By Bookhounds Running Club
The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.
In this episode we review 'Runner' by Lizzy Hawker.
Bookhounds is taking a break, so this is the last podcast episode, at least for a while. To mark this occasion, Char invites a very special guest to join her in the virtual podcast studio.... her dad, David Binns. While reviewing the book they chat about David's table tennis career, Char's upcoming loop ultras and why Evertonians are better than Liverpool FC fans ;)
About the book:
This is the complete story of long-distance runner Lizzy Hawker's journey from a school girl running the streets of London to a world record-breaking athlete racing on mountains.
Lizzy's astonishing story uncovers the physical, mental and emotional challenges that runners go through at the edge of human endurance - inspiring us to get out of the chair and go running in the mountains.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club. Use the code WELCOMEBOOKHOUND12 to save 12% on your first subscription.
Find out more about Lizzy Hawker at lizzyhawker.com
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
In this episode we review 'Faster! Louder!' by Boff Whalley.
Char is joined by Bookhound and running buddy John Gandy to chat about 2022 running goals, why fell running is totally punk and why we'd like to see more crossover between fell running and the international trail running scene.
About the book:
'Faster! Louder!' by Boff Whalley
How a punk rocker from Yorkshire became British Champion Fell Runner.
Author and Chumbawamba guitarist, Boff Whalley tells the true story of how a teenage punk from Yorkshire, seemingly existing on a diet of cider, parties and loud music, rose to the top in the toughest of sports.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club. Use the code WELCOMEBOOKHOUND12 to save 12% on your first subscription.
Find out more about Boff Whalley at boffwhalley.com
Connect with us on Instagram, say hello to Char @Char.Binns and John is @rewild_runwild.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson
In this episode we review 'The Running Book' by John Connell.
Char is joined by Bookhounds Pack member Toby Fells to chat epic runs and colonial Ireland, to argue whether running is in the body or the mind and to plan an impromptu New Year's Eve adventure.
About the book:
In 'The Running Book' John Connell vividly describes a marathon through County Longford, Ireland, where he lives and farms. Because running is as much about the mind as the body, the book is about more than the physical experience. What John sees on his journey prompts him to contemplate a wide range of things: he’s as likely to think about local Irish history, the legacy of colonialism in Australia or the story of Haile Gebrselassie as he is to remember his own past runs in Arizona or Ibiza.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club. Use the code WELCOMEBOOKHOUND12 to save 12% on your first subscription.
Follow John Connell on Instagram
Connect with us all on Instagram @CharBinns and Toby is @Transgender_Trail_Runner.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns and Jak Smithson, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
In this episode we review the book 'Beyond Limits' by Lowri Morgan.
Char is joined by Bookhounds Pack members Tasha Johnson and Toby Fells to chat about why they probably won't be undertaking any epic adventures through the Amazon jungle and the importance of having a strong mind. Plus Char shares the story of when Celine Dion saved her life during the Yorkshire Marathon.
About the book:
'Beyond Limits' by Lowri Morgan.
Lowri Morgan is a well known name: TV presenter, adventurer, ultra-marathon runner. But what is it that has led her to live a life of such extremes? What has enabled her to develop the strength and resilience to tackle some of the planet's toughest environments? Here, Lowri explores the mind and body she has pushed beyond pain, beyond her expectations, and beyond limits.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club. Use the code WELCOMEBOOKHOUND12 to save 12% on your first subscription.
Follow Lowri Morgan on Instagram and visit lowrimorgan.co.uk.
Connect with us all on Instagram @CharBinns, find Tasha at @BlackGirlsDoRunUK and Toby is @Transgender_Trail_Runner.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns and Jak Smithson, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
In this episode we review the book 'Spirit Run' by Noé Álvarez.
Jak's back and together with Char, they welcome Deputy Dog Emma to the podcast for the very first time. As well as reviewing the book, they cover topics from land trauma and colonialism, to pizza burgers and question why they can't find a single book written by out LGBTQIA runners.
About the book:
'Spirit Run' by Noé Álvarez.
The son of working-class Mexican immigrants flees a life of labor in fruit-packing plants to run in a Native American marathon from Canada to Guatemala in this “stunning memoir that moves to the rhythm of feet, labor, and the many landscapes of the Americas” (Catriona Menzies-Pike, author of The Long Run).
Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noé Álvarez worked at an apple-packing plant alongside his mother, who “slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives.” A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first-generation Latino college-goer, Álvarez struggled to fit in.
At nineteen, he learned about a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America.
Running through mountains, deserts, and cities, and through the Mexican territory his parents left behind, Álvarez forges a new relationship with the land, and with the act of running, carrying with him the knowledge of his parents’ migration, and—against all odds in a society that exploits his body and rejects his spirit—the dream of a liberated future.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club. Use the code WELCOMEBOOKHOUND12 to save 12% on your first subscription.
Follow Noé Álvarez on Instagram and visit spiritrunbook.com.
Connect with us all on Instagram @CharBinns, find Jak on @jksmffsn and Emma is @emma_nibbs.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns and Jak Smithson, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
In this episode we review the book 'Coasting' by Elise Downing.
With Jak away, Char welcomes Bookhounds Pack Members Toby Fells and Tasha Thompson to the virtual podcast studio. As well as reviewing the book, their chat includes Toby (hypothetically) eating cavier and pooping his pants during an overly expensive ultra and the dilemma of whether to sleep in a wet tent or hangout with strangers every night (the tent won!).
About the book:
'Coasting' by Elise Downing
Running away from your problems doesn't solve anything - but sometimes it's more fun than dealing with them.
Elise was spending a lot of time crying on buses. She had just graduated from university; she had a shiny new flat, her first proper job and a budding relationship - and they were all making her utterly miserable. Sitting at work one day, she hit upon the obvious solution:
Run 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain, carrying her kit on her back.
Six months later Elise set off, with absolutely no ultra-running experience, unable to read a map and having never pitched a tent alone before. Over the 301 days that followed she developed a debilitating fear of farmyard animals, cried on a lot of beaches and saw Britain at its most wild and wonderful.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club. Use the code WELCOMEBOOKHOUND12 to save 12% on your first subscription.
Follow Elise Downing on Instagram and visit elisedowning.com.
Connect with us all on Instagram @CharBinns, find Toby at @QueerRunnings and Tasha at @BlackGirlsDoRunUK.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns and Jak Smithson, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
In this episode we review the book 'This Journey We Call Running' by Brian James Siddons.
Jak and Char welcome Bookhounds Pack Member and Coach Toby Fells back to the virtual studio. They discuss the limitations of language and how we discuss running, asking, 'Is running a wordless activity?' and have a great chat about whether when they run they are in their bodies or in their heads. This is an excellent episode, if we do say so ourselves. Plus, Toby coins a new word!
About the book:
In “This Journey We Call Running - One Runner's Anthology”, author Brian James Siddons captures the essence of running through stories, poems and essays that range from the beauty of winter running to humbling setbacks to inspirational efforts, each of which finds a way to bring the physical efforts and emotional breakthroughs of runners to life.
Spread throughout the anthology is a collection of poems that will provide the reader with a chance to enjoy Siddons' interpretation of a runner’s thoughts and emotions of key training and racing experiences. The author’s prose, nurtured by 45 years of running, captures numerous topics near and dear to a runner’s heart and soul, providing timeless insights to be enjoyed over and over again.
Runners of all abilities will be able to relate to the authors writing, a homage to the running lifestyle that has transformed the authors life and the life of runners around the world.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club. Use the code WELCOMEBOOKHOUND12 at checkout to save 12%.
Follow Brian James Siddons on Instagram and visit his website brianjamessiddons.com.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns and Jak Smithson, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is produced by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
In this episode we review the book 'How parkrun changed our lives' by Eileen Jones.
Jak and Char welcome Bookhounds members and parkrun addicts Egg and Jo to the virtual studio to chat about parkrun tourism, what we do with our stats and why it's so much more than just a 5km run.
About the book:
It’s been hailed as the greatest public health initiative of our time; a social movement for the common good; and even a new religion.
Eileen Jones set out to find why so many people love parkrun, and why almost seven million worldwide have signed up to take part in the weekly event. In her journey around the UK she visited many of the 730 parkrun venues, and talked to people who explained how a 5k run on a Saturday morning had changed their lives.
Useful links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club.
Follow Eileen Jones on Instagram and Twitter.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns and Jak Smithson, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
Our running book of the month for May 2021 is 'In It For The Long Run' by Damian Hall.
Hosts Char and Jak welcome Toby Fells to the podcast for the first time. Toby is a trail runner, photographer and founder of Queer Runnings (he's also Char's coach).
They chat all things ultra marathons, FKTs, food on the fells and their own running adventures that have been inspired by this book.
About the book:
In It for the Long Run is ultrarunner Damian Hall’s story of running a first marathon aged thirty-six, dressed as a toilet, and representing Great Britain four years later. His midlife-crisis running problem escalated to 100-mile ultramarathons and record-breaking bimbles, culminating in his 261-mile Pennine Way run in July 2020.
Packed with dry wit and humour, In It for the Long Run tells of Hall’s nine-year preparation for his attempt, and of the run itself. He also gives us an autobiographical insight into the deranged, custard-splattered, hedgehog-dodging world of ultramarathon running and record attempts.
Useful Links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club.
Find our more about Damian Hall at damianhall.info.
Bookhounds: The Run Down podcast is presented by Char Binns and Jak Smithson, in association with Bookhounds, the club for people who love reading and running. The podcast is edited by Char Binns. With music by Joe Smithson.
Our running book of the month for April 2021 is 'Marathon Mum' by Rachel Brown, with Warren Fitzgerald.
Our Char and Jak welcome Tasha, founder of Black Girls Do Run UK, to the podcast to discuss the book, share our love for Rachel and have a good old giggle.
About the book:
In the late 80s, our Rachel was having a boss time as a podium dancer at the Pleasuredrome, Birkenhead. Fast forward several years and she's married, with the kids she's always dreamed of, but the body she's always dreaded. To make things worse, her husband Trevor begins to show his true controlling colours and Rachel blames herself, spiralling into depression.
Until she discovers running.
Buzzing from her epiphany, the 'Forrest Gump of the Mersey' is derided by Trevor, but catches the attention of some local women, all struggling and vulnerable in their own ways. These disparate women persuade Rachel to lead them in a running club, to get a bit of whatever she's on, where they all discover more than the mere chance to shed a few pounds in this burgeoning sisterhood.
Dealing with the dark and many faces of depression with a refreshing lightness of touch unique to this working-class woman from the Wirral, Marathon Mum is an uplifting story of the healing to be found in community, and the corners we can turn when we push ourselves across the line.
Useful Links:
Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. Join the club at bookhounds.club.
Find our more about Marathon Mum here.
With music by Joe Smithson.
The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.