Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes

Dean Karnazes has a wife, a daughter. He has friends and a good job. He ran when he was in highschool, but that was fifteen years ago. Then one night he gets up and runs from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay- thirty miles, with no training and no forethought. After that, Karnazes is hooked. Soon he's running marathons before breakfast, running in his lunch breaks, and again after work. He signs up for the Western States Endurance Run (100 miles), for Badwater (135 through Death Valley), and for a marathon at the South Pole. Through his running, his family comes closer together and find common ground in supporting him. His is a tale of the heart: courage, love, and determination to push on when everyone else has stopped.

Wow. My dad read this first, and gushed about it to everyone else. One by one my mom, brother, and uncle, all runners, read it, and joined in the praise. I was more skeptical. Not being a runner, the idea of someone running 100 miles was cool, but eh. But I read it, and I too was sucked in. It's not really so much about running as it's about getting over tragedy, loving family, and astounding perseverance. It made me try to work harder at school, swimming, and music, along with everything else. You should read this, even if you're not a runner.