Running

A Love Story

By: Jen A. Miller

Narrated by: Randye Kaye

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

As the 2008 recession hit, Jen quickly found herself with a newly purchased home, a fading freelance business, and an alcoholic boyfriend. To avoid slipping into an even deeper depression, she took to the streets. What started as a silly assignment (running and reporting on a 5k) soon became an obsession (running 50+ miles a week training for marathons). Running gave Jen focus, discipline, and a way to block out negativity; it gave her the confidence that her relationships with men never had; it gave her hope and a way forward. Over the course of a few short years and hundreds of miles, Jen fell in love with running, and in doing so found a way to fall out of love with the wrong kind of men and back in love with herself.

Running: A Love Story chronicles Jen's inspiring transformation. Often witty and always thoughtful, Running: A Love Story aims to examine running from a repeatedly overlooked vantage point - that of a woman shuffling in the middle of the pack, who runs not for medals but for something more.

©2016 Jen A. Miller, c/o New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

so relatable!

loved it :) i grew up in new england and went to university of tampa and struggled with so many of the same things and running has made me a better me. such a great and relatable book.

An ironic title

The writer spends much of the book not enjoying running it seems. Not until the end does she seem to find peace in it. As a runner, what I love about the sport is the incredible support and goodwill of runners and the entire running community which she doesn't seem to fit. She outright says she is angered by the crowd and even mentions a mother and child she wanted to run over in a race. That annoyed me. I've never felt that way nor do my fellow runners. We APPRECIATE the crowds. Those with no vested interest who get up early, stand in the cold just to cheer on mostly total strangers. I personally appreciate the crowds and if one steps out inadvertently in front of me, I smile and run around. The author here sounds like she'd just run them over. I have read several books written by runners both amateur and professional and this is my least favorite. If you aren't a runner, don't judge the sport by one author's opinion. I much preferred Chrissy Wellington's A Life Without Limits, Vanessa Runs The Summit Seeker, The Extra Mile by Pam Reed and other books such as Out There. If you are looking for a good book by an amateur runner I'd suggest My Year Running Dangerously. There were a few parts of the book that I enjoyed and it is written very well. The story just didn't catch my interest much, perhaps the author's attitude was what did it. My favorite person in the book is her mother. She is always there for her, rain or shine, even when Jen was not nice to her. Mother was there ready to support her and wrap her in a coat.

Very Relatable

This book found me at the right time. I am going to look up her articles in

Realistic

Very realistic, wish it was more positive, but running is difficult, so I get it.

I wanted to hate her

I wanted to hate her. Honestly. But you get drawn into her trainwreck of relationships. The issue is, this woman didn't struggle with running. She was a great runner without even trying. She finished a half marathon with a sinus infection and on antibiotics in less than 2 hours!!! She didn't appear to be the everyman/woman she was trying to be. The reading voice was super annoying as well. When I first started the book, I thought I had it set for a faster talk time because it sounded like she was rushing through it. Nope, that's just how she talks. I only kept reading this book because I wanted to see how it ends, but I honestly wouldn't recommend it to any runners I know.

Really enjoyable book!

Inspiring, funny and engaging! Def worth the time. Listened to it while I ran my long runs and it made the time fly.

Good story

Struggled at some points, others I didn't want to stop listening. Would have preferred more about running, how she overcame obstacles, or her writing than what she did in bed, etc. would be a better read.
Good narrator, enthusiastic and felt what she read.

loved

loved loved loved this book! I started out just listening while I was training for my first half, but I just couldn't wait to hear what happened next. I was totally invested her the people and outcome of the eventual race!

Too much boyfriend talk

I enjoyed the running, writing, and life story but way too much time spent on failed relationships. Obviously they're a big part of the author's life but it just went on and on and took away from other parts of the story. And they just weren't very interesting.

Writing seemed childish & didn't flow for me.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I purchased the audiobook after listening to an NPR segment they had with the author introducing this book. I tried to like it, but got to chapter 3 - and I just had to stop. I wanted a book about love & running, not about the author's everyday life in high school & college sorority. I had to roll my eyes every time she mentioned her high school softball team and her multiple scholarships (which were a lot). Then, all of a sudden, she starts running? The lackluster, long set-up and the sudden switch to her 5-k race-day was really oddly written, so I just gave up. Such a shame! I really did want to like this book after listening to Jen's interview.