Run the World: My 3,500-Mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the Globe
Becky Wade, 2016
HarperCollins
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062416438
Summary
From elite marathoner and Olympic hopeful Becky Wade comes the story of her year-long exploration of diverse global running communities from England to Ethiopia—9 countries, 72 host families, and over 3,500 miles of running—investigating unique cultural approaches to the sport and revealing the secrets to the success of runners all over the world.
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 twelve 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.. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Becky Wade is a professional long-distance runner who competes for Asics. A native of Dallas, Texas and 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 2013 California International Marathon. One of four Wade twins, she currently trains in Houston, Texas under coaches Jim Bevan and Joe Vigil. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
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
Library Journal
Every so often a book comes along that becomes a cult classic for competitive runners but also has appeal to a broader audience. Once a Runner, Born to Run, and Running with the Buffaloes were all such books, and this terrific debut is sure to join their ranks.
Booklist
Discussion Questions
The questions below were written by our Associate, Jennifer Johnson, MA, MLIS, Reference Librarian, Springdale (Arkansas) Public Library. Thanks, as always, Jennifer.
1. What observations did Wade make in Run the World? Do you think she enjoyed each country she visited? Which ones did she find more favorable than others?
2. How does Wade’s portrayal of running compare to what you knew before you read the book? Did this book inspire you? How so?
3. Wade writes about her travels through running in different cultures. What major points does she mention as she does this? Are there common themes throughout the book?
4. Which chapters or countries did you enjoy the most? Which ones did you enjoy the least?
5. According to Wade, she wanted to "…question the practices I had assumed were best, test how much of myself I would invest when the leash came off, and ultimately, find a balance between freedom and structure" (6). Do you think the author was successful in finding those answers?
6. After reading Run the World, did your perspective and opinions of the Olympics and track and field change?
7. What did you think of Wade’s writing style? Do you think, considering her content, she wrote in a form that best suited the content?
8. Do you believe that she has the experience and knowledge to critique running styles and cultural approaches to running in other countries? If so, why?
9. Do you think Wade overreaches in her attempts to cover running styles and forms, traveling 3,500 miles, and food? Or was it successful for you? How so?
10. The author explains that she’d "accepted that I’d probably never fully grasp Banchi’s reasoning about Derartu and the Devil — which I later learned was a blend of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and religious superstition, both foreign to my Catholic upbringing. But I was committed to trying, as I remained open-minded to other cultural beliefs and practices… I was searching for meaning in the universal phenomenon of running…" (4). Do you think this is an accurate statement of what she was trying to accomplish? Was she successful?
(Questions submitted to LitLovers by Jennifer Johnson, M.A., M.L.I.S., Reference Librarian, Springdale Public Library. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)