The Essential Sheehan: A Lifetime of Running Wisdom from the Legendary Dr. George Sheehan

by George Sheehan, Monica Sheehan (Foreword), David Willey (Foreword)

Runners and readers whose connections to the sport date back to the 1970s surely remember Dr. George Sheehan, the New Jersey cardiologist and writer whose unique approach to the joy of exercise helped spark America's fitness boom. As a columnist for his local Red Bank Register and later as the medical editor of Runner's World and through eight bestselling books, Sheehan became, through the influence of his example and writing, the spokesperson for an entire generation of runners and the manifold benefits they discovered through the running lifestyle.

Sadly, several of Sheehan's books are now out of print, and the hundreds of newspaper magazine columns he penned over the last 25 years of his life have been lost to time. Until now.

The Essential Sheehan is a collection of the best running pieces George Sheehan wrote in his lifetime, many of which ran in Runner's World when Sheehan was a columnist there. This collection illuminates Sheehan's lasting influence on running culture and is a reintroduction of George Sheehan to a new generation of runners and readers.

Genres: Sports, Health, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2013

About the author

Dr. George A. Sheehan is best known for his books and writings about the sport of running. His book, Running & Being: The Total Experience, became a New York Times best seller. He was a track star in college, and later became a cardiologist like his father. He served as a doctor in the United States Navy in the South Pacific during World War II on the destroyer USS Daly (DD-519). He married Mary Jane Fleming and they raised twelve children. He continued to write while struggling with prostate cancer. His last book, Going the Distance, was published shortly after his death.

Reviews

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book searching for any online excerpts from Running & Being, which I had read at 25, now 16 years ago. I had read Running & Being while on a Thanksgiving getaway as a graduate student -- telling my mother the night before Turkey Day that I wasn't coming home for the long weekend but had to drive somewhere, not sure where. With a sleeping bag, my running gear, and warm clothes, I drove to another state, found a place to park for the weekend, and devoured Running & Being (amongst others) by flashlight in the back of my SUV at night, while spending the day running and wandering. In Dr Sheehan, I found a kindred spirit who had blazed the trail I was aiming to follow, even though he set about it in his 40s. Fast forward to today, and I find myself looking back on a decade in which I've lost the essential elements that made me most satisfied inside -- directly related to my lack of running commitment. Thus the search for Dr Sheehan's wisdom to help fan the spark. Well I must say that this compilation is superior to R&B in that it has much more of the philosophy I was craving, without the "running handbook" stuff (shoes, injuries, etc.) that I felt diluted R&B. As a collection of columns, the book felt a bit repetitive throughout, but generally enjoyable. The proof of its power is in results, and I can say that I've run with more childlike enthusiasm -- the adult at play -- this last week than I have in a long time. And for that reason, the book hit the mark as well as I hoped.

[Mark Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure chest of running wisdom that can be read many times over. My full review is here: http://markmatthewsauthor.blogspot.co...

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am at best, a lapsed runner since my son was born. But on my occasional run, I remember what it was to run day in and day out, through good weather and bad, on the road and off, beaches, desert, snow, and ice. But I did not run just for fitness. I ran because it was a way of thinking through life. In The Essential Sheehan, these essays are a view of various aspects of life as viewed by a runner. It ranges from essays about running itself, from just starting out (Sheenan started lifelong running in his 40s) to the marathon to life long running, to health and life and death.

The essays here start with those beginning to run seriously. Viewing running as play and a way to balance out your life. Later chapters get more serious about running in training for goals, races, and meeting challenges like the marathon. The last chapters are about running as a way of looking at life up to and including death (Sheenan's last six years were spent fighting cancer).

One that really strikes me is one discussion about runners in their 30s uniformly saying that they wanted to run until they died. And I was like that too in my 30s. And while I don't run nearly as much as I used to, occasionally I still lace up my shoes and go out. Like I will tomorrow morning when I get up.

Highly recommended book.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

[Mia Gutkovas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book filled with running inspiration and philosophical life advice, a lot of it highly quotable. At the same time there seems to be a quite different person behind the pages, a man who prefers his own company, spends a lot of time and effort on his own success, and who - despite his 12 children - realises very late in life the true joy of family. The short texts about him written by his children are oddly cold and distant; it's more of an outsiders description of a great man's genius. And maybe this is exactly how it was.

I loved many of these essays, and it definitely got me out running and feeling great about it. Although at the end, the more I found out about Sheehans life and failed relationships, they seems more and more theoretical. Like beautiful life advice never really taken into the every day life, never really lived. But maybe that is the sacrifice one have to make, in order to be able to spread the word to others, in such wonderful and inspirational language as Sheehan does.

[Ed Terrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This great compilation of Sheehans writings and quotes is a worthwhile read for all (runner or not). Its very inspirational. I fondly remember reading his articles in Running World back in the eighties. Also note that there are some grainy youtube videos of him at his best:
https://www.georgesheehan.com/

[Tan Shu · Rating 4 out of 5]

inspiring and close to heart

[Stephen Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great running anecdotes from one of the greatest commentators on the sport.

[Ryan Monaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this, I am convinced George Sheehan the Cardiologist is really a pseudonym for George Sheehan the Poet. What a gift to inspire, to reinvigorate, and to evoke in words the untranslatable feelings every distance runner - from 50 miles to 50 yards - has felt trace through their limbs.

It is a collection of essays Dr. Sheehan has written over the years, and refers to his own philosophical take on the sport of running, and how he has seized upon it. What is amazing about this book is how extensive it is, in terms of time; years pass by in Dr. Sheehan's life, articles dating through the '60s to the '90s - and yet his core value and awe of the power of movement to reawaken wonder and play in us never waivers.

No more to say - too inspired to go run. Well done, Dr. Sheehan.

[G-Soxx · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Essential Sheehan is a good book for those who love running and see it as an indispensable part of their lives. Sheehan imparts his musings, observations and views on life and running. There are also sections by family, friends, and colleagues who pay tribute to Dr. Sheehan and share what he meant to them. I enjoyed the book for its matter-of-fact, honest take on how beautiful running can be and the meaning it holds in our lives.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Sheehan is much more enjoyable when it is condensed to the essentials. I trudged through Running & Being just so I could say I read the book, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying The Essential Sheehan. His writing style fits the 5K format better than a marathon!

[Dpalange44 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I got this book for Christmas and I am only on page 39 because I feel the need to savor each short piece of writing. I want to hold it in my brain and nibble at it piece by piece for a couple of days. Brilliant, even 30 years later.

[Cheri Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely give five stars, but Dr. Sheehan made me look at things about myself in many different ways. You do not have to be a runner to appreciate the introspection that he shares with each essay. I only wish I could have met him.

[ilham.mukhtar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is thick, but you'd never regret the journey through Sheehan's rediscovering play right until the final revelations succumbing to the prostate cancer. Philosophical must read for every runner and non-runner alike. Though those non-runner will be hard pressed not to run the next day =)

[JDK1962 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing, somewhat repetitive. I like his ideas around using running to explore who you are. Assuming this is a representative sample of Sheehan, I feel grateful to have been exposed to his work...and not particularly inclined to dip in any further.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't say this about a lot of books, but within the first 30 pages I knew I wanted my own copy. If you're an existentialist runner, you'll find this an inspiring read.

[Ebby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing collection of essays, motivating, inspiring, resonates deeply on many levels, not just to a diehard runner.