Adharanand Finn

***.5

There are a couple of ways of interpreting this book. On one level, it's the story of a self-centered middle aged white man who drags his wife and 3 small children to Africa to exploit poor people in order to shave a few minutes off his marathon time.

But it's also the story of an intrepid journalist who isn't satisfied in conducting a few cursory interviews and drawing unsubstantiated conclusions to write a puff piece. Instead, he immerses himself in the culture, getting the full show more experience first hand in order to delve below the surface level and understand the underlying social and physical factors that have turned Kenya into a factory for churning out elite distance runners by the hundreds.

It would have been better had he managed to put his ego aside and focus on the second approach, but he comes across as too self absorbed to really learn anything from the people he's traveled to study. He tuts at their lack of indoor plumbing, is shocked that they prefer to wear shoes when they can afford them, and marvels at their appreciation for his lowly Toyota Corolla. Despite being a vegan himself, he makes derisive comments about the quantities of ugali and kale they consume, and how bland their diet is.

It doesn't seem that his attitude is racist or mean-spirited, it's more like clueless culture shock. Despite his best efforts, he just can't seem to put himself in their shoes (or lack thereof). Which leaves very little insight to pass on to the reader. show less

Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn

This was one of my favorite reads of the year so far. My perspective is not that of an athlete by a long shot, but the idea of going to Kenya and running across the country was so intriguing. Still, the running information was interesting, especially the different attitudes and beliefs of Kenyans compared to Americans. (Although, the author is British) The relationships between coaches and athletes were different. The biggest part of the story for show more me was the author and his wife making the decision to move to Kenya for this adventure, taking their two children with them. This is a great story for both runners and armchair adventurers. I found myself missing these people when I finished the book. show less

I really wanted to love this book. I've lost track of the number of times I've watched Kenyan runners head for the finish line of a race I've barely started. Adharanand Finn moves his young family to Kenya and trains for a marathon with some of Kenya's elite runners in an effort to figure out their secret. It's an intriguing premise, but the characters Finn meets are so indistinguisable and his writing is so flat (and sometimes downright ungrammatical) that by the time I was two-thirds of show more the way through this book, I didn't care how Finn did in the marathon. This is a book that should have been a magazine article. show less

I am not a runner---in fact, I hate running---but I am loving this book. The author went to live in Kenya with his family in order to explore how the Kenyans were so successful in their running endeavors, earning all sorts of records. The book follows the author's explorations of the culture of running in Kenya as he immerses himself in the lives of elite Kenyan runners while also aiming to run one of the toughest marathons there is, a hot race along a tough Kenyan course. The pacing of the show more book is perfect to maintain the reader's interest--I've had trouble putting it down. Like the book about the barefoot runners from a few years ago, this is a running book that will fascinate even those who would never run by choice...and perhaps tempt them, someday, to try. show less