This New Yorker cartoon says it all.
In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s still January. (We’re pretty sure you’ve noticed.) Mornings remain dark and chilly, and motivation can be as difficult to find as your favorite winter running gloves that—once again!!—have mysteriously disappeared.
Riding the wave of Sarah and Ellison’s Winter Reading podcast episiode, we got to thinking: What are the best books about endurance and sports that will help you locate that motivation? What are the must-reads to get you fired up, inspired, and remind you of the why behind your goals?
We posed the questions to some of the staff at AMR, and here are their suggestions.
Elizabeth Waterstraat: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. I’ve recommended this book so many times, and each time I hear back how Easter’s book inspired action and change in the reader’s life. I love it because it’s an intriguing blend of research and personal adventure exploring what it means to step outside of one’s comfort zone. It tells the story of the Easter’s experience to get back to the basics of rugged life in the remote Alaskan backcountry. Best of all, Easter explains why humans need discomfort and challenge (sound familiar to running?) in the pursuit of health and happiness.
Adrienne Martini: I am obsessed with solo female adventurers, from the Victorian-era Isabella Bird to the modern day Blair Braverman, which is why Audrey Sutherland’s Paddling North: A Solo Adventure Along the Inside Passage is on my nightstand. In 1980, Sutherland paddled the 850 miles from Ketchikan to Skagway in an inflatable kayak. She was 60 years old at the time and started the trip when she did because she realized she wasn’t going to get any younger, which is a pull I feel a little bit more every day. “Go simple, go solo, go now,” she wrote. And while I can’t go now, I can get out there vicariously through her work.
Sarah Bowen Shea: I went on a soccer spree last fall and listened to two well-crafted, highly engaging memoirs by stars of the women’s National soccer team: One Life by Megan Rapinoe and Forward by Abby Wambach. Both are read by the author-player, which was an added bonus. The women provide an up-close look at what drove them to such a high level of excellence and what fueled their drive to speak out on issues that matter to them.
Cathy Engstrom: I found Sidelined by Julie DiCaro in the “staff picks” section at my local library. As a sports nut, I was drawn to the journey of women breaking the glass ceiling in sports journalism, as well as the continued battle against misogyny at every level—from treatement of athletes to the push for women’s sports coverage to get equal billing. It’s a heavy topic, but every chapter highlights a different aspect of the rich history of women perservering through unbelievable odds; it inspires me to keep pushing myself and not waste any opportunites that were denied to the women who came before me.
Dimity McDowell: Find A Way by Diana Nyad. I love a good tale of overcoming the odds, so Diana’s first-hand account of what it took to succeed on her fifth attempt (at age 64) to swim from Cuba to Florida is totally my jam. She spares no detail when it comes to both preparing for and completing the swim; it’s an incredibly intricate dance of preparation, weather, teamwork, hazard mitigation (hello shark divers!), and sheer will. At 320 pages, it’s a marathon read—but by the end, I intimately sensed the fulfillment Diana did when she stepped on shore at Key West.
Jennifer Harrison: My all-time mental toughness book is Tim Grover’s Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable. Tim was Michael Jordan’s private coach for his run with the Bulls, and Tim does an amazing job of explaining how to achieve total physical and mental dominance in any aspect of your life. I thought it was riveting and could not put it down.
I also love In the Water They Can’t See You Cry by Amanda Beard. This is an excellent book on mental health and the pressure to perform and be great from an early age in the sport of swimming. It is relatable in any sport or endeavor we take on in life. Amanda is honest, and it is a heartwarming book about coming of age as an Olympic athlete.
Swimming to Antarctica and Swimming in the Sink by Lynne Cox; I second Dimity’s rec for Diana Nyad’s Find a Way; and I found inspiration and humor in A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valerio
I could add a whole slew of books here but two recent reads by two female athletes that have inspired me both in my pursuit of physical and emotional/mental strength include: Lindsey Vonn’s new memoir Rise and Brave Enough by Jessie Diggins.
Deena Kastor’s – – Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory
Diane, this is one of our favorites, as well!
This is the best!
Running Home, by Katie Arnold and Out and Back by Hillary Allen. Amazing women, first; strong athletes.
Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents
by Cami Ostman
Because of AMR, I finally read Running with Sherman in 2021. I continue to recommend this book that provides us insight into the importance of animals in our lives as well as the entertaining journey to get Sherman to a starting line.