One Track Mind: What Running 150 Miles in a Day Can Teach You about Life

What makes Michael Stocks want to run nearly six marathons back to back? And do it all within twenty four hours? While running lap after lap on a track (that would be over 600 laps of an Olympic track) in what would be a mind-numbing exercise? And at the age of nearly fifty, a time that we generally expect our physical abilities to be past their prime and our body to be in decline? And how does he will himself on - not merely to participate, but to strive for a target - over the course of a race where his body will rebel against him and his mind will keep urging him to give up? And how does he aim to attain all that in a sport where it is traditionally believed that success is achieved from a young age, and he wasn't really that good in his teens (he came in last in the school 1500m)?And with such seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against him, how does he, on a daily basis, motivate himself in the first place to go out and train, in the pursuit of his goal to represent his country?One Track Mind shares with us mental tools we can apply in various facets of life to extend ourselves and enrich our lives. I was particularly drawn to how a "burned-out businessman living on wine, pizza, coffee and thirty cigarettes a day" altered his mindset to exceed mental limitations. I also enjoyed reading about other individuals in the relatively small world of ultra-running, like Geoff Oliver, who ran 100 miles in a minute over 24 hours at the age of 80.Human beings procrastinate and limit ourselves. We take facts and shape them into reasons. "It's raining and cold outside" (fact) becomes a justifiable reason for "I don't want to exercise"; our minds have no difficulty reframing evidence to fit our bias. Any one of the above six points cited in the first two paragraphs could have been a reason not to even begin trying. But how Stocks wills himself on in spite of these, and how he handles the physical and mental barriers that arose in his attempt to reach 150 miles in 24 hours is an inspiring one and will challenge you to transcend your perceived limitations.

You will learn a multitude of lessons if you read this. You will get a flavour for why ultrarunning is so brilliant, thanks to the people we meet and the places we go. And you will find yourself thinking, “a track 24 sounds like hellish fun, I may do one of them one day...”But, the real hero of this book is Jane. She is Michael’s rock, partner, wife and dare I say saviour. Her charm, humour and support shines throughout like the brightest of lights in the sky. Michael is lucky he’s achieved what he has, and I’d argue Jane is the biggest of all his successes. Jeez, now I write this review I realise One Track Mind is part race report, part biography and part love story.

I had been training hard for my marathon and in the last 2 weeks of my training before the race in late April, I realised that I started doubting my abilities, strength and a set goal time, hence I went online to look for a book to draw some wisdom and inspiration, ideally from a fellow runner.And as if by magic, my search found this book.I found this book easy to read, very inspiring and motivating.Also, as it was written by a runner, so many topics were very familiar, close to my heart and resonated perfectly with my experience of running, although I’ve only run as far as the marathon finishing line.The contents of book are real, realistic, humble and detailed. It's about this rare bread of superhumans living amongst us- both runners, race organisers and loyal supporters.As a result, I was mentally and physically ready for my race, managed to negotiate with my Brain to push past my pain and fatigue and to push harder when I wanted to slow down.Some parts of the book I read more than once in hope to soak up and feel how it must have felt for Michael on the day.I truly enjoyed the read and have passed the book on to my teenage son so he can learn about life.

The author takes us with him on two journeys: a live reporting of one gruelling 24-hour race, where the goal is to run as many times around a track as possible, and a more philosophical exploration of the years of physical and mental preparation that came before.Very few of us will ever be ultrarunners or attempt any extreme physical challenge, so on one level, we can enjoy his challenges vicariously, as we might reading an extreme adventure travel book. From our comfortable perch on the sofa, we experience the race without confronting the extremes of pain and exhaustion that go along with such a feat. The casual runners amongst us will marvel at how much the human body is actually capable of and learn practical lessons to help us dig a bit deeper in our own athletic endeavours.But this book is about much more than running or even physical challenges. Each chapter links an aspect of the race to a more universal feature of daily life. With his warm and engaging tone, he muses about what makes us tougher and what prevents us from reaching our potential. By showing us his inner world, he gently encourages us to believe in ourselves and to set our own goals a bit higher to help us get more out of life.

Michael Stocks chose a deceptively simple structure for his compelling story of his ultra-distance running life: a lap-by-lap account of his victory in a 24-hour race that saw 249km (154.6 miles) to win an England vest at the age of 49. But there is much more to this book than a blow-by-blow account of a gruelling day's work.Along the way he weaves in the story about how he transformed himself from a smoking, drinking body builder into lean running machine, with sharp observations about life and love thrown in. One example (on the obsession of top runners about losing weight); 'Light is a number on a scale. Light is one treat away from unfit, one bite away from heavy. It is a state of mind and a mood that comes and goes. Light is an ephemeral promise, the seduction of control. Light is remorse, obsession and self-loathing. Light is good, until it isn't.'Stocks writes in the present tense which helps the reader engage with this visceral narrative. He seems to anticipate the questions of non-ultra runners. For instance, on the question of the boredom of going round and round a track for 24-hours: 'If you were do something once or twice a year and most of the time you were in pain and feeling ill was guaranteed. If it made you tired to the point of exhaustion, hour upon hour. If it involved making decisions almost constantly, to avoid obstacles in your path. If its highs and lows were so intense that they were capable of redefining your sense of self and if the thing had the potential to completely transform what you thought was possible. If it challenged you mentally, physically and emotionally to the very core of your being. Would that be boring?'This is certainly a book for all runners (and not only those venturing the marathon-plus) but I suspect it would also be relished by anyone drawn to a well-written tale of striving for the seemingly impossible. With his short, vignette-based chapters Stocks keeps you glued to the page, all the way to the end, 154.6 miles later.