Real-Life Running: A Woman's Memoir of Running for the Fun of It

Real-Life Running is no tale of struggle, except maybe with the realization that you can't necessarily have your cake and jeans that fit too, even though you're getting yourself out the door to run a few times a week. But it is an honest account of the experience of a runner at heart who always finds herself returning to the sport. Candid without being overearnest, Real-Life Running travels lightly over some of the considerations relevant to a woman who has run on and off all her life but stepped back into the sport with more consistency in middle age.
It reflects the sensibility of a social runner who nonetheless embraces the solitude that goes with the territory. The book explores the drive to engage in the activity itself but dwells on the quotidian aspects of running, including the motivation behind it, the obstacles in the way of it, the equipment needed for it, and some of the absurdity associated with it. It gets personal but keeps things chatty and on a this-is-not-just-about-me level by leaving names and actual race times, good or bad, out of the story.