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Summary
Summary
Fresh off a successful collegiate running career--with multiple NCAA All-American honors and two Olympic Trials qualifying marks to her name--Becky Wade was no stranger to international competition. But after years spent safely sticking to the training methods she knew, Becky was curious about how her counterparts in other countries approached the sport to which she'd dedicated over half of her life. So in 2012, as a recipient of the Watson Fellowship, she packed four pairs of running shoes, cleared her schedule for the year, and took off on a journey to infiltrate diverse running communities around the world. What she encountered far exceeded her expectations and changed her outlook into the sport she loved.
Over the next 12 months--visiting 9 countries with unique and storied running histories, logging over 3,500 miles running over trails, tracks, sidewalks, and dirt roads--Becky explored the varied approaches of runners across the globe. Whether riding shotgun around the streets of London with Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt, climbing for an hour at daybreak to the top of Ethiopia's Mount Entoto just to start her daily run, or getting lost jogging through the bustling streets of Tokyo, Becky's unexpected adventures, keen insights, and landscape descriptions take the reader into the heartbeat of distance running around the world.
Upon her return to the United States, she incorporated elements of the training styles she'd sampled into her own program, and her competitive career skyrocketed. When she made her marathon debut in 2013, winning the race in a blazing 2:30, she became the third-fastest woman marathoner under the age of 25 in U.S. history, qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials and landing a professional sponsorship from Asics.
From the feel-based approach to running that she learned from the Kenyans, to the grueling uphill workouts she adopted from the Swiss, to the injury-recovery methods she learned from the Japanese, Becky shares the secrets to success from runners and coaches around the world. The story of one athlete's fascinating journey, Run the World is also a call to change the way we approach the world's most natural and inclusive sport.
Author Notes
Becky Wade is a professional long-distance runner who competes for Asics. A graduate of Rice University, she is a U.S. Junior National Champion, a four-time All-American, and the winner of her debut marathon-the California International Marathon. She currently trains in Houston, Texas, under her coach, Jim Bevan, and her mentor, Dr. Joe Vigil.
Reviews (2)
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In 2012, fresh out of Rice University with an impressive résumé that included NCAA All-American, Olympic Trials qualifier, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which challenges students to create their own path and stay out of the U.S. for one year, Wade packed a bag that included only four pairs of running shoes and spent her year traveling to nine countries and putting in 3,500 training miles. In this engagingly written, autobiographical account of her year abroad, Wade gains invaluable experience as a student of the sport from world-class runners and coaches from England, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Japan, and even Scandinavia. She learns about food and fellowship while navigating language barriers and foreign terrain with maturity and openness that makes for a refreshing read. While cultures, diet, and training regimens may vary, she discovers hard work and dedication are still keys to athletic success. Every so often a book comes along that becomes a cult classic for competitive runners but also has appeal to a broader audience. John L. Parker's Once a Runner (1978), Christopher McDougall's Born to Run (2009), and Chris Lear's Running with the Buffaloes (2000) were all such books, and this terrific debut is sure to join their ranks.--Barrera, Brenda Copyright 2016 Booklist
Library Journal Review
A National Collegiate Athletic Association All-American at Rice University, debut author Wade added Watson Fellowship recipient to her list of accomplishments in 2012 and set off for a year of travel, community, and long-distance running with athletes from around the globe. Wade's fearless enthusiasm for the terrain and training methods she encounters in 22 countries reveals the tenacity behind her athletic success. Readers become acquainted with each destination as the author does: through the locals' favorite running routes and foods. Paired with a friendly, personal tone, this approach to the travel narrative genre will be appreciated by running enthusiasts and readers interested in Olympic track and field history. Beginning in London, on the sidelines of the 2012 Olympics, Wade continues to share Olympic history about the locations and athletes in each country she visits. After a year collecting training tips, recovery techniques, recipes, and friends, Wade enters and wins her marathon debut and a qualifying time for the 2016 Olympic trials. VERDICT Wade's endearing and inspiring story will appeal to readers looking for an insider's view of the determination and spirit shared by Olympians (and casual runners) throughout the world.-Meagan -Storey, Virginia Beach © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| 1 Trading the Start Line for the Sideline | p. 13 |
| England | |
| 399 miles | |
| 2 Kitting Up and Forging Ahead | p. 49 |
| Greater England and Ireland | |
| 283 miles | |
| 3 Flying High in a Mountain Running Mecca | p. 83 |
| Switzerland | |
| 342 miles | |
| 4 Following the Lead of the Yaya Girls | p. 115 |
| Ethiopia | |
| 552 miles | |
| 5 Striking a Balance and Tackling the Track | p. 153 |
| Australia and New Zealand | |
| 1,058 miles | |
| 6 Pounding Pavement, Rethinking Recovery | p. 185 |
| Japan | |
| 297 miles | |
| 7 Speeding Swedes and Flying Finns | p. 215 |
| Sweden and Finland | |
| 573 miles | |
| Conclusion | p. 245 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 259 |
| Pre-Race Playlist | p. 265 |
| Bibliography | p. 267 |