Fireside Reads

By Laura Clark

I always look forward to compiling my annual book roundup. As a librarian, I like nothing better than to share my finds with others. And writing about books is easier than actually writing one myself! The only difficult part of the process is the book selection. During this cold, dark part of our yearly cycle, take this opportunity to relax and recharge. If you are too much of an overachiever to handle an armchair gracefully, then view this time off as the inspirational portion of your training. If you are still out there sampling snowsports, then pull that chair much closer to the fire!

Taking a seasonal approach, then, I will begin with SNOW, which in the words of Buddy the Elf, is “my favorite.” Brace yourselves, below are three of my favorites, which despite featuring mountaineering, dogsledding, and skiing with only the occasional snowshoe mixed in, are all about the can-do attitude inherent in any sport. You will recognize yourselves.

Snowsports

Four Thousand Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod: A Veterinarian’s Story, by Lee Morgan (Liveright, 2024). Join Dr. Lee Morgan, a seasoned member of “The Last Great Race on Earth,” as he journeys from checkpoint to checkpoint monitoring the health of each dogsled team as they race from Anchorage to Nome in one of the world’s toughest races. As with our running ultras, the event itself is actually the reward for all the long training hours. Each sled dog is a unique individual and the musher and vet must be able to read their team, realizing that the race does not always go to the team with the fastest sled. Ever “get pulled” for not making a time deadline? Then you will empathize with the disappointment of injured dogs who can no longer perform. Reluctant to head out in the snow for a run? Just glance at the joyous faces of these canine athletes, eyes bright and tongues wagging as they head up the trail.

The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division, America’s Elite Alpine Warriors, by Maurice Isserman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019). Maurice, a history professor at Hamilton College in Clinton, utilizes correspondence and diaries to follow soldiers in World War II’s famed 10th Mountain Division. I became interested in this division as some of the current soldiers, now stationed at Fort Drum, occasionally come to run our Camp Saratoga 8K Snowshoe Race in February. 

Northeastern skiers honed their skills on Mt. Greylock’s scary Thunderbolt ski trail and every March there is a commemorative “the way it used to be” hike up and superfast schuss down. Farm boys and outdoorsmen learned to ski, snowshoe and mountaineer and spent roughly two years training for their big battle on Riva Ridge. Folks just like you and me, determined to push themselves to the limit. Survivors went on to found the great ski resorts and ski schools, like Werner and Ruppert von Trapp of Trapp Family Lodge. Others developed ski equipment. Odes to Bill Bowerman, his wife’s waffle iron and Nike Waffle Trainers, but being a muleteer and commander in the 10th, Bill had surely heard of Bramanis, the alpine ski mountain boot, whose ridges were adaptable for skiing, mountain climbing and ice!

For further investigation, try eyewitness Hal Burton’s The Ski Troops, (Simon & Schuster, 1971). Hal chronicles Minne Dole’s (yes, we know him as Senator Dole) three-year political battle to get approval for this unit and the resulting Belvedere and Riva Ridge campaign.

Bring these books to life by viewing the movie, The Last Ridge: 10th Mountain Division, available on YouTube. Draw inspiration from these book and movie heroes and be glad you are sitting by the fire!

Present Day Heroes

How She Did It: Stories, Advice and Secrets to Success from Fifty Legendary Distance Runners, by two-time Olympian Molly Huddle and two-time NCAA champion Sara Slattery (Penguin Random House, 2022). I have followed Molly’s career for a long time, since my good friend, Diane Sherer of the Finger Lakes Running Club, had taken her under her wing during her teenage struggles, growing up in Elmira. In this motivational effort, Molly has paid it back by teaming up with her college coach Sarah Slattery (University of Notre Dame) to guide young athletes to fulfill their potential. For all of us, the interviews with professional sports medicine professionals combined with first-person accounts from women like Joan Benoit Samuelson, Shalane Flanagan and Molly Siedel will inspire you along your own personal journey.

Running Past 50: Your Guide to Running Longevity and Success, by Caolan MacMahon (Human Kinetics, 2025). If you’re not currently in your 50s and still running, you soon will be, especially as 50 is becoming the new 40. Coach Caolan is there to guide you through the usual advice – more rest days, cross-training – but her most important point is that it is perfectly fine to adjust your expectations to mirror your desires. As we age, much to our astonishment, we discover our goals change from outcome to process, providing a continuous sense of excitement and renewal. For earlier classics on this subject, read former Runner’s World columnist, Dr. George Sheehan, who shares his evolving perspectives throughout his running life.

Hit the Trails!

Trail Running: Science & Training, by Nacho Martinez (SportTraining, 2024).

If you can run on pavement, you can run on trails, correct? Yes and no. While many of the principles are similar, there are nuances. With the exception of potholes, roads are fairly smooth and lend themselves to similar foot patterns. With rocks, roots and leaf cover, however, trails require a variety of seemingly random motions. In his book, Nacho will teach you a looser, more proactive approach. Do you tend to view walking as a badge of shame? In long distance trail running, hills are steep and expected and Nacho will demonstrate how to perfect your hiking technique so you can save your legs for the easier sections. Terms more familiar to the road runner, like fartlek, periodization and intervals are expanded in light of the complex demands of the trails. There is much more to learn than simply putting one foot in front of the other.

Thruhikers: A Guide to Life on the Trail, by Renee Miller and Tom Beissinger (Penguin Random House, 2024). Attempting a thruhike involves more than just heading to the Saratoga Outdoors store and buying a lot of gear. Granted, their sales staff is knowledgeable, but their time is limited. Even if you are an experienced hiker, stringing together days or weeks of consecutive effort requires a special skill set. Here the authors prepare you for every step of the adventure, from route planning to gear recommendations and packing systems, to troubleshooting techniques, and leave no trace protocols. Learn how to deal with weather, animals and inevitable injuries. And best of all, top off each evening with plant-based dehydrated recipes that you have prepared. It sure beats a prepackaged cup of ramen!

Big Run Big Fun Ultrarunning Crew Activity Book, by Toni White (Polar Bear Publishing, 2024). Which would you rather do – help out at the finish line or cross the finish line? Either way, at the end of the day you get to go home and take a hot shower… An ultra crew not only gets to spectate but is also a vital part of their runner’s success or failure by arriving at each checkpoint on time and with the necessary food and gear. Why would you want to do this? Well, believe it or not some folks really do not want to run 100 miles but would still like to experience the community. Some want to explore if this would be a fit for them or if a particular ultra could motivate them. Some simply owe their runner a favor. 

To lighten the planning involved and share the experience, Toni has created a clever activity book where crew partners can journal fun memories, create trivia questions for the group, color and word search and afterwards reflect on what worked and what didn’t. I wish I had had this opportunity when I crewed with my friends at the Vermont 100 Endurance Race.

Moving on… Now for what often seems like the real reason we like to keep in shape – bring on the food!

YUM!

Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad, by Alexandra Stafford (Clarkson Potter, 2024). When faced with a painful relocation, Alexandra’s mother proclaimed, “When we move, we’ll have pizza every Friday.” And so, it began… Now residing in Saratoga County, and the creator of the popular blog Alexandra’s Kitchen, she gears her recipes toward busy families and sports-minded folks who want to eat NOW, with make-ahead options. Her recipes are arranged seasonally so you never have to search for difficult-to-find ingredients. Best of all, each is accompanied by a full-scale color photo!

Laura Clark (snowshoegal133@gmail.com) of Saratoga Springs is an avid trail runner, ultramarathoner, snowshoer and cross-country skier. She is a children’s librarian at the Saratoga Springs Public Library.