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Honored with the Margaret Mead Award and longlisted for both the 2021 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award and the 2021 RSL Ondaatje Prize, this empowering book has the potential to revolutionize your running regimen. Runner’s World proclaims it ‘could transform your running forever.’
Penned by an anthropologist and a seasoned 2:20 marathon runner who trained with the Ethiopians, this work is an exploration into the Ethiopian running culture. This book has been praised as ‘inspiring’ by The Guardian, ‘excellent’ by Runner’s World, ‘fascinating’ by Publishers Weekly, and ‘brilliant’ by Ed Vaizey.
Haile Gebrselassie, a celebrated long-distance runner, endorses it stating, ‘Through reading this book, you will come to understand that the heart and soul of running are to be found in Ethiopia.’ Other accolades include ‘engaging, warm, and humane – a delight’ from TLS and ‘full of wonderful insights and lessons from a world where the ability to run is viewed as something almost mysterious and magical’ from Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans.
The narrative immerses you in Ethiopia – a land where energy is believed to be controlled by celestial beings, where witchdoctors are consulted to acquire another runner’s power, and where the air of Mount Entoto is said to transform you into a 2:08 marathon runner. It is a place where dreams are alive and cherished.
The book seeks to answer intriguing questions like: Why do Ethiopian runners rise at 3am to run up and down a hill? What motivates them to train on steep, rocky terrain, amidst hyenas? And why do Ethiopian men hold six of the top ten fastest marathon times ever?
Author Michael Crawley spent fifteen months in Ethiopia, training alongside runners at all levels, from night watchmen hoping to change their lives