I was in the thicket of planning the inaugural Dress for Success Worldwide-West’s 5K when I was hunting for resources to guide my efforts. I needed something that went through race logistics from both an organizational and runner’s perspective and was lucky to stumble upon this great find.
As usual, Dean is a fantastic writer. This book was written a different style than Ultramarathon Man. It was a little less upbeat and more serious. The idea behind 50/50 was that he was chronicling his Run Across America campaign. He raced 50 marathons in 50 days. The pace of the book was fast: the pages were upbeat when he was recollecting something he enjoyed. They were a bit whiny when it hit a pain point for him. It seemed more like a post-experience chronicle of his experience but all in all it was still a very good read.
The content itself was a little scattered. When writing books it’s difficult to make the judgement call to organize by chapters, topics, or by chronology. Since he organized the book by chronology the topics seemingly came out of nowhere but they all had their place in time during the 50/50 challenge. He discusses tips on nutrition, hydration, and technique that he has found helpful in his running career. He also extensively discusses the racer’s experience when it comes to runs, so for me, being able to go through the motions with him through each of the 50 runs helped me anticipate race needs for my power walkers, sponsors, volunteers, and other organizers. This special focus on logistics is really what helped me most, as it mentally prepared me as a race organizer and as a better runner.
Pick it up! My rating: 8.5/10
Amara in Training 