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Running Hot
The Badwater Ultramarathon through California's Death Valley is one of the world's toughest races. Lisa Tamati was the first New Zealand woman to compete in the race alongside such legends of the sport as Dean Karnazes and David Goggins. But Lisa's story is so much more than that one race. At the age of 19 she suffered a crippling back injury and was told she should give up running. She took that as a challenge and, with her Austrian boyfriend, went on to run, walk, bike, and paddle her way across thousands of miles of Europe, Scandinavia, and Africa before taking on the ultimate challenge—an unassisted crossing of the Libyan Desert. What happened in that desert would change the course of Lisa's life and instill in her a love of desert running. Running Hot is a story of a life lived to the max—a story of challenges, setbacks, heartbreaks, and triumph.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 18, 2017
This is a cracking read! I raced through it well under 24 hours and would happily have read more of her adventures. Tamati has a whole number of fascinating adventure stories, making other backpacker stories seem tame and stale in comparison. She has countless near death experiences, stuck with her borderline sociopathic ex-boyfriend, overcoming the likes of curious Canadian bears, wild desert dogs in Africa and blisters, broken bones and dysentery amongst many other harsh and brutal challenges. Tamati comes across as an incredibly resilient, affable and inspiring woman who is bursting with determination and positivity.
April 6, 2013
I was so inspired by Lisa's story that I immediately contacted her for an interview. I had the honor of chatting with her over Skype, and she instantly became one of my favorite female athletes of all-time. Desert running is a completely different animal than trail running, and I am awed by her determination and positivity. When you speak to her, her passion and spirit are contagious.
June 7, 2017
Good book. Interesting story. I always love a memoir about an adventure runner.
September 25, 2025
What an adventure! Welp, now I'm going outside for a run!
September 27, 2018
As a runner, the content was interesting for me. It was an easy read and I’m glad I read it, but a few negatives as well for me. I would have liked more information about her training, and what she was feeling at different stages of the races. Also, the inconsistent, almost childlike style of the writing, often with errors, made me cringe at times.
May 2, 2012
A really inspirational book about a Maori woman who sets out running goals and achieves them despite going through a lot of struggles to get there. I really enjoyed it and it definitely made me want to run ultra-marathons!
November 24, 2012
So exciting, I love books with that mental edge worth a read!
July 20, 2014
Amazing how someone so fragile can be so relentlessly tough.
February 8, 2022
Lisa is a young Maori woman from Taranaki, embarking on a business degree, when she falls in love with Paul. Paul is an extreme environmentalist German, who breaks his leg while climbing Mt Taranaki with little gear.
Lisa gives up her degree to travel with him on other extreme adventures in Europe. She is inexperienced, naive, enthusiastic and willing to be led and emotionally abused by Paul, until they cross the Sahara desert. In the desert, Lisa gains clarity about their relationship and after a year, breaks their engagement and falls into the arms of another man.
Werner moves to NZ, is kind and supportive but not as driven as Paul nor Lisa. Lisa starts a jewelry business and discovers a passion for ultra running. With little regard for her health, she puts her body through extremes and suffers long term nerve damage, permanent spinal and kidney damage, hyoglycaema and seizures that are life threatening.
During another desert run she falls for Gerhard, breaks up with Werner, gives up on her apprenticeship, moves to Vienna and marries him. They invest in her jewellery business and continue with ultra sports but the combination of work and sport commitments takes its toll. Soon, Lisa is back in NZ with divorce papers to sign.
Her mum helps her set up her jewellery business and she sets her sights on the Death Valley ultra marathon. This time she can take a professional approach, as her relentless, obsessive drive has drawn sponsors. She joins a gym and has a nutritionist and coach and in 2008 completed this goal. Along the way she describes the beautiful scenery, psychological pressure, depression following her escape from Paul and resilience that is inspiring.
It's interesting that her personality matches the environments she lives to run in and the people she attracts. The narrative is childlike, repetitive (better editing would resolve this) and exposes a naivete or carelessness about the dangers she choses in the face of clear warning signs. Perhaps that is the nature of obsession.
Overall, a good read.
Lisa gives up her degree to travel with him on other extreme adventures in Europe. She is inexperienced, naive, enthusiastic and willing to be led and emotionally abused by Paul, until they cross the Sahara desert. In the desert, Lisa gains clarity about their relationship and after a year, breaks their engagement and falls into the arms of another man.
Werner moves to NZ, is kind and supportive but not as driven as Paul nor Lisa. Lisa starts a jewelry business and discovers a passion for ultra running. With little regard for her health, she puts her body through extremes and suffers long term nerve damage, permanent spinal and kidney damage, hyoglycaema and seizures that are life threatening.
During another desert run she falls for Gerhard, breaks up with Werner, gives up on her apprenticeship, moves to Vienna and marries him. They invest in her jewellery business and continue with ultra sports but the combination of work and sport commitments takes its toll. Soon, Lisa is back in NZ with divorce papers to sign.
Her mum helps her set up her jewellery business and she sets her sights on the Death Valley ultra marathon. This time she can take a professional approach, as her relentless, obsessive drive has drawn sponsors. She joins a gym and has a nutritionist and coach and in 2008 completed this goal. Along the way she describes the beautiful scenery, psychological pressure, depression following her escape from Paul and resilience that is inspiring.
It's interesting that her personality matches the environments she lives to run in and the people she attracts. The narrative is childlike, repetitive (better editing would resolve this) and exposes a naivete or carelessness about the dangers she choses in the face of clear warning signs. Perhaps that is the nature of obsession.
Overall, a good read.
May 9, 2020
I loved reading this book. Being a fellow New Zealander I loved the local flavour of her style of writing. I have run several half marathons, and never thought about taking it further, but when you read what she has put up with in her life re her health, and the toughness of the events she enters, it makes you think "maybe I could". I'm about to start her next book, hope it's as good. Really recommend if you like reading inspirational books - you don't need to be a runner to enjoy.
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March 12, 2021Wow what an amazing and incredibly inspirational read. Kept me on the edge of my seat and not wanting to put it down with anticipation of what was going to happen next. Thank goodness I knew Lisa is alive and well today!
Easy to read, awe inspiring and very motivating. The power of the mind over the body coupled with determination, drive and great ole Kiwiana hard working attitude. Loved every moment and can’t wait to start her next book “Running to Extremes”.
Easy to read, awe inspiring and very motivating. The power of the mind over the body coupled with determination, drive and great ole Kiwiana hard working attitude. Loved every moment and can’t wait to start her next book “Running to Extremes”.
September 15, 2024
Rounded down to a 3.0 from 3.5. Perhaps not the most well-written book, but I found it quite engrossing and at so many points was astounded by Tamati's unbelievably strong resilience. The first parts of the book are more like a travelogue, with Tamati recounting very unusual (dangerous? Ill-advised?) trips in Tunisia, the Libyan desert, and the remote Yukon. Once she takes up ultra-running, the book focuses on her training and racing - all very impressive.
May 24, 2021
I thought this would be more about her running than her personal life (which gave me some serious flashbacks to my last long-term relationship, and not in a good way). It also needed some proofreading - the errors really stood out for me. Still, Tamati does amazing things and I enjoyed the parts of her story about her physical feats.
July 4, 2025
An easy read. Lisa talks of her first, abusive relationship which forced her into extreme adventures - biking and backpacking, her early adventures through the North African deserts and through to her completion of the bad water ultramarathon in Death Valley in 2008.
September 15, 2018
Wow! Motivational.
June 14, 2020
Love this book.
October 20, 2020
Inspiring! Well done, Lisa. Wahine Toa!
January 29, 2023
Inspiring
June 23, 2025
This was a very well written book that I just couldn’t put down. The story of Lisa Tamati is fascinating for anyone who has even a mild interest in running.
December 17, 2012
My wife gave me this book for a birthday present, as she knew how mad I'd become about running and I'd already read many running related books such as Dean Karnazes' Ultramarathon Man, Christopher Mc Dougal's Born to Run, etc.
What drew me in was Lisa's description of her desert runs. It was the first time I'd heard of the Marathon de Sables, and her description of the race has placed it on my must do before I die list of runs. Some truly awe inspiring race narrative in there. I was riveted.
After I completed this book, I gave it to my wife to read, who has very little interest in running, and then lent it on to my sister who has a minor interest in running. Why? Because this book has so much more to offer than simply a running story. It's a story about a woman who finds herself, and a passion that allows her to be herself. It's got so many great adventure stories in there, on canoes, bikes, foot. It's an adventure novel, not just a running novel, and that made it stand apart from other running books I'd read. They both loved it equally as much as I did.
Running Hot inspired me to turn my own hand at putting down my own adventures, and my own foray into running. An absolutely inspiring novel. Highly recommend it.
What drew me in was Lisa's description of her desert runs. It was the first time I'd heard of the Marathon de Sables, and her description of the race has placed it on my must do before I die list of runs. Some truly awe inspiring race narrative in there. I was riveted.
After I completed this book, I gave it to my wife to read, who has very little interest in running, and then lent it on to my sister who has a minor interest in running. Why? Because this book has so much more to offer than simply a running story. It's a story about a woman who finds herself, and a passion that allows her to be herself. It's got so many great adventure stories in there, on canoes, bikes, foot. It's an adventure novel, not just a running novel, and that made it stand apart from other running books I'd read. They both loved it equally as much as I did.
Running Hot inspired me to turn my own hand at putting down my own adventures, and my own foray into running. An absolutely inspiring novel. Highly recommend it.
May 8, 2015
Very inspirational read. It was a while ago when I read the book so my recollections may not be totally accurate. Lisa's drive to run in some of the world's toughest long distance events was spurred on by a feeling of inadequacy caused by a boyfriend who said she wasn't good enough & too weak to take on the challenges. Great to see that this didn't defeat her & she had experiences that most will never come close to. I did call into her shop in New Plymouth while I traveled around NZ around 4 years ago & had a chat about some of her achievements. A great read to show what you can do if you believe in yourself.
March 23, 2023
What an incredible athlete Lisa Tamati is. I’m not sure if I’m more in awe of the distances or the locations of her epic journeys. The trauma she put her body through time and time again was nothing short of phenomenal.
As I was reading about her run across the Libyan desert I was thinking:
a. What type of crazy person would want to do this?
and
b. I would love to do something like this!
I am so far away from these types of athletic challenges, but after reading this book, I can feel myself reaching out, just to try and drag them a little closer.
December 31, 2011
Amazing athlete whose accomplishments are incredibly inspiring. Loved how down to earth she is and the way she underplays her accomplishments in contrast to some other ultra runners memoirs. However her folksy voice and personal turmoil did not always go over so well with me. Nevertheless much here to inspire and lots of food for thought regarding what rives ultra athletes to do what they do.
October 7, 2013
I really enjoyed reading Lisa Tamati's story. It is both interesting and inspirational. I would recommend her book to anyone that enjoys reading about endurance runners. Dean Karnazes quote on the front cover is right on: "Lisa Tamati is a true inspiration; not only has she pushed her mind and body to the limit, she's done it for all the right reasons, using her gift to help others along the way"
December 28, 2011
Interesting book about her journey as a sportswoman and a runner. My lesson from this book: do not date an athlete unless you are as OCD as they are.
I am miffed at the misrepresentation on the book jacket - her injury occurred when she was 22, not 19.
I am miffed at the misrepresentation on the book jacket - her injury occurred when she was 22, not 19.
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February 15, 2016Running is easy. Just one foot in front of the other. The hard part is not giving up and doing what your mind wants: lying down and curling up into a ball and crying away the pain.
Enjoyed this book. Gave an insight into what it takes to be an elite ultrarunner.
Enjoyed this book. Gave an insight into what it takes to be an elite ultrarunner.
March 6, 2011
Read for motivation and inspiration for training... this woman is amazing. But out there as far as motivation goes ... would anyone like to do those events???
February 15, 2012
And for the runner in your life. New Zealand ultra runner Lisa Tamati is an inspiration.
February 9, 2013
Loved this Story about Lisa Tamati, there is soooo much more to Lisa & I have loads of respect for her after reading what about her & what she has overcome AAA+.
January 14, 2013
Really inspiring read. Makes you realise if you are determined enough and do the work required you really can achieve what maybe initially seems out of reach
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews