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Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia
LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2021
LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2021
'Inspiring'
The Guardian
'Excellent'
Runner's World
'Fascinating'
Publishers Weekly
'Brilliant'
Ed Vaizey
'Through reading this book you will come to understand that the heart and soul of running are to be found in Ethiopia.' Haile Gebrselassie
'Engaging, warm and humane… A delight' TLS
'Full of wonderful insights and lessons from a world where the ability to run is viewed as something almost mysterious and magical.' Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans
' Ethiopia is a place where I have been told that energy is controlled by angels and demons and where witchdoctors can help you to acquire another runner's power. It is a place where an anonymous runner in the forest told me, miming an imaginary scoreboard and with a completely straight face, that he had dreamt that he would run 10km in 25 minutes. It is a place where they tell me that the air at Mount Entoto will transform me into a 2.08 marathon runner. It is a place, in short, of wisdom and magic, where dreaming is still very much alive. '
Why does it make sense to Ethiopian runners to get up at 3am to run up and down a hill? Who would choose to train on almost impossibly steep and rocky terrain, in hyena territory? And how come Ethiopian men hold six of the top ten fastest marathon times ever?
Michael Crawley spent fifteen months in Ethiopia training alongside (and sometimes a fair way behind) runners at all levels of the sport, from night watchmen hoping to change their lives to world class marathon runners, in order to answer these questions. Follow him into the forest as he attempts to keep up and get to the heart of their success.
LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2021
'Inspiring'
The Guardian
'Excellent'
Runner's World
'Fascinating'
Publishers Weekly
'Brilliant'
Ed Vaizey
'Through reading this book you will come to understand that the heart and soul of running are to be found in Ethiopia.' Haile Gebrselassie
'Engaging, warm and humane… A delight' TLS
'Full of wonderful insights and lessons from a world where the ability to run is viewed as something almost mysterious and magical.' Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans
' Ethiopia is a place where I have been told that energy is controlled by angels and demons and where witchdoctors can help you to acquire another runner's power. It is a place where an anonymous runner in the forest told me, miming an imaginary scoreboard and with a completely straight face, that he had dreamt that he would run 10km in 25 minutes. It is a place where they tell me that the air at Mount Entoto will transform me into a 2.08 marathon runner. It is a place, in short, of wisdom and magic, where dreaming is still very much alive. '
Why does it make sense to Ethiopian runners to get up at 3am to run up and down a hill? Who would choose to train on almost impossibly steep and rocky terrain, in hyena territory? And how come Ethiopian men hold six of the top ten fastest marathon times ever?
Michael Crawley spent fifteen months in Ethiopia training alongside (and sometimes a fair way behind) runners at all levels of the sport, from night watchmen hoping to change their lives to world class marathon runners, in order to answer these questions. Follow him into the forest as he attempts to keep up and get to the heart of their success.
272 pages, Paperback
Published January 18, 2022
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October 25, 2020
Elite African distance runners have what us marketers call a “differentiation problem” in the western world. Many of the top marathoners hailing from Kenya, Ethiopia, and other nearby countries get lumped into the jumbled mass of “East African Runners.” Even the most ardent followers of the sport will probably struggle to name over five current runners from those countries and will do an even worse job at naming what country marathoning stars such as Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya), Kenesisa Bekele (Ethiopia), and Dennis Kimetto (Kenya) come from. I’m not here to lament this state of affairs but rather note that there is much more we can learn about and from these runners. It seems like Anthropology professor and 2:20 marathoner Michael Crawley agrees with this assessment, and his book Out of Thin Air provides an inside look at the running culture of Ethiopia with lessons for pavement/trail/grass pounders everywhere. Although Kenya has traditionally been seen as the hotbed for marathoning talent, Ethiopia has been producing international running superstars since Abebe Bikila won an Olympic gold medal running barefoot through Rome’s cobbled streets in 1960. Crawley does a fine job at providing a readable ethnography of this Ethiopian running community.
Out of Thin Air is essentially a sister book to Adharanand Finn’s Running with the Kenyans with a more academically meaty bibliography (in an anthropological sense). Kenya has much higher rates of English speaking and has developed some semblance of a running tourism industrial complex catering to curious journalists and wealthy runners looking to learn from some of the best runners on the planet. Ethiopia is a tougher nut to crack for outsiders but it is quite interesting in its own right. The country is the only African nation with its own alphabet, the first to adopt Christianity, and the only one to successfully fight against colonialism. On the running front, it also boasts twice as many marathoning Olympic gold medals as Kenya. Crawley embedded himself in an Ethiopian running community around the capital city of Addis Ababa for fifteen months, learning the local Amharic language and frequently training and racing with his subjects. This participatory angle allows Crawley to get to know his subjects on a much deeper level than what we usually get on such athletes, many of whom are not fluent in English. Crawley’s own outstanding running abilities go a long way towards endearing himself with the runners and getting them to open up to him. Anyone who has been on a group run before knows that there are few better ways to quickly develop a bond with someone than the shared experience of a long run.
Ethiopian runners somewhat paradoxically balance the concept of idil, or luck bestowed from God, with the notion that they can create their own luck through hard work. Ethiopian days technically start at 6am and runners frequently began their runs as early as 3 or 4am to beat the traffic and/or heat and cram in workouts around work schedules. There is a strong collectivist ethos among the runners as well. They believe that runners can feed off of others’ energy and focus on matching pace and cadence. Running watches are not terribly common among runners, but when they are used they are often shared across athletes and used to monitor the pace of the entire group. There is also a strong sense of confidence and hope among the runners. This is a rarefied running community, where a runner with a 2:05 marathon would say that they ran “...and five” because the notion of a marathon over three hours is unfathomable to them. While race glory only accrues to individuals, the “condition” or fitness necessary to achieve those goals only comes through grueling group training runs.
Crawley befriends and writes about many runners during his time in Ethiopia. Some go on to lucrative wins in foreign marathons and half marathons, others fizzle out and leave the sport, and many fall somewhere between those two extremes. This allows Crawley to provide a fuller picture of the Ethiopian running “community” rather than needing to extrapolate from detailed profiles from a handful of in-depth interviews. From an anthropological perspective I would imagine that this is best practice. But one drawback to the lay reader is that there is no climax or big race being built to that the reader is highly emotionally invested in. The author does travel to a half marathon in Turkey with some Ethiopians he is particularly close with near the end but we still don't know them well enough to feel that strong a connection with them. Still, we get a first-hand experience of running in an elite international running event, which is pretty neat.
So what lessons can running readers take away from Ethiopians? I think the biggest lessons deal with the value of group training, focusing more on “maximal gains” and tough workouts and putting less stress on the smaller stuff, and running with a sense of feel and not being slaves to Garmin splits (though Ethiopians were sticklers to adhering to the overall time allocated for a workout). Easy runs are intended to be truly easy, though virtually every easy run featured strides afterwards to inject some speed and “springiness” into every workout. Ethiopians also believe that certain environments are imbued with specific characteristics and they often sought out different routes to ensure they were deriving the full range of benefits from different altitudes and terrains. Finally, the runners all showcased considerable confidence (earned through punishing work) and always had goals they were striving for. None of these are particularly earth-shattering, but it is always good to have them reinforced and learn more about one of the biggest hotbeds of marathoning talent in the world while doing so. Long-distance training can be a slog and there are only so many ways Crawley can make a long run sound interesting (but he tries his best) but Out of Thin Air shines a light on Ethiopian running culture and brings the country’s running scene to life and shares how we can apply Ethiopian running philosophy to our own training. It’s a solid read overall and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for similar fare to Running with the Kenyans.
7/10
Out of Thin Air is essentially a sister book to Adharanand Finn’s Running with the Kenyans with a more academically meaty bibliography (in an anthropological sense). Kenya has much higher rates of English speaking and has developed some semblance of a running tourism industrial complex catering to curious journalists and wealthy runners looking to learn from some of the best runners on the planet. Ethiopia is a tougher nut to crack for outsiders but it is quite interesting in its own right. The country is the only African nation with its own alphabet, the first to adopt Christianity, and the only one to successfully fight against colonialism. On the running front, it also boasts twice as many marathoning Olympic gold medals as Kenya. Crawley embedded himself in an Ethiopian running community around the capital city of Addis Ababa for fifteen months, learning the local Amharic language and frequently training and racing with his subjects. This participatory angle allows Crawley to get to know his subjects on a much deeper level than what we usually get on such athletes, many of whom are not fluent in English. Crawley’s own outstanding running abilities go a long way towards endearing himself with the runners and getting them to open up to him. Anyone who has been on a group run before knows that there are few better ways to quickly develop a bond with someone than the shared experience of a long run.
Ethiopian runners somewhat paradoxically balance the concept of idil, or luck bestowed from God, with the notion that they can create their own luck through hard work. Ethiopian days technically start at 6am and runners frequently began their runs as early as 3 or 4am to beat the traffic and/or heat and cram in workouts around work schedules. There is a strong collectivist ethos among the runners as well. They believe that runners can feed off of others’ energy and focus on matching pace and cadence. Running watches are not terribly common among runners, but when they are used they are often shared across athletes and used to monitor the pace of the entire group. There is also a strong sense of confidence and hope among the runners. This is a rarefied running community, where a runner with a 2:05 marathon would say that they ran “...and five” because the notion of a marathon over three hours is unfathomable to them. While race glory only accrues to individuals, the “condition” or fitness necessary to achieve those goals only comes through grueling group training runs.
Crawley befriends and writes about many runners during his time in Ethiopia. Some go on to lucrative wins in foreign marathons and half marathons, others fizzle out and leave the sport, and many fall somewhere between those two extremes. This allows Crawley to provide a fuller picture of the Ethiopian running “community” rather than needing to extrapolate from detailed profiles from a handful of in-depth interviews. From an anthropological perspective I would imagine that this is best practice. But one drawback to the lay reader is that there is no climax or big race being built to that the reader is highly emotionally invested in. The author does travel to a half marathon in Turkey with some Ethiopians he is particularly close with near the end but we still don't know them well enough to feel that strong a connection with them. Still, we get a first-hand experience of running in an elite international running event, which is pretty neat.
So what lessons can running readers take away from Ethiopians? I think the biggest lessons deal with the value of group training, focusing more on “maximal gains” and tough workouts and putting less stress on the smaller stuff, and running with a sense of feel and not being slaves to Garmin splits (though Ethiopians were sticklers to adhering to the overall time allocated for a workout). Easy runs are intended to be truly easy, though virtually every easy run featured strides afterwards to inject some speed and “springiness” into every workout. Ethiopians also believe that certain environments are imbued with specific characteristics and they often sought out different routes to ensure they were deriving the full range of benefits from different altitudes and terrains. Finally, the runners all showcased considerable confidence (earned through punishing work) and always had goals they were striving for. None of these are particularly earth-shattering, but it is always good to have them reinforced and learn more about one of the biggest hotbeds of marathoning talent in the world while doing so. Long-distance training can be a slog and there are only so many ways Crawley can make a long run sound interesting (but he tries his best) but Out of Thin Air shines a light on Ethiopian running culture and brings the country’s running scene to life and shares how we can apply Ethiopian running philosophy to our own training. It’s a solid read overall and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for similar fare to Running with the Kenyans.
7/10
July 4, 2023
I've been distance running for 20 years now, starting at age 50 or so. I'd rate this book a 7 out of 10, a tougher rating than many I see here. After reading it, I felt like I'd had an entertaining night or two at the pub with someone who'd lived and trained extensively with tremendous, mostly full-time runners in Ethiopia. To be honest, not really more than that.
Michael Crawley is an anthropologist and his style reflects that, though indisputably a good bloke with clear insight into his surroundings. I echo some other comments that head shots of the frequently mentioned runners would have helped a lot.
Overall I can't imagine a non-runner would get much out of it. It's very detailed on training terrain, the unique forest zigzagging jogs, times, food and drinks, and the group ethos which is paramount. All fascinating to me but I doubt that many of my reading friends would get past a chapter voluntarily.
Very much for the runner but they will get a lot out of this. I won't watch Ethiopians running in top-class races in the same way again.
January 7, 2021
I went into this book not really knowing that much about Ethiopian running culture but now I do! This book gives a really great personal insight into the training and mindset that lies behind the success of Ethiopian runners. It's almost unbelievable how fast these guys are. A key focus on running together as a way to improve rather than individually was very interesting. Plus the ideas of always keeping running exciting and utilising the environment that you run in to suit the purposes of your run. Some concepts I think all runners no matter what level should consider. It was striking the way running is seen as almost a lifeline with prize money being a big driver for the majority of runners in the book. Especially with how tough the competition is! The idea of training and living the right way being rewarded with race performances is an intriguing alternative to the idea of natural athletic ability.
It was very impressive of the author to be training with these guys especially at such high altitudes and that did give a very real and intimate feel to the book. Although he probably didn't have to mention his race times as much as he did. Felt like he kept trying to prove how good a runner he was.
Best quote:
" It is better, running and being tired, than not running and being tired" p242
It was very impressive of the author to be training with these guys especially at such high altitudes and that did give a very real and intimate feel to the book. Although he probably didn't have to mention his race times as much as he did. Felt like he kept trying to prove how good a runner he was.
Best quote:
" It is better, running and being tired, than not running and being tired" p242
August 29, 2024
3.75/5 - Pleasantly surprised to find this was written by an anthropologist. I thought the author did a good job of acknowledging his own biases and managing the tone throughout the book. I am not a runner in any sense but this held my attention throughout. I learned a lot about Ethiopian culture (especially running culture) and the author did a solid job of balancing the elite running content with the cultural aspects.
May 19, 2022
Very interesting glimpse into East African running culture. I didn't learn anything that could be applied to my casual jogging, but inspiring nonetheless.
April 14, 2024
Just phenomenal. Don't be surprised when I reread this within the year 😊
May 9, 2023
I'm shelving this one under the "Outsider Joins Tribe, Attempts to Learn their Ways" bin.
For this category, just on the subject of running alone and ranked by preference, we have:
1. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
2. Running the Dream: One Summer Living, Training, and Racing with a Team of World-Class Runners Half My Age
3. This book!
4. The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance
5. Running With the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth
Apparently there's something about running that makes people want to go and pester a successful group that would probably like to be left alone. Or maybe it's just writers...
At any rate, a lot of good stuff in here regarding Ethiopian running culture. It has caused me to consider and perhaps even rethink aspects of the sport that I had strictly sought to distance myself from, such as running in a group. Ethiopians believe that group running is essential if you want to improve, since it forces you to adapt to someone else's pace. I mostly run to seek some fresh air, stay in relatively good shape, and for some alone time with my thoughts and perhaps some music. So we'll see...
Recommended to all/any running enthusiasts!
For this category, just on the subject of running alone and ranked by preference, we have:
1. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
2. Running the Dream: One Summer Living, Training, and Racing with a Team of World-Class Runners Half My Age
3. This book!
4. The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance
5. Running With the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth
Apparently there's something about running that makes people want to go and pester a successful group that would probably like to be left alone. Or maybe it's just writers...
At any rate, a lot of good stuff in here regarding Ethiopian running culture. It has caused me to consider and perhaps even rethink aspects of the sport that I had strictly sought to distance myself from, such as running in a group. Ethiopians believe that group running is essential if you want to improve, since it forces you to adapt to someone else's pace. I mostly run to seek some fresh air, stay in relatively good shape, and for some alone time with my thoughts and perhaps some music. So we'll see...
Recommended to all/any running enthusiasts!
January 15, 2024
Really enjoyed this. After having read two of A. Finn’s books, this was a welcome change. Went a lot deeper and was way more insightful about the social and cultural dynamics that surround running where he was. I appreciate that he kept his own running and story to more of a minimum while not letting it fade completely.
May 16, 2021
A great read and a great idea to explore the rather unknown Ethiopian running scene. But with this said, there where a few things I found strange.
The author seem to contradict himself on many occassions. He talks about the romantic idea (western) media has about east african kids running to n from school etc and claim that its not true. But a few paragraphs later we learn that a young runner (Fasil) he interviews was a shephard (between the age 6-16, roughly) and cud roam around the country-side for 16 h (!) a day! So of cos theese kids have a VERY active childhood as a backbone before they enter the training camps.
Another thing was contradicting was the resting. First he mentions that the runners can do with 6 h sleeping and they are not so hard on resting etc (compared to Paula Ratcliff among others...). But a few pages later he writes that the runners think he is doing "too many laps" running around interviewing people etc and not saving his energy for training. So I got a bit confused...
Also the notion that they didnt eat straight after training but on many occassions they seem to drink tella (light beer), eat bananas or other things...
I just found these things peculiar. Another thing that stroke me as negative was the object of the book. Even if he declared this in the opening pages I get the impression that his focus was distracted between his writing and observations AND his own training. It seemed he cudnt focus fully on either cos of their impact on each other. If the authors main aim was the writing why not decrease his training load and pick a few sessions he cud participate in or just do the warm ups. Many times he seemed to be drained of energy. And it was a bit sad to learn that he had not improved.
For me as a runner, I am purely interested in the running parts and not into the antropology stuff. His excursions n references into that stuff was a turn off for me. I prefer Finn´s take on story-telling (running w the kenyans + the way of the runner).
Finally, it was very hard to keep track of the characters. An intro (with pics?) of all the different persons involved wud have been a great help (check out running w the buffalos).
With all this said I thought the book was if not great very good.
The author seem to contradict himself on many occassions. He talks about the romantic idea (western) media has about east african kids running to n from school etc and claim that its not true. But a few paragraphs later we learn that a young runner (Fasil) he interviews was a shephard (between the age 6-16, roughly) and cud roam around the country-side for 16 h (!) a day! So of cos theese kids have a VERY active childhood as a backbone before they enter the training camps.
Another thing was contradicting was the resting. First he mentions that the runners can do with 6 h sleeping and they are not so hard on resting etc (compared to Paula Ratcliff among others...). But a few pages later he writes that the runners think he is doing "too many laps" running around interviewing people etc and not saving his energy for training. So I got a bit confused...
Also the notion that they didnt eat straight after training but on many occassions they seem to drink tella (light beer), eat bananas or other things...
I just found these things peculiar. Another thing that stroke me as negative was the object of the book. Even if he declared this in the opening pages I get the impression that his focus was distracted between his writing and observations AND his own training. It seemed he cudnt focus fully on either cos of their impact on each other. If the authors main aim was the writing why not decrease his training load and pick a few sessions he cud participate in or just do the warm ups. Many times he seemed to be drained of energy. And it was a bit sad to learn that he had not improved.
For me as a runner, I am purely interested in the running parts and not into the antropology stuff. His excursions n references into that stuff was a turn off for me. I prefer Finn´s take on story-telling (running w the kenyans + the way of the runner).
Finally, it was very hard to keep track of the characters. An intro (with pics?) of all the different persons involved wud have been a great help (check out running w the buffalos).
With all this said I thought the book was if not great very good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2021
What inspirational and insightful writing.
Michael Crawley writes about his own journey, alongside the journey of numerous Ethiopians as they try and determine if they have what it takes to be one of a very few successful elite distance runners.
The blurb states ‘Follow him into the forest as he attempts to keep up and get to the heart of their success’, a statement which resonates with me. One big take away from the book is that ‘heart’ is probably what epitomises Ethiopian running. They run with their heart fully attuned to the cause and commitment, fully attuned to his/her fellow runner, and fully attuned to the environment. The Ethiopians often attribute success and conditioning to elements of magic, faith, stigma, and the unknown, but when it comes down to it, the magic is really the result of the culture of running that flows through these incredible areas and their people.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable and from a personal perspective, motivational listen.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury UK Audio for a review copy.
Michael Crawley writes about his own journey, alongside the journey of numerous Ethiopians as they try and determine if they have what it takes to be one of a very few successful elite distance runners.
The blurb states ‘Follow him into the forest as he attempts to keep up and get to the heart of their success’, a statement which resonates with me. One big take away from the book is that ‘heart’ is probably what epitomises Ethiopian running. They run with their heart fully attuned to the cause and commitment, fully attuned to his/her fellow runner, and fully attuned to the environment. The Ethiopians often attribute success and conditioning to elements of magic, faith, stigma, and the unknown, but when it comes down to it, the magic is really the result of the culture of running that flows through these incredible areas and their people.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable and from a personal perspective, motivational listen.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury UK Audio for a review copy.
February 15, 2021
Having read “Running with the Kenyans” and “Running with the Buffaloes” the expectations from this book were to gain the (un)conventional wisdom from a massively successful powerhouse in the world of distance running. This book was full of fascinating passages, stories of hardy men who overcame struggles and through the good times and the bad were actually just at their core, people who love to run.
The anthropological insights into Ethiopian culture were fascinating to say the least and I would really put this book in my Top 10 running books of all time.
The anthropological insights into Ethiopian culture were fascinating to say the least and I would really put this book in my Top 10 running books of all time.
November 6, 2024
Boring af. If you’re looking for training tips, this ain’t it. If you’re looking for motivating anecdotes, this ain’t it. If you’re looking for a compelling story, this ain’t it. I could have saved myself 8 hours by just listening to the final 2 minutes.
June 10, 2021
Sweet Story
The author gives his account of training runners in Ethiopia. He learns a bit of the culture and languages. He meets some wonderful people a,d has a great experience.
The author gives his account of training runners in Ethiopia. He learns a bit of the culture and languages. He meets some wonderful people a,d has a great experience.
January 22, 2023
This makes me want to go running at 4am when I can't sleep.
December 28, 2023
"Work hard, live virtuously." That's the mantra Ethiopian runners live by. Why is it that East African runners are always finishing in the top spots in marathons across the world? This book helped me understand. First let me say something about the author. It was reeeeeeeeeal refreshing to know he is an elite runner himself. Going into this I thought the guy enjoyed running, had the time, and wanted to know more about the sport's top athletes. But 2 chapters in, after acclimating to the training a bit, he describes himself getting to a reasonable level, "10 miles for under 50 minutes." 😮 So he wasn't just out there with a pen and pad observing from the bus. He was working just as hard as the top runners in the world were.
As for those top runners, there are genetic gifts at play sure but that alone is not what makes them world-class. For starters, even an early riser here in the US who starts their runs off at 6am is getting mopped by Ethiopians. Some of whom have already hung 10-20 miles for a workout on any given day. 6am to an Ethiopian is practically mid-morning. There were times the author was woken up at 3am to hop on a bus and head to a forest where they would click off dozens of kilometers on 4 hours of sleep. The guy that drove the bus for the athletes gave running a try himself. But he gave it up because he "only could run 30:05 for 10k." 😐🤔🫥 NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN ATLANTA RIGHT NOW IS DOING THAT!!!! And this guy said it with shame. Perspective is everything I guess.
The book highlights several of the top athletes and their pursuits with running. And for each of their stories, I took something that will help me in my own. But what I loved most was the community principles they live by. From the coach, "When many threads come together, they can tie up a lion. Training is not an individualistic, survival-of-the-fittest pursuit. But rather a communal endeavor. Training alone is just for health. To be changed you have to run with others. Operating as a team is explicitly intended to protect the energy levels, livelihoods and dreams of all the individuals within it." This reminds me of Proverbs 6:6-8.
They are serious on where they train just as much as the training itself. They think that if they run really high up in the forest, they call pull energy from the trees up there. I like that symbolically. There's a different frequency I'm on when in the mountains and other undisturbed landscapes vs. places overrun by people and noise pollution. There's really something to be said there about nature and how it contributes to the overall welfare of the human spirit.
To these runners, training is serious. They can lift themselves out of poverty with a 1st or even 5th place finish. Some will even drop out of a race midway through if they know they are not going to finish within the prize money. Even still, the mindset is pure as one goes on to say, "Sometimes you need to lose something in order to get something. Even if I can't get two things, I can get one through my running. I am healthy, even if I do not have money. Even if I have no money, I have a goal. I have hope of gaining something tomorrow. As our elders say, 'A pregnant cow does not crave milk." That was my favorite text from the entire book.
The author shares what stood out to him the most was "the value of years dedicated to running that went beyond money. The value of having a goal to work towards, of having friends who share your desire to bring change together, and of putting health and vitality first."
So what's the answer to why Ethiopians are world-class runners? Because of their mantra. They believe if they work hard and virtuously they will be rewarded with performances that are truly transcendent and spectacular. Adapt and overcome are what Ethiopians are great at.
As for those top runners, there are genetic gifts at play sure but that alone is not what makes them world-class. For starters, even an early riser here in the US who starts their runs off at 6am is getting mopped by Ethiopians. Some of whom have already hung 10-20 miles for a workout on any given day. 6am to an Ethiopian is practically mid-morning. There were times the author was woken up at 3am to hop on a bus and head to a forest where they would click off dozens of kilometers on 4 hours of sleep. The guy that drove the bus for the athletes gave running a try himself. But he gave it up because he "only could run 30:05 for 10k." 😐🤔🫥 NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN ATLANTA RIGHT NOW IS DOING THAT!!!! And this guy said it with shame. Perspective is everything I guess.
The book highlights several of the top athletes and their pursuits with running. And for each of their stories, I took something that will help me in my own. But what I loved most was the community principles they live by. From the coach, "When many threads come together, they can tie up a lion. Training is not an individualistic, survival-of-the-fittest pursuit. But rather a communal endeavor. Training alone is just for health. To be changed you have to run with others. Operating as a team is explicitly intended to protect the energy levels, livelihoods and dreams of all the individuals within it." This reminds me of Proverbs 6:6-8.
They are serious on where they train just as much as the training itself. They think that if they run really high up in the forest, they call pull energy from the trees up there. I like that symbolically. There's a different frequency I'm on when in the mountains and other undisturbed landscapes vs. places overrun by people and noise pollution. There's really something to be said there about nature and how it contributes to the overall welfare of the human spirit.
To these runners, training is serious. They can lift themselves out of poverty with a 1st or even 5th place finish. Some will even drop out of a race midway through if they know they are not going to finish within the prize money. Even still, the mindset is pure as one goes on to say, "Sometimes you need to lose something in order to get something. Even if I can't get two things, I can get one through my running. I am healthy, even if I do not have money. Even if I have no money, I have a goal. I have hope of gaining something tomorrow. As our elders say, 'A pregnant cow does not crave milk." That was my favorite text from the entire book.
The author shares what stood out to him the most was "the value of years dedicated to running that went beyond money. The value of having a goal to work towards, of having friends who share your desire to bring change together, and of putting health and vitality first."
So what's the answer to why Ethiopians are world-class runners? Because of their mantra. They believe if they work hard and virtuously they will be rewarded with performances that are truly transcendent and spectacular. Adapt and overcome are what Ethiopians are great at.
May 2, 2025
Speaking as a runner, well, a very amateur 3:55 marathon runner, it’s sobering to read about training for sub 2 hour marathons, or running at a “slow” pace of 4:30 a km…. But anyway, this remarkable account is of an anthropologist spending months training with Ethiopian elite runners as they train for national and international competitions and a genuine chance to change their and their families’ lives. These people train as a collective but of course compete individually, and most of the book explores how that looks in practice - how athletes get into this, how they train, the camaraderie, the pain, the rituals, the beliefs, the spirituality of it all. The great thing about the book though is how Crawley throws himself into it. As an anthropologist (he explains) you’re technically supposed to observe but he knows there’s more to it - he has to feel what his objects of study feel. So he trains at 3,000m altitude with the best of them, feels their pains and joys. Becomes the curious foreigner who people root for and invite along into the group. Out of it all he breaks his own 2:20 marathon PB, but much more importantly for us he completely destroys all the received ideas we’d ever had about East African international athletes. You come out of this book with incredible admiration for the dedication and commitment that goes with making it as an elite runner. And a really nuanced sense of just how different running looks in a country like Ethiopia which has a thriving amateur and professional athletic community with deep levels of domestic and international sponsorship countries like the UK can only dream of. New found respect for a place and its people I had only really an inkling of before. Anthropologist’s job done, beautifully. And thank you @andrewlwood for an unexpected and fantastic gift. @mikecrawl #guehennoreads #booksofinstagram #booksof2025
September 5, 2021
Michael Crawley wrote Out of Thin Air as the output from field research for his PhD in social anthropology. He lived and ran for fifteen months with top-level runners in Ethiopia—a country swarming with top-level runners.
Crawley (from Scotland) is himself an excellent runner, someone who would win 10Ks and the occasional marathon were it not that there is always an Ethiopian, Kenyan, or Eritrean ahead of him, so he's had lots of second- and third-place finishes. He does not complain about this because for him it's not about wins or the prize money.
Ethiopians who run at the highest levels take it very seriously. They usually belong to and train with clubs, many of which pay their members salaries that are enough to live on if they are careful. All the runners in a club support and train with each other—until race day, when the objective is to compete. And most east Africans do it for the money. A win of a few thousand dollars can be enough for a young man in Ethiopia to buy a farm and a house, get married, and be set up with a good start in life. And so they train and compete as though their lives depend on it, because they do.
Although my own days of marathoning and ultrarunning are long behind me, I still put in a fair amount of pedestrian mileage each week, and my figurative heart is still in the sport if not my physical heart. I continue more for reasons of personal health than for the sake of competition, which has never been particularly important to me. But the book verifies what I've always known, that the races provide goalposts for runners who seek to improve their ability.
Crawley (from Scotland) is himself an excellent runner, someone who would win 10Ks and the occasional marathon were it not that there is always an Ethiopian, Kenyan, or Eritrean ahead of him, so he's had lots of second- and third-place finishes. He does not complain about this because for him it's not about wins or the prize money.
Ethiopians who run at the highest levels take it very seriously. They usually belong to and train with clubs, many of which pay their members salaries that are enough to live on if they are careful. All the runners in a club support and train with each other—until race day, when the objective is to compete. And most east Africans do it for the money. A win of a few thousand dollars can be enough for a young man in Ethiopia to buy a farm and a house, get married, and be set up with a good start in life. And so they train and compete as though their lives depend on it, because they do.
Although my own days of marathoning and ultrarunning are long behind me, I still put in a fair amount of pedestrian mileage each week, and my figurative heart is still in the sport if not my physical heart. I continue more for reasons of personal health than for the sake of competition, which has never been particularly important to me. But the book verifies what I've always known, that the races provide goalposts for runners who seek to improve their ability.
March 16, 2022
This anthropologist's account of "embedding" with runners in Ethiopia was a cut above some similar books. It helped that the author is pretty fast himself and so was better able to keep up with his new friends than most other Western athletes would. He also made an effort to learn Amharic so he could speak to the runners directly, and it shows in the friendships and rapport he developed with them. I like the nuggets of wisdom he came away with: training together (literally following in one another's footsteps on group training runs) makes every runner stronger; there is magic in high-altitude training courses; runners should be collaborative and competitive at the same time; doing something crazy (like getting up to run hills at 3 a.m.) is occasionally a good thing; and aiming higher than you think can push you to unimagined heights. Recommended for all runners.
September 25, 2023
I'll have to admit, I'm one of the many people who lumped all East African runners in the same group, not knowing the many differences between them, but merely thinking of them as fast. This book gave me the insite to their training, which seems a bit unorthodox in the west, but one csn't dispute their achievements.
Reading this book (as with most running books) gave me a little more motivation in my runs, and made me look forward to them a little bit more. I really enjoyed learning about the Ethiopian running culture.
As a bonus, after finishing the book "Cutting for Stone" first, I felt a familiarity with many of the places in Ethiopia as well as a slight familiarity with some of its history.
Reading this book (as with most running books) gave me a little more motivation in my runs, and made me look forward to them a little bit more. I really enjoyed learning about the Ethiopian running culture.
As a bonus, after finishing the book "Cutting for Stone" first, I felt a familiarity with many of the places in Ethiopia as well as a slight familiarity with some of its history.
August 27, 2025
Out of Thin Air is a fascinating window into Ethiopia’s unique running culture. Michael Crawley did an excellent job of immersing himself in the world of Ethiopian distance running and bringing it to life with detail and respect. I especially enjoyed the simple yet profound insights sprinkled throughout - reminders of how deeply running is connected to mindset, community, and environment. It took me a while to finish this book, but I’m glad I did; it’s both informative and inspiring for anyone who loves running or wants to understand what makes Ethiopia such a powerhouse in the sport.
February 17, 2022
Not bad, not bad. When you feel like you would even go there and train, some mystical wind turns you back to reality, and you find yourself as an amateur, not needing to turn passion to professionalism. Apart from this, it's a curious exploration of some fundamental African strategies of running and applying them in international races.
July 15, 2024
This book made me see running in a different way, as more collective and interest-driven than I am used to. I appreciated the author’s commitment to training with and getting to know the runners. Eventually, though, the stories got a little boring to me. I also think this lacked a central story to serve as a driving force; I would’ve enjoyed deeper dives on only a few runners or key races.
January 13, 2021
AWESOME. Fantastic insight in to running in Ethiopia and truly dedicating your life to a cause.
March 9, 2024
Fascinating book, loved the cultural & societal aspects, not so much the name dropping of Ethiopian runners. In saying that, I thoroughly enjoyed🕺
September 30, 2024
I found this book interesting, however it might have appealed more to an actual runner. I did enjoy learning about the Ethiopian take on running and their training.
June 13, 2025
I really liked the author's cultural sensitivity — it’s pretty rare in this kind of writing. But then again, he’s an anthropologist, so who else would get it right? Very inspiring book.
April 23, 2025
interesting tidbits but was incredibly frustrated and confused by the lack of any sort of through line or plot!
April 3, 2025
The perfect book to read in the days before a marathon.
Fascinating from both an anthropological and running-nerd (the technical term) perspective!
Fascinating from both an anthropological and running-nerd (the technical term) perspective!
July 19, 2023
Came back to raise my rating to 5 stars because I keep thinking about this book! And, for its genre I think it was 5 stars even if it didn’t enrapture me the same way well written fiction does. The book is well written and well paced, and I found myself holding a ton of respect for the author/researcher AND his Ethiopian running friends. Super interesting especially if you’re a runner (not totally sure I “in” that group yet) but also if you’re interested in learning more about Ethiopia, or reading an accessible account of ethnographic research
January 1, 2023
Such good insight on running and especially the culture and sociological background in Ethiopia. 5 stars!
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