When Marshall Ulrich ran from San Francisco to New York City in 52.5 days, he was 57 years old and making an attempt to break a world record set by a man half his age.
Completing the mind-bending and body-breaking equivalent of 117 back-to-back marathons, Marshall ran an average of more than 400 miles a week, gained 84,430 feet in elevation, dealt with temps ranging from below freezing to the upper 90s, and crossed 12 states. He wore out 15 pairs of shoes.
I have known Marshall, and his wife Heather, for many years. I met them first at Death Valley at one of the Badwater Ultramarathons that he was running and I was patching feet. He is one of the icons of ultrarunning – and the best part, he’s a nice guy. No fluff. No attitude. Just a nice guy with a big heart.
As I read through my advance copy of Running on Empty, of course I looked for the parts where he talked about his feet. Chapter 7, This is Not my Foot, caught my attention. Marshall writes, “… I disowned my foot. Instead of embracing the pain, I rejected it completely. If I wanted to keep running, I’d have to stop thinking about my foot altogether. I wouldn’t be able to just gut it out as I had before, during the painful few hundred miles to the finish during the Badwater Quad. I still had over fifteen-hundred miles to go, close to three weeks before we reached New York….” This is a book that tells it like it is. No sugar-coating here.
This is a gutsy story that will intrigue you and you’ll wonder what make his tick. You’ll ask yourself, could I have done that? What am I made of? Could I make the sacrifices and remain motivated through it all. You’ll read Marshall’s Ten Commandments of Endurance, which kept him going during the 3000+ miles.
Marshall is a versatile, world-class extreme endurance athlete, not only a legendary ultra-runner but also Seven Summits mountaineer and adventure racer. So his new book, Running on Empty, is a memoir mostly about the transcontinental run, but it also includes tales and lessons learned from all his athletic pursuits, some painful, some funny, some completely surprising. You’ll come away appreciating a man who is soft-spoke, genuine, and honest. And you’ll appreciate the relationship between Marshall and his wife Heather, who shares in making this a great story.
In Running on Empty, Marshall shares the gritty backstory, including brushes with death, run-ins with the police, and the excruciating punishments he endured at the mercy of his maxed-out body. He also reaches back nearly thirty years to when the death of the woman he loved drove him to begin running-and his dawning realization that he felt truly alive only when pushed to the limits.
Now, Marshall has given us the inside scoop for you on how to order your copy today. You can also get some valuable “give-aways” I know you’ll love by pre-ordering your copy.
The back cover has a line that spells out the important message of Marshall’s book, “Face the toughest challenges, overcome debilitating setbacks, and find deep fulfillment in something greater than achievement.” I think, deep down, that is what we all strive for.
I have my preview copy, and I know this is something you’ll be interested in reading for yourself! Here is what others are saying about the book.
“Riveting–the man has endured more, experienced more, accomplished more than you can imagine.” ~ AMBY BURFOOT, editor at large of Runner’s World
“An athlete of astonishing grit …” ~ MARK BURNETT, producer of Survivor, Eco-Challenge, The Apprentice and others
“Marshall is The Man. Definitively … Nothing can stop him, and that gives us all hope, gives us resolve to keep trying.” ~ DEAN KARNAZES, ultra distance runner and author of Ultramarathon Man
“Tempting as it might be to describe him as superhuman, Marshall has fallen and struggled … His story … is ours.” ~ ARON RALSTON, author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place and subject of 127 Hours
