Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory

Of the couple dozen running book that I have read, I relate to this one most. It’s a really good read even for someone who doesn’t run. It’s about pursuing passion, cultivating awareness and training positivity… and then eventually achieving excellence and finding happiness!

Nice mix of biography of an exceptional athlete and importance of positive attitude on performance and life in general. I highly recommend.

[Full disclosure - I am a fairly serious recreational runner and a Deena Kastor fan. I have enjoyed following her career over the years.]The book is an easy-to-read chronicle of her running career interwoven with the development of her positive mental attitude over that period. I'd say for at least the first half of the book, if not longer, it was really enjoyable (and helpful) to read about the different mental strategies/perspectives/tactics she developed and put into action to help her achieve her running goals. Some of them you will have surely been exposed to (but others you might not have), however it is helpful to read about how she implemented them to her advantage.The reason for only 4 stars? The message does start to feel more contrived by the end, especially when she is also discussing how she has up to 3 top male college athletes with her every day for training, will spend weeks at the Olympic training center, has a husband who is a physical therapist/masseuse, etc. Of course, I am happy she had all those things - I'm all for supporting world-class U.S. athletes to compete on the international stage. Positive attitude is important, but there were many other components to her success and by the end, the way that message is incorporated starts to feel a lot like, "I was shaken by something... and then I remembered to be positive and grateful!"The writing for many things she discusses (notably races but also life events) can feel cursory, especially when contrasted to what I recall as some excellent, turn-by-turn descriptions of races by Dean Karnazes in Ultramarathon Man.I did enjoy it and would recommend it if you're interested in reading about her career and picking up some helpful pointers on how to incorporate positive thinking into your life and endeavors. I commend her for writing a strong book on her career. I am certain it will be inspiring to both men and women in athletics; I know it was for me.

Perfect book to read leading into my marathon. All of her lessons kept me focused during training and the day of the race.

Love. Read for Mental toughness

Deena’s journey was inspirational to read from start to finish. To be able to follow her path and take in her positivity wisdom and application is my biggest takeaway. Great read!

This book was recommended to me because I was considering starting to train for a marathon. Read it and not only am I going to train and run my first marathon, I have started seeing things differently on the daily. If you are an athlete or have personal health goals, there are some powerful insights in this book that can help give you a new perspective on overcoming challenges such as burnout, competing for the wrong reasons, bored with your training, lost purpose in training, etc. I could go on and on. Love the book. Worth the read!

I enjoyed this memoir very much!! If you’re interesting in the extraordinary life an Olympian that is also an excellent writer, you’ll love this book, as I did. Deana is generous with her knowledge and hard earned wisdom of sports psychology. I definitely recommend this book which celebrates an amazing woman’s journey and the wonderful people that love and support her.

Deena’s attitude to life and training is so inspiring. I’ve learned more from her use of positive thinking than from all the professionals’ books on the subject. I didn’t want this book to end. I’ll be nowhere near as fast, but this will help me on my training journey for Chicago 2018.

as a relatively new running this appealed to me yet I do not often seem to be able to read a full book they need to grip and interest me and this one did.A lot to think about not only as a runner and some interesting concepts

I liked the reflections on running with a positive mind. The book is written in an easily understandable format and once I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down.

Beautiful, honest, positive and inspiring.

Brilliant book really grips from the beginning and written honestly. Didn’t want to put it down or end loads of life lessons that you will adapt in your everyday life.