I briefly met Dane at one of those race expo author signings (Marine Corps, I think). And by met I mean I bought his book (See Dane Run by Dane Rauschenberg: check out his blog) and he signed it for me. He wrote: Chase your dreams. You will catch them. Even though he wrote that to everyone, I thought it was sweet. I’m very susceptible to sweet during race weekend. And he was very kind, posing for an author photo with me for my stalker collection. I think he even asked me to send him a copy, but I forgot until just now. I’m sure he’s still forgotten. Prior to stumbling across his kiosk at the expo I had never heard of Dane, his challenge, or his book. But I was intrigued. I had recently read Dean’s book, 50/50 (read my review), which was 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. However, only a handful of those were real-time marathons, i.e. held during an official marathon event. The rest were re-enactments. Dane ran 52 certified marathons, one every weekend for a year. The travel alone would kill me.
I’ll begin where I always begin, by judging a book by its cover. As always, we see the author, alone, mid-run. This time atop a globe – which is a little misleading given that only three of his races were outside the US, two and a half (yes, just half) of those were in neighbouring Canada, and the third in the Cayman Islands. Hardly the worldly runner the cover presents. But it is a small twist on the lone runner on a road motif that seems to dominate running autobiography covers. My softcover has no separate author photo, but the back cover shows a finish line Dane pointing at the heavens and the book is filled with those look-at-my-bicep finish line poses that some runners seem to enjoy. I would look ridiculous if I tried. Instead I opt for a not-so-horrifying-I-run-to-the-nearest-plastic-surgeon pose. It seldom works.
Dane is a guy’s guy. This may be a book for a guy’s guy. He runs in a singlet emblazoned with his college name and teases other runner’s about the athletic prowess of his school’s football team. He wanted to be a college football player. He likes to playfully smack talk other runners (although, I think it is playful but serious). This guy is definitely a competitor. Every race recap recounted the number of people he passed in the last few kilometres, his final placing, his time and the excuses for his time (I needed to save myself for more being the most common one. It’s a good one). This is a guy who keep score. Not someone, in other words, to whom I can easily relate. Although I do make an effort to pass all costumed runners and shirtless men. And my birthday wish was for a more competitive edge. Which I just ruined by sharing. DAMN those complicated wish rules.
As for the book, I loved the challenge. I didn’t love that he called it “Fiddy2″. Like the finish line arm guns, I just can’t get away with the “Fiddy2″ slang. I sound weird when I say it. Maybe it was catchy marketing ploy, but my inner school teacher cringed every time I read it. Which was about a million times.
The very first paragraph of the book mentioned The Clock. Time is theme throughout, as the weeks pile on and Dane’s time goals shift. In an unexpected direction. In sentence two he reminds us that other sports have a clock that shows you that time escaping, running has one that counts up, piling onto a total that starts at zero. You do not lose time in a race; rather, you gain it. And you hope, when all is said and done, that you have gained as little as possible. Thank you for the reminder. As if that taunting little man on my GPS isn’t reminder enough.
Before Dane started this 52 Marathon quest he had run only six marathons. Six! His first in 4.15 and his fastest in 3.09. People thought he was crazy. Sure he could run, but six is a long way from fifty-two. I mean Fiddy2. A long, long way. Never underestimate the potential of a stubborn determined athlete with good recovery genetics. I like that he provided a race recap for every race he ran. That said, the recaps did get rather repetitive after a while. Travel snafus, weather, shower taps, jockeying for position with other runners. His highs and lows are relatable. He is honest about happy but disappointing finishes even the time is decent. He grumbles about race etiquette (read: four abreast runners blocking the path for faster racers). He laments moving into a more competitive age category (from under 30 to the winning 30-35 group). He appreciates a course with consistent water tables and an elevation map that is a reasonable approximation of the route. Like the rest of us, he lies about going slow in a race. We don’t mean to lie, but we do. Totally relatable.
He gets faster as the year goes on. That right, faster. Defying all logic he gets stronger, running three of his four fastest at the end of the year. One of the most interesting parts of the book was reading to see just how fast he would get. I won’t ruin it for you. Watch for 52 Marathons to Boston, coming soon to a bookstore near you.
I loved that the book contained detailed, albeit somewhat repetitive, race reports; but what the book missed was the personal story. Often I find running books too heavily tipped towards the non-running details, but this book is a rare reversal. How did this challenge impact his job, his bank account, his love life? He seemed to flirt a lot on course, but did he have a girlfriend during this year-long challenge? Did he have a girlfriend by the end of it? What does he do to make money? How many vacation days did he use? What type of training did he do between races? Did he do anything other than run? What did his coworkers think of his quest? His family? Did he ever what to quit? How much money did he raise for the charity he mentioned on every page? How much money did this challenge cost (he wasn’t a sponsored runner)? I’m left with so many questions. Sure I know the Leadville elevation and that he ran two Leadville’s that day (his first and his last, ha), but I’m left wanting more. I just read an autobiographical book and I know very little about the biographer. Maybe the facts would be enough for the guy’s guy. The facts are not enough for this running reader.
Sidebar: I would be remiss to ignore his Canadian side-trips. Northern hospitality met his expectations and the race reviews were very positive. At one point he boldly claimed “Canada Loves Dane”. Given our limited interaction I can not verify that statement. Marathon #19 was in Mississauga and his experience with the fierce Lake Ontario wind mirrored by own, even though we were separated by one year. Weirdly, in response to his own confusion over the lack of mile markers (which, really, this is a surprise?), he decides that mid race is an appropriate place to make stale language jokes and seems confused when no one gets his “humour”. Erm, that’s a pet peeve slipping through. In the fall he travelled north to run #29, the Nova Scotia Marathon, amid a tropical storm (don’t Blame Canada) and placed third overall. There were only three runners. Just kidding. His third trip north of the border for #42 was during the marathon. Actually during the marathon. That’s why it only counts as a half. This one is on my to-do-list: The Niagara Falls Marathon, a two country border-crossing race. It is also a notable race in Fiddy2 for reasons that require a spoiler alert. So I’ll keep quiet.
Runshort’s Rating: 3/5 shoes.
