Endurance running : a socio-cultural examination /

The goal of this collection is to describe the enculturation of endurance running into modern society. Although the essays reference many topics one would expect to see in a book on endurance running--famous coaches and runners, minorities in running, barefoot running, international athletes, the Olympics, and Christopher McDougall's Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (2009)--the book falls short. The topic is extremely timely and interesting, but the meat, depth, and organization of the book are not logical, and there is not enough new material to make it an original compilation of sociological research. The organization is random, the chapter on Spartan racing is distracting, and the index is limited. The foundational concepts are not presented until chapter 4. Though the ultimate distance race, the ultra-marathon, and ultra-running are presented with expertise, in the end the volume just scrapes the surface of this interesting and vibrant topic. Too bad. Summing Up: Not recommended. --Elly S Lensch, Mayo Clinic Health System - Decorah at Winneshiek Medical Center