Back before Christmas, I joined up with Charlie(The Runner Beans) and a host of other bloggers for The Runner Beans Book Club! Each month, a book would be chosen that we would all read throughout the month and then do a blog review on the book with our thoughts.

January's book was Your Pace Or Mine? By Lisa Jackson.. as you can tell by todays date, I’m a month behind.. given that the next book should have been finished and being reviewed by now, oops!

But better late than never though, right? :)

Your Pace or Mine? is written by Lisa Jackson, a marathoner and ultra runner! She became a marathon runner at the age of 31 and ran her 1st 56- mile ultramarathon aged 41(wowsers @ the ultra!).

She is a self confessed back of the pack runner & she’s not afraid to finish last in a race, infact, she’s done so in 20 of the 90-plus marathons(she’s now over 100!) that she had completed at the time of writing the book.

The book is total proof that it’s not about the time you do, but the time you have along the way. The book has been a great reminder to me that time is not the be all and end all for a race and its important to focus on the experiences, the community feel and the camaraderie, the triumphs can be an extra bonus!

Lisa’s book is written in a chatty style, which I love! It’s like having a conversation with her throughout! Her book is filled with stories throughout her running journey, lots of great quotes, fabulous photos and some inspiring stories from other runners she’s met along the way.

The book is definitely a bit of a rollercoaster in terms of emotions. At times, I found myself laughing out loud and other times felt myself get incredibly emotional about the stories being told. I found myself relating to so much of what she wrote too!

A comical(but in reality not so comical) snippet from her ‘Nudity’ Chapter ;) - Whilst I’ve never ran in the nude.. I have experienced chafing! Ye-Ouch!

The first 9 chapters of the book are titled beginning with ‘What running taught me about..’ and Lisa goes on to tell us what running has taught her over time with different experiences and stories. Each chapter also ends with a lovely section from other inspirational runners and their stories that tie in with the chapter topic. 

We learn all about Lisa and also about those who have supported her throughout her running journey. Getting to hear all about her triumphs and the tragedies too. We get to hear about how people have supported her during races and how she's given back and helped others too when they need it most. It covers a bit of everything!

Chapter 10 is a great chapter which focuses on what Lisa can teach US about running. She goes on to debunk some mistaken beliefs about running that have held people back from starting. There’s also some neat little sections towards the end like  ‘What running means to me’ and and ‘What I wish I’d known before I started’ both of which are from her own perspective and from other runners too, almost all of which I nodded along in agreement to.

Some sound advice in bold!

Finally, the book comes to an end with a chapter that you fill in yourself and record memories, goals, proudest moments etc.. a place for you to jot down your own experiences. It’s a great way to reflect.

I highly recommend giving Lisa’s book a read, its great for both beginners and more seasoned runners. It was incredibly inspiring and has really opened my eyes, whilst getting PBs are always nice and rewarding, I want to make sure that I’ve got great experiences and memories to look back on too!