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Out of Thin Air
- Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia
- Narrated by: Raj Ghatak
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
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Out of Thin Air
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Summary
LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2021
'Inspiring'
The Guardian
'Excellent'
Runner's World
'Fascinating'
Publishers Weekly
'Brilliant'
Ed Vaizey
'Through reading this book you will come to understand that the heart and soul of running are to be found in Ethiopia.' Haile Gebrselassie
'Engaging, warm and humane… A delight' TLS
‘Full of wonderful insights and lessons from a world where the ability to run is viewed as something almost mysterious and magical.’ Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans
‘Ethiopia is a place where I have been told that energy is controlled by angels and demons and where witchdoctors can help you to acquire another runner’s power. It is a place where an anonymous runner in the forest told me, miming an imaginary scoreboard and with a completely straight face, that he had dreamt that he would run 10km in 25 minutes. It is a place where they tell me that the air at Mount Entoto will transform me into a 2.08 marathon runner. It is a place, in short, of wisdom and magic, where dreaming is still very much alive.’
Why does it make sense to Ethiopian runners to get up at 3am to run up and down a hill? Who would choose to train on almost impossibly steep and rocky terrain, in hyena territory? And how come Ethiopian men hold six of the top ten fastest marathon times ever?
Michael Crawley spent fifteen months in Ethiopia training alongside (and sometimes a fair way behind) runners at all levels of the sport, from night watchmen hoping to change their lives to world class marathon runners, in order to answer these questions. Follow him into the forest as he attempts to keep up and get to the heart of their success.
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What listeners say about Out of Thin Air
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr G.
- 24-03-21
Great audiobook to listen to while cruising....
... through some long runs or short ones. Very entertaining and eye opening in equal measure
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- David
- 25-11-21
interesting insight
One of the few audio books I've hurtled through well narrated and offers an interesting insight into Ethiopian approach to running and the determination with which the runners approach their running.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Luke Ivory
- 02-06-22
Great insight into Ethiopian running
I found this book to be one of the most interesting running books I've read. Any runner interested in the training methods and culture of East African running should read it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adam Brant
- 21-02-21
Great Running Story read an an obvious non runner.
Great insight at the pointy end of running and engaging cultural commentary. just a shame the narrator's performance showed a complete lack of understanding running when describing the technical aspects.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Good Buyer
- 20-03-21
superbly written and an absolutely engaging read.
Feel part of the running journey of many aspiring and subsequent successful runners. Inspiring and enjoyable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jonathan T
- 18-11-20
Superb
One of the best running books I've read, and I've read a lot.
Fascinating insight into Ethiopian running culture with a personalised and character driven approach. The narration is outstanding.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- K JP
- 06-12-20
Well written, well read, a unique insight
Gives a very interesting look at a culture very different to the west. Some surprisingly funny moments.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 14-01-21
Good
Good overall,times read with apparent lack of understanding what they equated to.excellent insight to Ethiopia
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Andrew
- 19-03-21
A classic book on running meets Anthropology
Key takeaways from this book relate to why Ethiopians have dominated races from 10000m and up for so long - culture, training, lifestyle, and systems.
The author explores all these elements through the discipline of ethnography and must be one of the only anthropologists able to do fieldwork at this level since he is a 2.20 marathon runner.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jammin042
- 13-10-21
Interesting insight into Ethiopian running.
Great insight into Ethiopian running. Got a great feel for what it means to them and how and where they train.
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