Pretty funny and accurate assessment.

I am not sure what the intended audience for this book is and that was my biggest problem with the book. If you are a seasoned runner, there are some funny bits and cheesy drawings that are funny. But these and counterbalanced by bits that just aren't funny and in some cases, I believe, incorrect information. So, if you aren't a seasoned runner and read this book as an introduction to reading, you may be lead a bit astray and, at the same time, miss some of the humor. Overall, this book was like having a long conversation about running with a sarcastic friend where their attempt to be funny starts to become a little too much.

A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and ABRAMS in exchange for an honest review.

This really is intended for people who either haven't started running at all or are starting to get serious about it and want to eventually do a marathon. It's also uniquely targeted towards people with a rather low bar for humour. To be fair, it did elicit a few chuckles from me later on, but initially, I was a bit worried that this was a book about making jokes about how unsuited the author was for running. Once he gets into the actual informative content, there's some decent advice for new runners who don't know about stuff like gear, chafing and training plans.

For people who have been running for a while or, like me, have already done a few marathons, there's not much here for them other than maybe a slightly different perspective on a few aspects and a few jokes. Being so short, it can't exactly be considered a waste of time either. However, one does have to take all the self-deprecating with a grain of salt since the race times the author managed were actually very respectable. I know it's played for laughs, but it might discourage people who aren't capable of running at 10min/mile(6:13min/km) over longer distances.

So if you are the target audience for this book, it's actually not the worst resource to get you orientated into the world of long distance running. Sure, you have to get over all the bad jokes first, but who knows, maybe dad jokes and self-deprecating humour is your thing, in which case you can probably pick this up even if you aren't a runner.

This is a humorous book written by one of The Simpson’s writers on how he prepared for his first marathon. Since I have run a handful of marathons, much of it did not apply to me but I still enjoyed it. I did learn more about the NYC marathon and a few other random tidbits. The humor is dry and sarcastic, and I enjoyed it.

I bet it would be fun to run the NYC marathon, especially when there are signs like this:


Audiobook narrator [a:Nicholas Techosky|13847108|Nicholas Techosky|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] rating: 4 stars
I kind of wish Joel Cohen would read his own book but I liked this narrator. He did a good job.

3.75☆

Quick, entertaining, and inspiring read. Made me laugh in every chapter. It's nice to read a running book that isn't by an "expert" or elite runner.