Audiobook6 hours
Running Like a Girl: Notes on Learning to Run
Written by Alexandra Heminsley
Narrated by Elizabeth Sastre
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
"The inspiring, hilarious memoir of a “Bridget Jones-like writer” (The Washington Post) who transforms her life by learning to run, with stories of miserable defeat, complete victory, and learning to choose the right shoes.
When Alexandra Heminsley decided to take up running, she had hopes for a blissful runner’s high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets—and failed spectacularly. The stories of her first runs turn on its head the common notion that we are all “born to run”—and exposes the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal.
Running Like a Girl tells the story of getting beyond the brutal part, how Alexandra makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin; but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father—a marathon runner—and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon.
But before her first marathon, she has to figure out the logistics of running: the intimidating questions from a young and arrogant sales assistant when she goes to buy her first running shoes, where to get decent bras for the larger bust, how not to freeze or get sunstroke, and what (and when) to eat before a run. She’s figured out what’s important (pockets) and what isn’t (appearance), and more.
For any woman who has ever run, wanted to run, tried to run, or failed to run (even if just around the block), Heminsley’s funny, warm, and motivational personal journey from nonathlete extraordinaire to someone who has completed five marathons is inspiring, entertaining, practical, and fun."
When Alexandra Heminsley decided to take up running, she had hopes for a blissful runner’s high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets—and failed spectacularly. The stories of her first runs turn on its head the common notion that we are all “born to run”—and exposes the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal.
Running Like a Girl tells the story of getting beyond the brutal part, how Alexandra makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin; but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father—a marathon runner—and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon.
But before her first marathon, she has to figure out the logistics of running: the intimidating questions from a young and arrogant sales assistant when she goes to buy her first running shoes, where to get decent bras for the larger bust, how not to freeze or get sunstroke, and what (and when) to eat before a run. She’s figured out what’s important (pockets) and what isn’t (appearance), and more.
For any woman who has ever run, wanted to run, tried to run, or failed to run (even if just around the block), Heminsley’s funny, warm, and motivational personal journey from nonathlete extraordinaire to someone who has completed five marathons is inspiring, entertaining, practical, and fun."
Author
Alexandra Heminsley
Alexandra Heminsley is a journalist, broadcaster, and ghostwriter. She is the books editor for Elle UK and a contributor to the BBC. She lives in Brighton, UK.
Related to Running Like a Girl
Related audiobooks
Your Pace or Mine?: What Running Taught Me About Life, Laughter and Coming Last Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Year of Running Dangerously Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pants Of Perspective: One woman's 3,000 kilometre running adventure through the wilds of New Zealand Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ultra: Top Model to Top Ultra Runner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves, and the Will to Swim Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eat And Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Marathons: Searching for the Soft Ground in a Hard World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Chicken Soup for the Soul: Runners: 101 Inspirational Stories of Energy, Endurance, and Endorphins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running With My Dog Brought Me Back From the Brink Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chicken Soup for the Soul: Runners - 39 Stories about Pushing Through, Where It Takes You, and Triathlons Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Running on Empty: An Ultramarathoner's Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/580/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running Outside the Comfort Zone: An Explorer's Guide to the Edges of Running Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rise of the Ultra Runners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Running: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comeback Quotient: A Get-Real Guide to Building Mental Fitness in Sport and Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Science of Running: How to Find Your Limit and Train to Maximize Your Performance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ultramarathon Man (Revised): Confession of an All-Night Runner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Incomplete Book of Running Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Are an Ironman: How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World's Toughest Triathlon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running & Being: The Total Experience Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Run the Mile You're In: Finding God in Every Step Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Inner Runner: Running to a More Successful, Creative, and Confident You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Beautiful Work In Progress Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Runner’s High: My Life in Motion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meb For Mortals: How to Run, Think, and Eat like a Champion Marathoner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Personal Memoirs For You
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman in Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Night: New translation by Marion Wiesel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wishful Drinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Stay Married Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Me: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: Built for This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pageboy: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Counting the Cost Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love, Pamela: A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5See You on the Way Down: Catch You on the Way Back Up! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love, Lucy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making It So: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Running Like a Girl
Rating: 3.7894736315789475 out of 5 stars
4/5
76 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If you're *not* a runner and could use a memoir to help the idea marinate in your mind, this is a great book. Heminsley goes through the highs and the lows, making it the idea seem possible. I really wanted to get out and move: I got some clothes, new sneakers, made the pump-me-up playlist, I felt ready! Then I got a flu that left me barely able to stand, then the snow fell and my sneakers wouldn't help me. Due to the book realistically discussing the process, I still want to go out. How often can you say that things happen and you still want to proceed?
While there were some great tips on running, the organization is terrible and the tips are not all encompassing. If you want to whet your appetite, this is a great memoir of an average female runner. If you need and instruction manual and reference, this is is not it; I went running to the bookstore to get a running guide. That said, I am still happy that I bought this book; jury is just out on whether it is a read-and-pass-on versus a keeper.
EDIT: I ended up keeping it, if you are interested. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this immensely. Funny, honest, and super relatable.
EXCEPT who in their right mind just up and runs a 5k right off the bat?! I'm doing a couch-to-5k program right now and I'm proud of myself for running 5 MINUTES at a time!
...Anyway. I may never be a marathon runner, but this book did actually make me feel like I could do it if I wanted to. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'm not a self-help book person, I don't like being told what to do. I also don't really like watching other people be better than me at stuff/ do things I can't. Yet I love the way this author writes (and reads, in the audiobook) about herself. It's funny, wry and inspiring, like an autobiography but with tips about running. It's the mix that makes it readable for me. I can't run, but I walk, and this was something to listen to while walking, to inspire me to walk more.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A very enjoyable read for a relative running novice like me, but I did want to sigh a little when I reached the end of Chapter One. Running 5k in 35 minutes, when this is pretty much your first ever stepping foot outside the house to run, is a pretty damn impressive time. Anything under 40 minutes is a good start. Readers: don't let Alexandra's relative youth and speed put you off!A witty light read of her running story constitutes part one; part two is more a history of women running marathons and running tips.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I don't think I will ever want to be a runner but I like that Alexandra thinks I could! This book is not filled with the mechanics of running but does give a glimpse into the head of a new runner.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This book got so much press in the running community about how inspiring it was that I bought it, ready to love it. However, it is self-indulgent and whiny. I don't find self-centered and lazy people inspiring and couldn't stand listening to the justifications for the author's petty whining.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Made me miss my tracks and gave me an itch to run again. As I picked it up hoping it would obliterate my fitness motivation crisis, it delivered with honours.