Customer Reviews

The Extra Mile: One Woman's Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Despite not being a runner or an athlete of any sort, I found myself fascinated by Pam Reed's warts-and-all look into her life and her career as an endurance runner. Running 135 miles through the desert in July is something I would never in a million years dream of doing myself, but Reed's book gave me a better understanding of why people are driven to go to such extremes. I came to respect Pam throughout the course of the book, and in some ways I really related to her. Her occasional bouts of self-doubt, regardless of her professional and personal achievements, resonated with me--as they will, I suspect, for most people. I thought she had wise, pragmatic things to say about marriage and motherhood, especially about the trade-offs that women, moreso than men, make in trying to juggle work and family. Pam does not come off as a "warm and fuzzy" person--she admits in her chapter on parenthood, "I am not much of a hugger"--but it is obvious that she cares deeply and passionately about everyone and everything in her life and is ferociously committed to them. And because of that, her book made me care about her. I truly enjoyed the time I "spent" with her while reading this book.

Pam Reed's book has a message. If the book is read with a closed mind, the reader will never understand the message.

All people who do ultra events such as ultra running and ultra cycling, approach the world and their lives somewhat differently than those who do not participate. The fact that Pam has a message that is different from the message of other ultra athletes does not render the book valueless. To the contrary, the methods, observations and beliefs of all add to the body of knowledge that is useful to all ultra athletes.

Pam Reed is an accomplished ultra runner. Her results deliver that message emphatically. The obstacles she has overcome and the way she has overcome them is both meaningful and valuable to anyone who aspires to be an ultra athlete or simply to achieve accomplishments in their own endeavors.

The book does not portray arrogance; it does portray accomplishment.

It would be arrogant for Pam Reed to presume to speak for the ultra running community, or for another ultra runner such as Scott Jurek. Pam speaks only for herself in her efforts to explain why and how she has done what she has done.

The fact that she has had successes and failures in her life establishes that she is human. The fact that she has done what no other woman has ever done, and done it twice, establishes her accomplishments as extraordinary.

If the book is read with an open mind, the message can be discovered.

I found Pam Reed's story super inspiring. As Reed points out, running is something that women can excel at and something that older people can excel at. As someone who came to running later in life, I really enjoyed this book. I read Dean Karanazes' Ultra Marathone Man, too, and I liked it, but it just covered a few of his races in a lot of detail, whereas in Pam Reed's book, I felt like I was getting to know her as a person. I also liked that she talked about all the people who supported her in various ways, from her husband to her crew and all her neighbors. Karnazes seemed a lot more isolated - not that that's a fault. I really liked the chapter with thumbnail sketches of some of the best (or at least Reed's favorite) marathons - it gave me the idea that I'd like to try some of them one of these days. Re: her struggle with anorexia, it made sense to me what she said about having to eat to do the long races she wanted to do. Ahw might not have been eating pizza and cheesecake, but still LOADS of calories.
DG

I read the reviews before buying and was a little reluctant; however, I decided a while ago I wanted to read it. I bought it anyway. Pam writes on a very personal level and tells of things many people would never have the courage to reveal to others. I thought this was a great book and am so glad I bought it. Be your own judge and don't let other people decide whether or not you will like something or someone. You might miss out on a lot of good things and people if you let someone else make the choice. I would recommend Dean K's book as well rather than compare this book to it. They both are great reads and very motivational! Any book that makes you want to get outside and take to the street, trail, etc. is a plus.

To be honest the title really turned me off. She clearly doesn't have a self-esteem problem. Even after reading this book I still feel this way. But give her credit. She's honest about it and tells why she feels this way. I think she would have sold a lot more books with a different title, but that's just my opinion.

A review for a book like this is in some ways hard to write. You're supposed to be somewhat analytical when instead you feel emotional. I'm sad to be done reading this book. Over the few months I felt like I've gotten to know this person and now that's its over, I bummed.

A comparison between this book and one by Dean Karnazes is interesting. Both authors are really great at what they do and both are extremely tough. But Pam has warts and frailties and she struggles with stupid ( human ) things. In that way I can much more readily identify with her much more than Dean.

I am male, novice Marathon/Ultra runner who is always looking for sources of inspiration for my training. This book is jam-packed full of not only inspiring stories, but many tricks of the Ultra world. I have read several ultra books, and they do not compare to Pam's information. She tells it like it is.
It is a shame that many beat her down for her accomplishments.
I could only dream of doing half or maybe a quarter of the things she does.
Are there other ultra runners who have completed incredible feats? Yes, there are. I still do not understand why they do not share their stories. They say that it is because Ultra runners want the obscurity. If that is true, then they should take down their websites and Blogs.
I say "Thank You Pam" for writing about your experiences. I would hope that many more would follow in her and other Ultra runners' footsteps and write more about their journey's to amazing achievements. You have my vote.

The Extra Mile is the autobiography of ultramarathon runner Pam Reed. Reed is a two time winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon (overall winner, not just first female), a 135 mile footrace through Death Valley. She holds a number of national records in Ultramarathon events. The Extra Mile is her story, in her own words, bringing Reed from childhood up through 2005 and she tells us the hows and whys of her life, running career, and the ongoing battle with anorexia.

Pam Reed brings the reader from her childhood in small town northern Michigan and the expectation of hard work to her failed first marriage and how through that marriage and her decision to run brought her to meet her future husband even though both were married at the time. She follows into Ironman Triathlon and into Ultramarathon. We see how she juggles life, kids, and competition at an elite level.

The Extra Mile is not just about her athletic career. Reed focuses a good deal of attention on her struggle with anorexia and how paradoxically it helped her at the ultra distances.

Reed has a very simple, direct writing style. The Extra Mile is not written in a flowery style with extra description. Reed is very to the point. She tells us what happened, what she thought, and what the consequence was of what happened. She does not go into great depth or detail regarding any single race she has run, so readers looking for fifty pages of race report on her Badwater wins will be disappointed. This is Pam Reed's life from Reed's perspective. She addresses the major topics and events from her life: marriage, divorce, moves, children, ultra running, running as an elite athlete, Badwater, running 300 miles and her future. No subject gets in depth attention, but each subject is covered sufficiently that the reader is given an idea of who Reed is as a woman and an athlete.

Some readers will likely be disappointed by the perceived shallowness of the book. I mean shallow in the sense that The Extra Mile does not plumb the depths of Reed's soul or cover mile by mile every race Pam Reed has run. But, nowhere does Reed claim that she is a researcher or have any intent of covering every aspect of her life. The Extra Mile is an overview of Pam Reed and expectations should be as such.

For Reed's level of craft as a writer, I thought The Extra Mile sufficiently covered Pam Reed's life and career and kept me interested the entire way through. Highlights were, of course, her running career because this was the reason I opened this book in the first place.

-Joe Sherry

I didn't expect a lot from the book based on other reviews. The only thing I didn't like much was her writing style. It pretty much goes like this - "I ran XXX race which was 100 miles and came in ZZZth. I didn't eat much but I drank Red Bull and Ensure. It was really fun!" I would've liked to know more about what's actually going on in her head rather than a dry account of the facts. However, she may not be much more deep than what she portrays in this book, in which case, this is truly her life. The few chapters about goal setting and what it means to run are few and far between but really contain the most interesting information. The rest are fluff.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It offered a great insight into how ultra marathon runners can run to extremes and what truly drives them. It also makes you aware of the sacrifices athletes do make in order to be at the top of their game. Pam has a witty personality and you feel that you really get to know her from reading this book.

I enjoyed this book mostly because it gave Pam Reed's take on things I'd read about in news stories and on ultrarunning forums-- her supposed rivalry with Dean Karnazes, the 300-mile run she did on a frontage road, her training schedule and how she fits it around family life.

She's forthright and plain in what she says, though sometimes in her personal discussions of anorexia and marriage I felt she was hinting at more than was said, or perhaps issuing a "position statement" on complicated family matters or professional controversies.

There was no standout storytelling, nothing that made me grab my spouse and say, "Honey, listen to this." The voice is quite dry. And I didn't exactly feel inspired, because Pam Reed is so obviously different from most people. It's definitely not "normal housewife takes up running, becomes great, and if she can you can." But I was interested, all the way through, and felt that I was getting to know Pam Reed somewhat.