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RE:
It's superb. A good deal more ecclectic, slightly anarchic in structure (as you might expect), but no less dismissive of Big Running. Positively scathing when it comes to Big City Marathons, too. RA and BW are as one with their vision for running, that it should be a free, and by it's nature and it's proximity to Nature, liberating. Whalley goes further than Askwith in his condemnation of road running but specifically city marathons. I find myself in general agreement. Much of what BW says echoes my own 'so long, and thanks for all the fish' post.
I'm lucky in that I've engineered a life on the edge of the Sussex downs and can therefore dip my toes into the natural world as and when I choose. I suspect both BW and RA would say luck has nohing to do with it, that we choose where we live for good reason, but I lived in Lewes long before I took my first wobbly running steps.
Both books have reaffirmed my decision not to run road races in future. I've long known that the road chews up my joints and that offroad running strengthens all parts of my running game, honing sinews as well as feeding the mind and the soul. I can see others here kicking against these manic, anti-street preachers. I can't help but think of El Gordo's perfect running playground, mere metres from his front door in Horgen. You could run those forest trails every day and never see the same route twice.
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