I read this book, coincidentally, in two spurts, each time on the train home from swimming. (a long train; the Manhattan pools were closed for some open house) and I hadn't been swimming in a while. This made everything Rich said feel so very true as I was completely high on endorphins completely opposite to the seasonal depressiapathy that's been getting to me the past few months. As such, this book was just an absolute delight to read and resonated entirely.

I then went and, the first night, consumed an entire wedge of cheese, and the other, a big CookieTime cookie the other, so the message obviously didn't sink in, but hey.

This was a pacy, well written memoir. I don't think it's in the same league as BORN TO RUN or NORTH but regardless was a good read. Roll can be quite full of himself, but he knows that, and I adored the way that he talked here and there about his family with such love and affection. What I so admire about Scott Jurek's (or, rather, his ghostwriters') writing though is that he never comes off as preachy. And Roll kinda does at points. Which is especially annoying because he tries to distance himself from the "political" and "hippie" vegans.

Side note: of course Rick Horgan edited this... ( )

Can't decide between 2 and three stars. Tempted to say the guy is a psycho. Who would want to do the things he did to his body? Doing 5 Ironman type competitions in 5 days? That is 100% crazy.

But

You can't help being impressed that he was 40 and out of shape and changed his lifestyle to be this superfit endurance guy.

But

His out of shape didn't really seem that extreme (maybe 30 lbs overweight?). And he was a competitive swimmer growing up. Yes I know you can be completely unfit and still not be obese, but having a mere 30 lbs extra is the difference between him before and after becoming (I assume) Mr. Zero body fat, extra lean guy.

But

He is a vegan. Which is surprising. As an not particularly healthy eating vegetarian of 27 yrs (yum! cookies don't have meat!), I am interested in what he eats to sustain himself through the grueling workouts.

I am intrigued, but doubt I will ever find kale and beetroot smoothies a great way to start the day.

But

You never know.
( )

Appreciated his honesty with alcohol addiction and finding endurance sport. Tone on veganism is offputting at times. Pretty frequent product placement throughout the book too. I feel writing might not be the best medium for rich roll. Luckily he has a podcast. ( )

Interesting and inspiring
It seems many aspects of Rich's talent are glossed over with lots of focus on what he did deliberately. One disappointment is that its difficult to take away from the book the key factors in Rich's situation that allowed him to overcome his obstacles. Basically he just did, which leaves the reader wanting to learn how to change wanting.
Really good information and motivation about eating a all vegetable diet ( )

I listened to this audiobook, narrated by the author, mainly while out running – maybe I was hoping it would provide inspiration!

In this memoir of sorts, Rich Roll describes how on the eve of his 40th birthday, he realised that he needed to change his health drastically – overweight, unfit and scared of dying early, Rich transformed himself into an ultra fit, vegan triathlete and this book tells how it did it.

I should have enjoyed this – it had all the hallmarks of a book I would love. I am fascinated by people who find the mental and physical strength to push their body and achieve things way beyond the capability of most of us mere mortals. And running five Ultra-triathlons in less than a week is way beyond impressive by any standard you care to use. But…I never really enjoyed this book.

Having overcome alcohol addiction and some years later deciding to turn his health around, it is difficult not to be impressed by what Rich Roll has done. But for me, there was too much whining – things didn’t always go well for Rich, but that applies to everyone – and he had a distinct ‘why me’ tone to his voice (both literally and on the page). And there was too much spirituality attached to fairly mundane events. For example, in Hawaii Rich is confronted by an angry homeowner, annoyed to find Rich trespassing on his property (to clarify – Rich was not actually trespassing; he thought he had found a quiet place to relieve himself during an Ultraman race). But instead of seeing this as something that could happen to anyone anywhere, Rich decides that this is karma for not respecting the island. And when approached by an alcoholic woman who wants to party, of course he decides that this woman must be some kind of angel sent to show him the kind of life he could have wound up living.

Also, while fully respect the author’s vegan lifestyle choice, I disliked his dismissive attitude to anyone who doesn’t share the same values.

The whole thing just came across as a big ego-trip, and honestly I was pretty pleased to finish it. Oh well, onto the next one… ( )