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This is not just a book about running. It’s a book about cupcakes. It’s a book about suffering. 
It’s a book about gluttony, vanity, bliss, electrical storms, ranch dressing, and Godzilla. It’s a book about all the terrible and wonderful reasons we wake up each day and propel our bodies through rain, shine, heaven, and hell. 

If you didn’t know, I started running in March 2020 and completed Couch to 5k over the couple of months that followed. Inspired by my boyfriend and friends, I really wanted to start running and a few people recommended me the Couch to 5k program. I have since built up by myself to running 10k, and I now run a (roughly) 5k and 10k per week.

My entire life, I never got running. I never saw the appeal of it, and it wasn’t until 2020 when I finally wanted to start. And although I sometimes still fail to really see the appeal in running, I also love it. And this is exactly what this book is about. My boyfriend Mark has been a runner throughout his life, and handed me this book the other day as something to read at some point. Instead, I sat down and read it from start to finish, there and then. You may recognise the style of this book as similar to the widely known How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You, who is by the same one-man-band, Matthew Inman (aka, The Oatmeal).

This book is displayed in comic format mostly, with different sections and reflections on running and the reasons why we run. Drawing on Inman’s own history and experience, it was so honest, relatable and absolutely hilarious. As a runner myself, I absolutely loved this because it was just so relatable. Although I’m not quite there yet with long distance runs like marathons and half marathons, I could still relate to a lot of the humour. If you’re a runner yourself, I would really recommend picking a copy of this up!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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