The Longest Race

Get in the xigxag app
This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }}
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

First and foremost a book about running, The Longest Race takes listeners alongside ultramarathoner Ed Ayres as he prepares for, runs, and finishes the JFK fifty-mile race at a then record-breaking time for his age division—sixty and older. But for Ayres, this race was about more than just running, and the book also encompasses his musings and epiphanies along the way about possibilities for human achievement and the creation of a sustainable civilization.

Looking back over a lifetime of more than fifty years of long-distance running, Ayres realizes that his running has taught him important lessons about endurance, patience, and foresight. These qualities, also hallmarks of being human, likely helped humans to survive and thrive in the evolutionary race—and, Ayres posits, they are qualities absolutely necessary to building a sustainable society.

Grounding each step of his argument are vivid details from this particular race and other moments across his long running career. These experiences take us far beyond the sport, into new perspectives on our origins and future—and what it means to be a part of the human race. In the end, Ayres suggests, if we can recapture the running prowess and overall physical fitness of our "wild" ancient distance-hunting ancestors, we will also be equipped to keep our bodies, our society, and the entire world running long into the future.

Critics Review

  • “Ed Ayres is a legend who shares his many provocative insights and lessons in an informative yet enjoyable way. A true champion, Ed uses his gift to help us all be the best that we can be.”

    Dean Karnazes, New York Times bestselling author

  • “Revealing, savvy, and fast-paced, Ayres’s eloquent book on marathon running is a master class on the priceless life lessons of enduring and conquering obstacles to victory.”

    Publishers Weekly

  • “Like the expert runner that he is, Ayres perfectly paces his tale and evokes the feeling of being on a long, rambling run with a very good friend. A gifted storyteller, he seamlessly moves between discussing running to exploring larger life issues such as why we run, our impact on the environment, and the effects of the nation’s declining physical fitness.”

    Booklist

  • “With a very lucid, almost conversational, writing style, he shows how lessons learned in efficient management of the body’s resources while on the long run can be applied by all of us to the care of the planet. Even if you are not an ultrarunner, or any kind of runner at all, you will find valuable observations that can be applied to your own life.”

    Sacramento Book Review

More from the same

Narrator

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.