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The Rise of the Ultra Runners

A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance

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The Rise of the Ultra Runners

Written by: Adharanand Finn
Narrated by: Adharanand Finn
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About this listen

Marathons are no longer impressive.

Pain is to be relished, not avoided.

Hallucinations are perfectly normal.

Ultra running defies conventional logic. Yet this most brutal and challenging sport is now one of the fastest growing in the world. But is it an antidote to modern life or a symptom of a modern illness?

Adharanand Finn travelled to the heart of the sport to find out - and to see if could become an ultra runner himself. His journey took him from the deserts of Oman to the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies, and from a 24-hour track race in Tooting to his ultimate goal, the 105-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

The Rise of the Ultra Runners is the electrifying, inspirational account of what he learned along the way. Through encounters with the sport's many colourful characters and his experiences of its soaring highs and crushing lows, Finn offers an unforgettable insight into what can be found at the boundaries of human endeavour.

©2019 Adharanand Finn (P)2019 Faber Audio Extreme Sports Running & Jogging Sports Sports Psychology
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If you are interested in ultra running or are an ultra runner, I highly recommend the listen.

Epic journey

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It’s probably very difficult to make a story about ultrarunning compelling. I don’t envy the author’s task. But he did as fine a job as I can imagine without aggrandizing and (I expect) making things up. It’s a good book, but ultrarunning is slow and by definition mildly uninteresting as a feat. The accomplishments are interesting, the act not so much. As someone who previously and until only recently hated running because of its boredom, I came to realize that the saving grace of long runs is the amazing feeling one achieves during that long run — a state where one’s mind begins to let go of the problems of this world. It’s something I can’t achieve to quite the same extent on a bicycle. I believe the author captured a lot of this, though my runs are currently quite short by comparison and I can only imagine what it must feel like to run very long distances. The author did his best to describe the good and the bad that comes with it, and I am interested in trying my hand at much longer runs now. I learned a lot through the stories, and feel slightly more prepared, though this book is by no means a manual. Very good given the height of the task.

A tall order succeeded

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I’m new to the world of ultra running and absolutely loved it. Takes you along the author’s journey of learning and discovering the sport. Fantastic storytelling and gets me excited to go out and run!

Must read for any runner

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A great story; lots of interviews with some of the best runners and a great insight into ultras that is easily relatable for average runners

Great listen

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so perfectly written and such a journey through each chapter. fantastic book. I'm a runner but not ultra and probably never but i listened on a few of my long runs and got me happily through them. the performance wasn't the best and could have been much better but i appreciate the author reading his own book!

fantastic journey

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