Running Beyond: Epic Ultra, Trail and Skyrunning Races

by Ian Corless, Kilian Jornet (Foreword)

Ultra running is one of the world's fastest growing sports and in Ian Corless who runs the scene's most influential podcast, ultra-running has the perfect author to chronicle its rise. Running Beyond is a homage to the sport's legendary races, unique, commissioned photography, captures the diverse and striking terrain - from mountail peaks, to jungles and deserts. Through interviews with the legendary athletes of the sport, Running Beyond is the ultimate homage to the ultra-running world. Foreword by record-breaking, world number one, Kilian Jornet (Run or Die).

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 3, 2016

Reviews

[Sean Barrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dream of ultramarathons. I dream of running the Mont Blanc Ultra and relishing in the openness of the scenery.

Just look how spectacular it is:

[Julia Sarene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am absolutely in love with the stunning photographs in this coffee table book!
I could just browse through it again and again and again... I also love the maps and trail descriptions, but the main text could have been a bit more about the "feel" of the race and things that happened there for my personal taste. I read the first few races that are listed completely, but then it started to feel repetitive, as it was describing the same things again and again (obviously the terrain will be similar in different races, so that's normal). I think the pure "what terrain is it & how long are the sections & such" could have been handled better with a little infographic, and instead put some more experiences in there. There are little snippets of the runners in there and I enjoyed those - more of that sort of content would have made it a 5* for me.

As is - the pictures and maps and info stats alone are a full four stars worth of awesomeness, and I'm sure I'll browse through it often in the future!

[Gift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leider gehöre ich zu den Menschen, die sehr oft bei Filmen weinen. Ich kann mir einfach nicht helfen. Ich erkenne immer ganz genau, bei welchen Szenen absichtlich auf die Emotionen gespielt wird, ich ärgere mich dabei, aber heule trotzdem weiter. Ich bin auch bei Sport-Übertragungen oft emotional. Wenn ich mich mit einer Sport-Art identifizieren kann, fiebere ich mit den Sportlern mit und habe dann am Ende des (erfolgreichen) Wettkampfs oft feuchte Augen. Bei Büchern ist es ganz anders. Es ist egal, wie sehr ich mich in die Geschichte vertiefe oder mich in die Figuren verliebe, die Tränen kommen einfach nicht.

Umso mehr habe ich mich selber überrascht, wie emotional ich bei diesem Buch war. Es ist doch nichts dabei. Es ist nur ein Foto-Buch mit kurzen Streckenbeschreibungen und ein paar persönlichen Eindrücken. Tja… Dieses Buch ist viel mehr. Es ist eine Ode an ein Sport, der mir unheimlich viel bedeutet. Es ist eine wunderschöne und unbewusste Liebeserklärung jedes Trail-Läufers, der sich vielleicht selber nicht so gut ausdrücken kann. Dieses Buch und seine kleinen Geschichten zeigen ganz genau, warum wir uns so etwas antun. Laufen ist doch mit so viel Schmerzen, Verletzungen und Einschränkungen verbunden! Und die Zeit, die man in dieses Hobby investieren muss!

Falls du ein Außenstehender bist, wirst du die schönen Fotos bewundern und sich die Warum – Frage stellen. Falls du selber ein Trail-Läufer bist, wirst du wahrscheinlich nur leicht lächeln, mit dem Kopf zustimmend nicken und mehrmals „ja, genau deswegen“ murmeln. Und falls du nah am Wasser gebaut und ein bisschen verrückt bist, wie ich, wirst du vielleicht auch ein paar Tränen vergießen. Dieses Buch ist einfach viel zu schön um nicht emotional zu werden.

[Lely Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian Corless does an amazing job capturing the emotion of the runners and the beautiful scenery of the world's most prestigious Ultra/Sky runs! I am new to running and already setting my sets high to participate in this caliber of event. Corless has clearly done his research. The amount of information found in this collection is quite astounding and at times you can even picture yourself on trail with the runners. A few sections got mired in numbers rather than the experience, but instances were few and far between. I would highly recommend this book for runners, hikers, world travelers, and anyone even remotely interested in similar topics even if they aren't runners themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group, and White Lion Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a review.

[Scquest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am congratulating myself on my ability to pace myself through this book. I received this book for Christmas last year and was able to finish it on Christmas this year.
The work is best read in hard copy since it gives you a coffee table book of incredible photos taken around the world. The races represented here are the top of the word, literally. Their beautiful mountain vistas will have you itching to run ridges.
Ian did an excellent job covering these races and I have added many new races to my life list.

[JaumeMuntane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aficionado a las carreras de montaña así como al increíble trabajo como fotógrafo de Ian Corless, esperaba con ansias la publicación de su primer libro. La espera ha valido la pena. Los fotografías de Ian muestran con pasión y belleza las carreras más emblemáticas de montaña por todo el mundo. Como único pero señalar que el texto de la edición española peca de algunas pequeñas erratas.

[Rob Koeleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with loads of examples for running. Good pictures and information about the tracks and people who run them.

[Jack Fourie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mainly a coffee table book. But it is a great coffee table book for any ultra Runner like me. I would recommend

[Totochelamouche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be prepared for the checkpoint refugios to be serious mob-scenes. People are packed in, yelling and screaming, more often than not smoking and drinking, snapping photos, patting runners on the backs; it’s what makes racing in this part of the world so exciting.

I had been keen to be in a good position at this point so as to minimize the risk of being hit by rock fall…

As Dean Karnazes says, ‘If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon. If you want to talk to God, run an ultra.’

'Run as light as possible,’ advises Steven Sleuyter, second-placed male in 2013. ‘Place your foot as lightly as possible and try to think you are running on a thin crust of ice – try not to break the ice. That is how to run on sand.’