Running Wild: An Extraordinary Adventure from the Spiritual World of Running (Paperback)

by John Annerino (Author) "I AM FALLING UNCONTROLLABLY..." (more)
Key Phrases: canyon odyssey, bota bags, resupply crew, Grand Canyon, Colorado River, North Rim (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews
A runner's chronicle of adventures in the Grand Canyon and other desert locales. Annerino, the author of several books about the Southwest, recounts his years of recovery from a mid-1970s climbing accident, after which doctors doubted he would walk freely again. His recovery and spiritual and mental renewal came from running, first short distances, then, inspired by tales of southwestern Indian runners who covered a hundred miles in a single day, longer and longer stretches of ground. Eventually he was able to cross such places as the Gran Desierto of northwestern Mexico, the largest sand sea in North America, and even to run a complicated and dangerous 250-mile-long course along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. On a technical level, his memoir will be of interest to runners planning large-scale adventures of their own; Annerino excels at detailing the logistical difficulties of maintaining communication and establishing points of resupply, and he writes tellingly of the less tangible difficulties, among them loneliness, fear, cold, and, of course, heat. (The appendix, which describes a series of difficult desert runs, is especially useful.) His book will also be of interest to those working to overcome injury, as the author has so successfully done. Annerino is least successful when he strives to be poetic (My feet continue padding softly across the desert floor, sending up powdery wisps of dust with each footfall. I suck wind in, I blow air out). He also refers rather too often, and rather too bathetically, to a failed marriage, the unhappy details of which we did not need to know. Of small interest outside the sports and adventure-travel market, this is a generally well-written and even inspirational vade mecum. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press; 2nd edition (December 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560251751
• ISBN-13: 978-1560251750
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #345,013 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A runner's touchstone, August 28, 2002

By	Donnamarie Barnes "donmb" (Yonkers, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first read "Running Wild" several years ago while recovering from a running injury and it not only gave me the confidence to come back from the injury but also became my running companion. I have since re-read it many times especially before an important race or when the reasons for training get blurry. For a runner it is a spiritual connection to the joy and mystery that running can be as well as historic proof of the origins of American running. John Annerino is an incredible man whose courage and love of the wilderness together with his deep spiritual committment to the land, it's history and it's people make "Running Wild" a masterpiece.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Have to disagree on the 5 star ratings, December 30, 2004

By	Michael Walsh (Cary, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a runner of 15+ marathons, a couple ultras and being an avid trail runner, I really wanted to love this book. Annerino is a compelling character, with great courage and anyone who has regularly run long distance on trail can see, a man who must have incredible commitment. The book however comes up short of where it could have. After the first couple of run descriptions, the rest merely become a repeat of lack of water, tough conditions, danger, exhaustion and route finding problems. Annerino frequently references that his motivation in running these routes is to gain information on how preceding Indian generations would have used them for trade, however with the exception of a small amount of info, that aspect is largely not covered in the book. It is a shame, as dedicating more print space to that objective would greatly enlivened the book. Overall, a good read and still recommended, but I can't go 5 stars.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book which captures the true feeling of running wild., January 22, 1999

By	Dave Prosser ([e-mail] (Tucson,Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

Running Wild was written in a way so as to capture the feelings that can overcome a person when he or she has an addiction to this kind of obsession.The obsession to run where no one else runs,to run when no one else runs (ie..blistering heat , biting cold)and to run farther than anyone else runs.The author does convey to the reader the reasons why he runs ,the mental euphoria ,the need to overcome physical pain,and of course loss of a loved one.What does seem to get lost in the translation is why we keep hearing about the ancient inner canyon pathway that the author is so adament about.I absolutely love the referance to the training runs that lead up to the BIG canyon runs.The detail about the scenery and conditions encountered filled my head with visions and feelings I'm all to familiar with.I am a resident of Tucson,Az. and a very avid trail runner and adventurer,the details expressed by John Annerinno in Runing Wild are some times more than enough to take the reader to theses remote hostile places,where you can take part in the pain and gratification of pushing your mind and body to the limit,and as the author puts it find your own Ancient Intercanyon Pathway.

Dave Prosser Tucson, Arizona familiar with