the outside world for him, so I did not dare to open the parcel until the plane was well away,” Clarke would say. Zatopek sent him off with a strong embrace. “Because you deserved it,” he said, which Clarke found cute and very touching; the old master had far worse problems of his own to deal with, but was still playful enough to grant a victory-stand hug to the young punk who’d missed his chance to mount one.
Only later would he discover that Zatopek wasn’t talking about the hug at all: in his suitcase, Clarke found Zatopek’s 1952 Olympic 10,000- meters gold medal. For Zatopek to give it to the man who’d replaced his name in the record books was extraordinarily noble; to give it away at precisely the moment in his life when he was losing everything else was an act of almost unimaginable compassion.
“His enthusiasm, his friendliness, his love of life, shone through every movement,” an overcome Ron Clarke said later. “There is not, and never was, a greater man than Emil Zatopek.”
Man....these are good stuff. Gota get my hands on this book.
I hope I have not misled you. This is not a book about Emil Zatopek. Its about Tarahumara Indians and ultra marathon racing.
The above passage is from the book but is not really what the book is all about. I posted it here because I really liked it.
I ran last saturday. My wife gave me a pair of New Balance running shoes as xmas gift , after my old china brand pair finally gave way after more than 5 years of service. I ran the entire Pasir Ris Park, from one end to the other and back. I've had knee injuries in the past, from years of brutal abuse in the soccer fields thus before the run I was apprehensive. I have mixed feelings about running. It hurts my knees. But I also enjoy it , at times, when ,as silly as it sounds, the 'running' picks you and sweeps you into an endless flow and you feel joy and you feel like you can run forever and finally you stop when you are completely and utterly satisfied.
Yup. I know the feeling well. Unfortunately , I think I will never be able to run again due to a serious slipped disc and back/nerve problem.
The books sounds really good, thanks for posting abt it, have to check it out.
Oh dear, your back problem sounds really bad... :(
Is this from an old injury? Did you had to have surgery?
My own relapse six months ago of my old back problem brought me down for a while, but luckily i have been recovering quite well since.
Having said that, I have been living with my back problem for abt ten years now, and in a way, the 'healing/recovery' process never stopped, in that I had to orientate my life/movement/activities/exercise around it.
Initially after it first struck, the prognosis was pretty bad and I thot I would never run/play sports again. But after a long slow healing process (wearing a metal brace for the first year,lying down flat for 30mins after every 3 hrs of sitting/standing, keeping religously to the initial physiotherapy exercises, using my own strengthening/martial exercises, finally able to start swimming in the second year, etc), I gradually recovered to a point in the fourth or fifth year where I could even go back to playing tennis again (one of the main culprits of the injury in the first place!).
And in the years after (up till my relapse six months ago anyway), by taking the necessary care (maintaining an even back/abdominal conditioning, stretching, loosening etc), I was almost back-pain free and exercising regularly.
But major changes/decisions were made to accomodate my back problem when exercising:
-For example, to avoid repetitive strain/overloading, I avoid all high-impact cardio exercises like running and instead take long (sometimes up to 50km! :P ) walks interspersed with short-distance sprints. For a quick cardio workout on days I can't afford to amble around the island for half the day, climbing stairs at a steady even pace works the heart pretty well (Say 5 times of a 25-storey point block climb at <4minutes per set. And you get a nice view for motivation);
-Giving up Mike Mentzer's Heavy-Duty style of heavy 1 rep-max weight-lifting techniques to bench-press 3 times your bodyweight, in favour of bodyweight calisthenics exercises, and isometric exercises, negatives, statics...(ie. give up the bodybuilder look for the gymnast look);
-Giving up golf and other back-strain prone sports to limit myself to only tennis once a week;
-A refocus back to childhood martial arts training, esp those on the soft internal arts which are especially rehabilitative for an injured back. Becoming totally aware how every movement affects my back and body, not just in sports but in everyday life -- sitting, standing, walking...my injury probably enhanced my appreciation and understanding of my martial artforms.
[In fact, before my embarrassing and ignominious relapse six months ago, I actually managed to regain and maintain a level of fitness, muscle strength and endurance, comparable and even exceeding that of my younger self from before I was struck down by the injury ten years ago]
Sorry for going on, but what I mean to say is:
While I don't know the nature and extent of your injury, don't lose heart. By being very patient in the initial years not to aggravate the injury, and proper conditioning and exercise subsequently, you can regain a fair amount of your previous fitness, it just takes time.
[In the initial years after my injury, I thot I would never be able to exercise or play sports again;
I walked/hobbled around with pain, and after finally being able to drive again, I dreaded making sharp turns which would always produce a blinding stabbing pain. Worst thing was my injury happened in the first few months of my first job after graduation; apart from having to be on medical leave for the longest time, when I returned to work I had to explain to my boss that I needed to lie down flat for 30mins after every 3 hrs of sitting at my desk...]
Apologies again for going on; didn't realise your back condition is so bad and just wanted to share. Sorry if the above is not relevant or helpful.
Don
Don
Much appreciate your sharing. For me, its a new experience and as such, every time my condition changes and a new pain shows itself, I am at a loss and left wondering if the new symptom is the one that finally drives me to surgery.
Actually from your description of what you went thru, my condition is nowhere as bad as yours. I have had this slipped disc for 8 months now. The sharp pain thing only lasted for about 2 months in the beginning. Regular physiotherapy (2nd one now, 1st one didn't improve things) has helped a lot. My daily routine now includes 30 mins of stretching and core strengthening, 20 mins of inversion table (=traction), and 30 mins of swimming.
My problem now is that improvement in my condition has plateaued for the last 2 months already. I am stuck in a state in which I am in relatively pain free condition much of the time, but I do get this very sharp sciatic pain that literally cripples me in the toes. This comes on (1) after walking for about 15-20 minutes (2) prevents me from wearing shoes of any kind as it is triggered when my toes are clenched together. As a result of these 2 conditions, my social life (and travel) is severely restricted. The pain when triggered is a 8/9 on a 1-10 scale of pain level
The early progress with physiotherapy, and the lack of improvement thereafter, is what makes me fear that I shall never be able to run again. However, my doctor does not think that surgery is a recommended option now for physical reasons (eg no sign of nerves dying). So, stuck in no man's land, neither here nor there for now.
Let me know if you have any thoughts on this.
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