My Year of Running Dangerously

August 24, 2015
Foreman, a CNN correspondent with 30 years of experience reporting from the field, follows his return to running at age 51, more than three decades after his time as a high school track athlete, in this sensitive, highly personal book about family, parenting, and the challenges of long-distance running. Urged to run a marathon with his 18-year-old daughter, he weighs the task of training for five half-marathons, three marathons, and one 55-mile race. The power of running soon enchants him. He writes of its “smooth interplay of energy, balance, and movement,” preparing to win over his fatigue and burned muscles to cover the distance. Foreman, largely supported by his family and CNN colleagues, does not sugarcoat any of the difficulties of the races through mud, up steep hills, and over rocky terrain or unforgiving concrete, choosing to stress a proper diet of protein, fruits, vegetables, and fluids. Telling his story in chuckles and candid snippets, Foreman is a convincing salesman for running and its blessings of “exultation, beauty, joy, art.”