I love to read books about running, and I love books which inspire me. Runner by Lizzy Hawker does both. I imagine like me, (until relatively recently), you have not heard of Lizzy Hawker.
This book and Lizzy Hawker came to my attention after I completed the Tour du Mont Blanc trek about this time last year. The Tour Du Mont Blanc is a gruelling 170km trail, with 10,000m of ascent. It winds its way through France, Italy and Switzerland and takes most people around 10-11 days to walk. The alternative is the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, basically the same route but you run it as part of a race! Lizzy Hawker has won this race, an unprecedented 5 times completing it in just under 27hours. This book is not just the story of that incredible achievement but the story of her many incredible achievements, including a 320km run through the Himalayas, the world record she holds for 24 hours on the road and many other staggering physical achievements.
Runner takes us through Lizzy’s many adventures on two feet as she literally runs her way around the world. From quite an early age she discovered she had the ability to run a long way, she also discovered a love for the mountains that would lead her to run through some of the worlds greatest mountain ranges.
Two things stayed with me after reading this book. The first is the shocking lack of recognition Lizzy received for her incredible achievements. In 2006 she took part in the 100km (Yes 100km!!) world Championships in Korea, as part of the Great Britain Team. In the pre race listings she was ranked as 19th and it was only her 3rd 100km race. She completed that race in just short of 7 1/2 hours and won a Gold for Great Britain. It was the only medal for senior athletics in GB that year and yet the only recognition she received was a letter from UK athletics some months later. This was at a time before social media was quite the frenzied form of communication it is today. However even with that ultra distance running is still barely recognised in a world where football, tennis and formula one racing are the stars of the show.
The second is the tremendous focus and determination which Lizzy shows again and again. She appears fearless in her attempts to achieve her goals. She has an ability to focus and persevere and achieve great things because of that.
“Focus and attention, intention and effort. These are what bring dreams to reality, that allow us to do what it is we want or need to do. And they are what give what we want or need to do meaning”
The story weaves the races Lizzy has run with the journey of her life with all its ups and downs. She weaves them cleverly together so that as a reader I really felt I was on this incredible journey with her. But it also inspired me to look at my own journey and think about how to use the experiences both good and bad in the best way I can.
As a runner of a very mediocre kind I loved this book. Lizzy describes the feeling of freedom and sense of possibility that running gives almost better than anyone I have ever read. Whether it is a 5km plod or an ultra marathon, running can produce the same sense of freedom and instil confidence in even the most timid of runners. I cannot imagine running 100km, but I can relate to the feelings of joy and confidence running even a few km can give.
“Yes running gives confidence in so many ways, but it goes far beyond that. Going for a run any run, gives me sense that anything is possible – it gives me space in which I can deal and plan for the future. It gives me hope for the world – all the while pulling me right there inside the moment, forcing me to live in the now. Empowerment: it is that feeling of infinite possibility, and it is how we manifest that potential as reality”
This is not just a book about running. This is a book about what the human body and mind can achieve if you set your mind to it. It is a book about learning to dig deep inside ourself when facing challenges and how to persevere when you feel your world is crumbling around you. Lizzy gives so many useful insights into tackling life, not just running.
“It is an incredible feeling when the running is flowing. It is hard when injury or my mind sop me from doing what I know I can. But learning to ride out the rocks and rolls i part of the journey. That is life. It is something I have learned to know intimately through the medium of running”
This book stayed with me long after the last page. I can’t recommend it enough.
If you are interested to know more about Lizzy Hawker, you can read much more about her adventures here.
If you would like to read about my own much smaller adventure with Mont Blanc you can find that here.