Thirty Phone Booths To Boston: Tales of a Wayward Runner

by Don Kardong

Essays discuss Mount St. Helens, running in inclement weather, marathons, car problems, the Olympics, nutrition, and runners

Genres: Nonfiction

179 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

1976 Olympic marathoner, curent Runner's World senior writer, founder of the Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane, Washington (50,000+ entrants), and a past president of the Road Runners Club of America.

Reviews

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Logan recommended me this book. In fact, he liked it enough to send his used copy to me for my birthday. Very generous. In this collection of essays and articles, Kardong does an excellent job capturing the joy and the hardships of running. Though I enjoyed his accounts as a spectator and journalist, I found the most meaningful chapters to be those in which he detailed his own sinuous relationship with running.

[Dylan Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Benner’s gave me this book and it’s a treasure, Don Kardong is a marathoner and excellent writer who shares a lot of his wisdom and humor recounting a trove of stories from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s running scene. Everything about this book gets to the essence of running and how comically bootleg it is

[Mike Reinking · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always enjoyed the author's writing in running magazines, this collection of essays was a bit more serious than expected. There are some gems here like the essays on the NYC marathon or his trip to China. Enjoyed it.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last running book that I read before this one was Once a Runner. I liked this book much better. I related to the author's experiences more than I related to anything in Once a Runner. The book is easy to read, because each chapter is a short essay related to some aspect of the authors life at a particular moment in time. You can put it down and go back to it without missing a beat. I'm not sure how much a non-runner would like this book, but I enjoyed it. Also, you probably have to be of a certain age to "get" some of the references. For example, there is a chapter about the author's running experiences in Seattle after Mt. St. Helens erupted. I remember that event. I was a kid, thousands of miles away, but I remember it. He talks about the boycott of the 1980 Olympics. Again, I was a kid, but I remember that. The book has a nostalgic appeal interwoven into the essays. The book is out of print, but easy to find.

[Ray Charbonneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected to enjoy this more. Still, a good read.

[Joanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my brief infatuation with running as a sport.