Bart Yasso
While published back in 2009, it seemed fitting to have my first review be of a book I found deeply inspiring and written by an individual who, despite not having met, I really admire. For those unfamiliar, Bart Yasso is often regarded as the "Mayor of Running," an individual who has worked at Runner's World magazine for nearly 30 years. Since taking up running, he has participated in a wide variety of races all across the globe, and he has worked tirelessly to spread the joys of running to others.
"My Life on the Run" is divided into two sections, the first of which provides an autobiographical account of Yasso's running career by highlighting his experiences with the sport, each chapter chronicling a unique running exploit. While his adventures have taken him to all sorts of exotic locations around the world and reading about them is enough to make anyone envious, Yasso never comes across as pretentious in his delivery; in fact, he comes across as quite the opposite.
Yasso presents each anecdote candidly, as if sharing his stories with close friends, never over embellishing or attempting to brag. While reading the rundown of each account you get the sense that he is just a regular guy, rather than the legend he really is. Whether describing the majesty of running in the arctic, the awkwardness of delivering a keynote address in the nude, or the struggles of completing the Badwater Ultramarathon, Yasso's tone remains casual and sincere as each tale unfolds. It is clear in his writing that he is extremely grateful for the opportunities that running has provided him with, and his message of running as a form of rejuvenation is made all the more powerful as he weaves his struggles with addiction and Lyme disease into his stories.
Despite the incredibly strong start though, "My Life on the Run" begins to rapidly lose momentum towards the end of the first section. It is almost as if Yasso runs out of stories to share with his readers, and instead, shifts his focus to exploring a random assortment of topics to avoid publishing a book too short to fill its binding. The sincerity of the earlier chapters is still there as he describes notable runners who have inspired him and his indoctrination into the Running USA Hall of Champions, but even that fizzles out as he concludes the section with a report of "famous" costumed runners.
The second section of the book shifts drastically from the material covered in the first, and it serves as more of a reference guide than a narrative. In this section, Yasso provides training plans and descriptions of his favorite races. While most of the training information can easily be found online, a lot of stock can be put into Yasso's race recommendations given the fact that he has completed over 1,000 races. The suggested races are definitely interesting, and the list could easily be used by someone attempting to compile a running themed bucket list.
While "My Life on the Run" peters out towards the end, the stories alone make the book well worth purchasing. Each of Yasso's adventures are charismatic and earnest in their delivery, and their episodic nature make this book perfect for quick inspiration or for light pick up and put down reading.
I adore Yasso for his humility and authenticity - will definitely be picking this up. And as far as losing momentum, I find that happening a lot with books lately. Not sure what publishers can do - maybe not rush the process? Still sounds worth picking up! thanks!
ReplyDeleteBased on all that he has accomplished and everything I've heard about how incredibly nice he is in person, Yasso is definitely an awesome guy. His book is absolutely worth reading!
ReplyDeleteI guess the suffering in quality that sometimes occurs is just an unfortunate reality of the industry; whether it's publishing or music, we'd probably all be better off if there was less interference with the final product.
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