Bookhounds: The Run Down

Bookhounds Running Club

The Run Down Podcast is created by Bookhounds, a running club AND a reading group. Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. In The Run Down we review our 'Book of the Month'. The show is hosted by Char Binns, Top Dog and Jak Smithson, Sound Hound and we invite a special guest from the world of running to join our reading group every month. The Run Down is THE podcast for running books. Essential listening for people who love running and reading.

  1. 11/27/2021

    'The Running Book' by John Connell

    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. After a mental health crisis, John found the simple act of putting one foot in front of another helped him to regain his sense of self and better appreciate the world around him. At its core, The Running Book is a life-affirming read about the nature of happiness – and how for one man it came through the feet. 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.

    42 min
  2. 09/27/2021

    'Spirit Run' by Noé Álvarez

    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.

    1h 3m
  3. 08/23/2021

    'Coasting' by Elise Downing

    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.

    50 min
  4. 07/23/2021

    'This Journey We Call Running' by Brain James Siddons

    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.

    50 min

About

The Run Down Podcast is created by Bookhounds, a running club AND a reading group. Bookhounds is a monthly book subscription box delivering running inspiration to your door. In The Run Down we review our 'Book of the Month'. The show is hosted by Char Binns, Top Dog and Jak Smithson, Sound Hound and we invite a special guest from the world of running to join our reading group every month. The Run Down is THE podcast for running books. Essential listening for people who love running and reading.