She Runs by the Seashore

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I don’t remember exactly when I started following Jen A. Miller on Twitter, but ever since then, I have enjoyed reading her tweets and articles about running.

I was amazed how as a freelancer she was able to write for outlets like Runner’s World and The New York Times, and when I saw she was writing a book, I was excited to read it. It didn’t disappoint.

“Running: A Love Story” follows Miller’s own journey through running, from a lap in the neighborhood and her first 5K to marathons. It’s set up in chronological order, but it also follows one race throughout (you’ll understand what I mean if you read the book), and it flows well. The way she writes really kept me interested.

She weaves her relationships into telling the stories of the races and training, and the “brutally honest” description on the back of the book seems accurate. She goes more into detail than I’d want to about my life in a book, but going into that detail helps explain what was behind some of her determination.

Despite having little free time between a full-time job, teaching, running and life, I went through this book quickly because I kept wanting to read it.

While I have read a handful of other running books, it was nice to read one that was written by a person who seemed real. While she’s certainly not slow, she also isn’t an elite runner — an elite who runs 5- or 6-minute miles on a long run — or even a short run — is tough to relate to. Miller’s times are pretty close to some of my PRs (she’s faster), and we even use these same long-distance race fuel — Shot Bloks.

Miller wrote about her relationships that pushed her in her running, and she also wrote about how articles she was writing about her own running had an impact. I use this blog in the same way sometimes — if I tell my readers I’m going to do something (like the healthy eating challenge I did in January) it helps keep me accountable, even though I don’t always meet my goals.

I’d recommend reading this book; you may find yourself going through it as quickly as I did.

I’m starting up this Runner Reads series in my blog after failing to keep up with a book per month in my A Running Book Per Month series. My next book is going to be a read from a local runner “Four Seconds From Boston” by Vince Pavic.

Find “Running: A Love Story” here. 

Like She Runs by the Seashore on Facebook here.