100 books like Finding Ultra

By Rich Roll,

Here are 100 books that Finding Ultra fans have personally recommended if you like Finding Ultra. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas

Dean Karnazes Author Of A Runner's High: My Life in Motion

From my list on running from an ultrarunner.

Why am I passionate about this?

An internationally recognized endurance athlete and New York Times bestselling author, Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He's run across Death Valley in 120-degree temperatures, and run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten different occasions, he's run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. His long list of competitive achievements include winning the world's toughest footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer. His most recent endeavor was running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NYC Marathon, which he ran in three hours flat.

Dean's book list on running from an ultrarunner

Dean Karnazes Why did Dean love this book?

Olympic runner, actress, filmmaker and writer, Alexi Pappas’ wisdom and wit are beyond her age. This book will have you laughing, crying and cheering, sometimes all at once!

By Alexi Pappas,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bravey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Olympic runner, actress, filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas shares what she’s learned about confidence, self-reliance, mental health, embracing pain, and achieving your dreams.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE •“Heartbreaking and hilarious.”—Mindy Kaling • “A beautiful read.”—Ruth Reichl • “Essential guidance to anyone dreaming big dreams.”—Shalane Flanagan • “I couldn’t put it down.”—Adam Grant

run like a bravey
sleep like a baby
dream like a crazy
replace can’t with maybe

When “Renaissance runner” (New York Times) Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete, actress, filmmaker, and writer—was four years old, her mother died by suicide, drastically altering…


Book cover of Run Fast. Eat Slow.: Nourishing Recipes for Athletes: A Cookbook

Dean Karnazes Author Of A Runner's High: My Life in Motion

From my list on running from an ultrarunner.

Why am I passionate about this?

An internationally recognized endurance athlete and New York Times bestselling author, Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He's run across Death Valley in 120-degree temperatures, and run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten different occasions, he's run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. His long list of competitive achievements include winning the world's toughest footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer. His most recent endeavor was running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NYC Marathon, which he ran in three hours flat.

Dean's book list on running from an ultrarunner

Dean Karnazes Why did Dean love this book?

Part recipe book, part training plan, and entirely inspirational, Shalane Flanagan is a 4-time Olympian and the winner of the NYC Marathon.

By Shalane Flanagan, Elyse Kopecky,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Run Fast. Eat Slow. as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From world-class marathoner and three-time Olympian Shalane Flanagan and culinary nutritionist Elyse Kopecky comes a whole foods, flavour-forward cookbook that proves food can be indulgent and nourishing at the same time. Finally here's a cookbook for runners that shows fat is essential for flavour and performance and that counting calories, obsessing over protein, and restrictive dieting does more harm than good. Packed with more than 100 recipes for every part of yourday, nutritional wisdom, and inspiring stories, Run Fast, Eat Slow has all the bases covered. Fitness-minded readers will find delicious meals, satisfying snacks, thirst- quenching drinks, and wholesome treats.…


Book cover of Running Man: A Memoir of Ultra-Endurance

Dean Karnazes Author Of A Runner's High: My Life in Motion

From my list on running from an ultrarunner.

Why am I passionate about this?

An internationally recognized endurance athlete and New York Times bestselling author, Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He's run across Death Valley in 120-degree temperatures, and run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten different occasions, he's run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. His long list of competitive achievements include winning the world's toughest footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer. His most recent endeavor was running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NYC Marathon, which he ran in three hours flat.

Dean's book list on running from an ultrarunner

Dean Karnazes Why did Dean love this book?

To say Charlie Engle has led a colorful life would be putting things mildly. An addict and alcoholic, after nearly losing his life to a hail of bullets, Charlie turned to running as his savior.

By Charlie Engle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Running Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After a decade-long addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, Charlie Engle hit rock bottom after a near-fatal six-day binge ended in a hail of bullets. Then he found running, and it has helped keep him sober, focused and alive. He began to take on the most extreme endurance races, such as the 155-mile Gobi March, and developed a reputation as an inspirational speaker. However, after he made the documentary Running the Sahara, narrated by Matt Damon, which followed him on a 4500-mile crossing of the desert and helped raise $6 million, he was sent to prison after failing to complete…


Book cover of Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory

Dean Karnazes Author Of A Runner's High: My Life in Motion

From my list on running from an ultrarunner.

Why am I passionate about this?

An internationally recognized endurance athlete and New York Times bestselling author, Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He's run across Death Valley in 120-degree temperatures, and run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten different occasions, he's run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. His long list of competitive achievements include winning the world's toughest footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer. His most recent endeavor was running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NYC Marathon, which he ran in three hours flat.

Dean's book list on running from an ultrarunner

Dean Karnazes Why did Dean love this book?

Deena Kastor is a phenom that holds American records in every distance from the 5K to the marathon. Let Your Mind Run is a fascinating peek into the mindset of an elite athlete.

By Michelle Hamilton, Deena Kastor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Let Your Mind Run as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

NOW WITH A NEW WORKBOOK

Deena Kastor was a star youth runner with tremendous promise, yet her career almost ended after college, when her competitive method—run as hard as possible, for fear of losing—fostered a frustration and negativity and brought her to the brink of burnout. On the verge of quitting, she took a chance and moved to the high altitudes of Alamosa, Colorado, where legendary coach Joe Vigil had started the first professional distance-running team. There she encountered the idea that would transform her running career: the notion that changing her thinking—shaping her mind to…


Book cover of Runaway Comrade

Andy Mouncey Author Of So You Want to Run an Ultra: How to Prepare for Ultimate Endurance

From my list on runners, records, and the remarkable human spirit.

Why am I passionate about this?

I think that we’re all a Work In Progress whatever our relative levels of success so I’m drawn to people who share that belief, are way out there and are still working on their own stuff. Especially if they’ve managed to do so without becoming a righteous arse in the process. ‘Cos I want reasons to be reminded how incredible it can be to use as much of what we’ve been given and be ALIVE in every sense of the word. I want to keep learning and growing and getting stronger and faster and more bombproof and compassionate and connected as I moved through my fifth decade and beyond. These books really resonate with me – I hope they will for you too.

Andy's book list on runners, records, and the remarkable human spirit

Andy Mouncey Why did Andy love this book?

An enthralling account of one man’s quest to win the oldest ultramarathon in the world through the prism of apartheid South Africa in the ’70s and ’80s. Not only is it an incredibly intimate account but also a fascinating insight into international politics and business machinations during that turbulent time.

By Bob de la Motte,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Runaway Comrade as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It is the world's oldest and most famous ultra-marathon. South Africa's Comrades Marathon has teased, tormented and tortured runners from all over the world since 1921. Those who have endured it says it changes lives, speaks to the soul and turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. According to many it is liberating. Bob de la Motte should know. Winner of five Comrades medals, including three golds, his grit and determination during several epic duels with nine-time winner Bruce Fordyce enthralled the world throughout what was arguably the marathon's defining passage in the politically charged 1980s. In this extraordinary, compassionate, candid,…


Book cover of North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail

Janet Patkowa Author Of The Impossible Long Run: My Journey to Becoming Ultra

From my list on ultrarunning for amateur adventurers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I want an adventurous life filled with experiences and challenges that make me appreciate the world around me. My experience in running 50 miles shows just how determined I am to lead an uncommon life. The books I’ve compiled here all share that one thing in common, they chronicle the author’s paths in following this mantra. Life is meant to be lived, no matter what form you find that in. I hope you find and nurture your adventurous life from these stories that were written from the heart.

Janet's book list on ultrarunning for amateur adventurers

Janet Patkowa Why did Janet love this book?

This is a dazzling tale of an ultrarunning icon running the length of the Appalachian Trail. However, I found myself waiting for the chapters written from Jenny’s perspective as his one-woman crew bringing him supplies and a place to sleep each night. I wanted to know how she dealt with the fear of driving down desolate roads. How she made sure to be in the right place at the right time navigating areas with no cell service. I liked hearing her find pride in what she was accomplishing.

By Scott Jurek, Jenny Jurek,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked North as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

2,200 miles.
47 days.
One remarkable journey.

In July 2015, ultramarathon legend Scott Jurek smashed the world record for running the Appalachian Trail, the sprawling mountain path that runs nearly the entire length of the United States. For nearly seven weeks straight, Jurek battled the elements to run, hike and stumble 50 miles every single day.

A tale of mind-boggling physical exertion, pressure and endurance, North reveals the extraordinary lengths to which we can push our bodies and our minds.

Instant New York Times Bestseller
_____________

'Pure suspense, adventure, and inspiration . . . His story of plunging into the…


Book cover of Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

Stephanie Lincoln Author Of Born to be Brave: My 56 hour battle for my life in the Olympic National Forest

From my list on badass people who overcame crazy odds.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated with people’s stories. I think this came from my grandfather, who, whether we liked it or not, would gather his grandkids in his study and wax poetically about his life. He was a writer and a teacher, so he knew how to spin a tale and keep even the most inattentive grandchildren captivated. I have for many years referred to myself as a “memoir junkie,” consuming life after life like a starving drifter. Memoirs are a great way to continue to remind ourselves that life is guaranteed to provide us with struggle, but we are equipped to overcome it. We must endure, explore, and prevail. 

Stephanie's book list on badass people who overcame crazy odds

Stephanie Lincoln Why did Stephanie love this book?

If you want a FIRE lit under your ass, read this book!

I love this book so much and have reread this one a couple of times because of the sheer injection of motivation I get straight into my veins when I read it. What I love about this first memoir from David is his brutal honesty about his childhood and his subsequent journey to become “the baddest motherfucker on the planet.”

This guy is the quintessential story of polishing a terd long enough, you will get a diamond. Whenever I am feeling sorry for myself, my mind goes back to this book. I think, “If David can do it, I can too. This is nothing compared to the odds he faced, and look at him now!” 

By David Goggins,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Can't Hurt Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New York Times Best Seller

Over 4 million copies sold

For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare -- poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name…


Book cover of Flight Lines: Across the Globe on a Journey with the Astonishing Ultramarathon Birds

Tim Low Author Of Where Song Began: Australia's Birds and How They Changed the World

From my list on opening your eyes to Australian birds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Australian zoologist, botanist, and best-selling prize-winning writer. An earlier book of mine, Feral Future, inspired the formation of the Invasive Species Council, an Australian conservation lobby group. My Where Song Began, was a best-seller that became the first nature book to win the Australian Book Industry Award for best General Non Fiction. It was republished in the US. I have co-edited Wildlife Australia magazine and written for many magazines and newspapers, including nature columns as well as features. As a teenager I discovered new lizard species, one of which was named after me.

Tim's book list on opening your eyes to Australian birds

Tim Low Why did Tim love this book?

For great feats in nature the epic migrations of millions of wading birds are difficult to beat. Immense stamina is needed for days of non-stop flight, plus sophisticated navigational skills – which remain improperly understood – to guide birds by day and night and through storms that blow them off course.

Andrew Darby begins on a beach in South Australia where two grey plovers are fitted with radio transmitters shortly before their migrations north. He follows their travels, flying after they do to Broome in north-western Australia, then to China to see the mudflats they refuel on, then to their breeding habitat inside the Arctic Circle, then back again to northern Australia.

Important to his story are the dedicated and sometimes obsessive people Darby meets in each location, many of them unpaid, who use innovative technology and intellect to work out where, exactly, the birds go on their travels and…

By Andrew Darby,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flight Lines as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the sun lowered and turned Gulf St Vincent fiery, they each called a high-pitched 'peeooowiii!', flashed their black wing-pits, spread their tail skirts and took flight.

Andrew Darby follows the odysseys of two Grey Plovers, little-known migratory shorebirds, as they take previously uncharted ultramarathon flights from the southern coast of Australia to Arctic breeding grounds. On these extraordinary flights they chance predators, typhoon weather and exhaustion before they can breed, and maybe return to familiar southern feeding grounds. But the greatest threat to these, and other long-distance migrants on the flyway, is China's dragon economy, engulfing their vital Yellow…


Book cover of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Sam Murphy Author Of Run Your Best Marathon: Your trusted guide to training and racing better

From my list on challenge the status quo about how to run.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was a journalist, writing about health and fitness for women’s magazines and national newspapers, I had a strong sense that much of the advice being doled out by personal trainers and other ‘experts’ was dubious, to say the least. I decided to see for myself, embarking on an Exercise and Sport Science degree and training as a running coach. Two decades on, with a handful of running books and a 13-year-strong column in Runner’s World to my name, I still like to delve into the science underpinning physical activity to see if it really stands up, and if so, for who, and under what circumstances?  

Sam's book list on challenge the status quo about how to run

Sam Murphy Why did Sam love this book?

This must be one of the most widely read running books. For good reason – it’s a great read – exciting story, quirky characters – by an excellent journalist.

But at the heart of it lies one question: ‘Why does my foot hurt?’ McDougall’s quest to find out, his deep dive into the evidence underpinning many accepted aspects of the ‘science’ of running, is what influenced me as a runner, and as a coach.

Why do runners wear built-up shoes? Why do runners only move their bodies in one plane of motion and expect to have all-round fitness? Why do so many people lose the joy in running? Why don’t we eat salad for breakfast? If you read this book, and change nothing about your running, I’ll be surprised.

By Christopher McDougall,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Born to Run as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long.

With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while…


Book cover of Bedtime Adventure Stories for Grown Ups

Janet Patkowa Author Of The Impossible Long Run: My Journey to Becoming Ultra

From my list on ultrarunning for amateur adventurers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I want an adventurous life filled with experiences and challenges that make me appreciate the world around me. My experience in running 50 miles shows just how determined I am to lead an uncommon life. The books I’ve compiled here all share that one thing in common, they chronicle the author’s paths in following this mantra. Life is meant to be lived, no matter what form you find that in. I hope you find and nurture your adventurous life from these stories that were written from the heart.

Janet's book list on ultrarunning for amateur adventurers

Janet Patkowa Why did Janet love this book?

Although the author is a runner, these stories don’t focus solely on that, but the adventures she can do because she is a runner. Anna speckles her life with adventures she can manage all the time instead of waiting for an epic adventure that you might only get to once or twice a year. She embodies my philosophy that life is meant to be lived. Do what inspires you right now. Sometimes that’s a race with a team number, and sometimes it’s a climb to the top of a mountain. Anna retells her tales of adventure in a collection of fun stories about epic undertakings and colors her stories with personality. 

By Anna McNuff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bedtime Adventure Stories for Grown Ups as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WHAT AMAZON READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BEDTIME STORIES:

★★★★★ "Just magic!"

★★★★★ "Feels like chatting to your (slightly adventure mad) friend over a warming drink"

★★★★★"Funny, relatable... just brilliant."

★★★★★ "Makes you want to leave your safe, comfortable sofa and explore the amazing, big, wide world"

★★★★★ "I was trying to ration myself to one story each night before bed... but I devoured it."

★★★★★ "Left me inspired and itching to get back out in the great outdoors!"

★★★★★ "A neat little shot of adventure inspiration"

★★★★★ "Anna is an adventure storytelling wizard!"

★★★★★ "Just what I needed to read…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in ultra running, alcoholism, and addiction?

Ultra Running 12 books
Alcoholism 107 books
Addiction 59 books