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Title: A Disappointing Read
Review: Writing is not an easy craft and there is no reason to expect that a large group of ultrarunners would necessarily be up for the task, even to fill the four or five pages that make up most of these essays on their selected experiences. The reader does get a glimpse into the world of ultrarunning with names, places, and some (vague) course descriptions. Generally, however, the stories fail to take us inside the reality of ultrarunning or the runners themselves. The runners write about the challenges and rewards of their participation in one event or another, but the writing does not distinguish athletes or their events. The reader is left with a flat and one-dimensional view of the sport. The real failure is in the editing. Neither the editor or the publisher seemed to have clearly in mind what they wanted the book to say about this emerging sport, and the individual authors appear to have had little guidance in their choice of themes or style.
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