Onward The Absolute No B.S. Raw Ridiculous Soul-Stirring Truth About Training for Your First Marathon

by Brook Kreder

Sitting in a dingy hotel room, with a bag of Cheetos in one hand and a vodka tonic in the other, Brook Kreder decided it was time to rethink her life. Her business was on the skids, her marriage was stalling out, and her future looked anything but bright. In a flash of insight, she made a spontaneous decision that ultimately changed everything. Armed with little more than a iron-willed determination, a pair of old running shoes, and a blog, Brook began training for her first marathon. Onward! is her story of false starts, redemption, and triumph as she pushed herself to ultimately cross the finish line. Told with grit, raw honesty and in-your-face hilarity, Onward! celebrates Brook’s 5-month trek to 26.2 miles, and how running her race, her way, transformed her body, spirit and life.

Genres: Nonfiction

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Varun Murthy]

Waste of time. Might have worked as a blog to read one entry everyday but made no sense to read as a book.

[Sophia miller242i]

Best ever 😁

[JennyGirlReads]

I'm not a marathoner... yet, but I will begin training for my first in a few weeks. I have however ran a half marathon so I would say the authors experiences were dead on. I had a hard time connecting to this author though as I don't feel the average runner will be able to have all of the resources that she did. For instance I'm a single mother of 3 and cannot hire someone to support my runs. Nor can I afford regular chiropractic visits. I was also disappointed in the feeling I had that her book mostly just seemed to be a plug for her website.

[Jamina]

This was my second time reading the book, and it never fails to make me giggle every few minutes. If you've ever been curious about what it's like to train for a marathon, Brook does a great job of telling it how it is(was) in her experience. There aren't any instructions or exercises though, so if you're looking for something that will guide you through training, this isn't it. I read this on my Kindle, which shows hyperlinks at the end of several "chapters" but an FYI to those who wish to check out the resources listed, many of them no longer work. Either way, it's a fun and inspiring read.

[Jackie]

I had to get her book since I follow her blog. Love this book! If you are a runner, this is a must. I laughed so hard and felt like she was reading my mind. She writes about training for and running her first marathon. Not only is she one hilarious Sole Sister, but honest as well. I want her to write more books.

[Jeannette]

Being that I am training for a marathon I have read all kinds of marathon and running books and this one was great. It wasn't technical and didn't give the marathon "schooling" that people would generally want. I loved her emotion and the ups and downs of doing this thing called a marathon. I am actually re-reading some parts.

[Charlie]

DNF--I just can't get into this book at all. I like inspirational fitness books about fat lazy people getting themselves into shape, experiencing hardships, and overcoming them. This is a book about a fit half marathoner training for a marathon. Meh--not for me.

[Shauna Boyle]

Loved this book and LOVE Brooke. She is absolutely hysterical. I encourage everyone to read this book to get a REAL image of what training looks like and what it can do to you mentally and physically.

[Pam Lee-miller]

Great inspiration thank you

Getting ready to train for my first half. 53 and need it off my bucket list. Brook inspired me to do the good the bad and the ugly--run and be changed

[Tammy]

Funny and very honest!

[Brit Minichiello]

She's great! Fun to read, very motivating.

[Maresa Hubbard]

Funny!

Great and honest! It is written like a computer blog so a little choppy but incredibly enjoyable! I read it in one sitting!

[Courtney]

Hilarious! Loved it...so down to earth and I love laughing out loud at a book. Brook wrote a great, realistic book about training for her first marathon. Thank you!

[Ashley Pajon]

Definitely helped me to know what to expect for my first marathon! :)

[Nia]

Awesomeness

Thank you for keeping it real!! This is my go to book as I train for my first marathon. Thank you Brook!!

[Patty]

A fun book to read even if you're not a marathoner. She's entertaining and engaging and gave me some aha moments for my own goals. Worth the read!

[Maura Moore]

A light, at times funny,look at training for a marathon. Started and completed (incredibly easy read) during a cross country flight.

[Emilie]

Not for me, unfortunately.

[Erin Burns]

Runners!

What a down to earth book about a woman and the struggles you face training for a marathon. A must read for runner at any level!

[Kristy]

Such a funny book about a woman running her first marathon. Lots of swearing which I could have done without but then again running 18+ miles sometimes makes me want to swear too!

[Theresa Cyr]

Motivating!

I really enjoyed reading Brook's no nonsense tale of her experience preparing for her marathon. It's definitely worth the read!3

[Judy]

Quick read and it did what it needed to--inspired me to run my first marathon! While funny, it got old...no real depth to daily entries.

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist]

Good freakin' night, dawgs

Her favorite phrase and word throughout her training. While they were grating toward the end, I also thought they helped bring some of her personality through the book. You got to know the person who was training, as well as her running routine. This is less a "book" than a compilation of her blog posts If I'd paid money for this, that might have bothered me, but this was Kindle Unlimited. As someone who is training, although not for a marathon, it was nice to have someone else literally feel my pain.

It was great that she had such a support system of "sole sisters", especially DR. I liked some of the behind the scenes of marathon training such as trying to find out whether it's your shoes or a health issue that give you a bad side stitch.

A good, light, read.

Only complaint: she spent the whole book building up to the marathon, which she then glossed over. Wish she'd spent more time on that and less time recapping the rules she'd compiled over the course of her training. Those were helpful, but could have been an appendix. Also, if you're going to swear, swear. Sh*t isn't not swearing.