Ed Ayres
Among endurance runners, there are thoseÂ who have run very long distances, and thenÂ there are those who have run very long distancesÂ for a very long time. Ed Ayres exemplifies the latter; having run in over 600 races acrossÂ fifty-five years, he is arguably the most experiencedÂ American distance runner still competingÂ today. A book no one else could have written, ,The Longest Race, is his urgent exploration of theÂ connection between individual endurance andÂ a sustainable society.,The Longest Race, begins at the starting lineÂ of the 2001 JFK 50 Mileâ€”the nationâ€™s oldestÂ and largest ultramarathon and, like other suchÂ races, an epic test of human limits and aspiration.Â At age sixty, his sights set on breaking theÂ age-division record, Ayres embarks on a courseÂ over the rocky ridge of the Appalachian Trail,Â along the headwind-buffeted towpath of theÂ Potomac River, and past momentous Civil WarÂ sites such as Harpers Ferry and Antietam.,But even as Ayres focuses on concerns familiarÂ to every endurance runnerâ€”starting strongÂ and setting the right pace, the art of breathing,Â overcoming fatigue, mindfulness for the courseÂ aheadâ€”he finds himself as preoccupied withÂ the future of our planet as with the finish line ofÂ this 50-mile race.,A veteran journalist and environmentalÂ editor who harbors deep anxiety about our longtermÂ prospects, Ayres helps us to understandÂ how the skills and mindset necessary to completeÂ an ultramarathon are also essential for grapplingÂ anew with the imperative to ,endure,â€”not only asÂ individuals, but as a societyâ€”and not just for 50Â miles, but in the longest race we are all calledÂ upon to run.
Nonfiction,Audiobook,Sports,Sports,Sports,Fitness,Health,Autobiography,Memoir,Science,Biography,Adventure,Environment,Nature
The Longest Race: A Lifelong Runner, an Iconic Ultramarathon, and the Case for Human Endurance