“Personal Record takes you on a grand tour of the running life, which goes from hobby to one of the purest forms that fanaticism in sport can take—ultramarathons. As any great running book deserves, Rachel Toor’s writing is swift, disciplined, sinewy, and indomitably strong. It is also hilarious. The story she tells is a marvel.”—Pat Conroy, author of My Losing Season and The Prince of Tides “In an unconventional, inspirational, and loving account of running, really well done and funny as heck, Rachel Toor shows how this simple activity is so powerful it sweeps us off our feet into friendships that endure. I'm a fan.”—Bill Rodgers, four-time winner of both the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon and owner of the Bill Rodgers Running Center “Readers who have thought about taking up running but have kept putting it off will discover that Toor has deftly taken away all of their excuses, from ‘I don’t have time’ to ‘I’m too out of shape’ to ‘It’ll hurt too much.’ A book that will appeal equally to novices and experienced runners.”—Booklist “A finely written ode to the art, the trial, the lifestyle of marathon running. Toor, an experienced runner, has the ability to take you inside that niche world and make it real.”—Reader’s Digest "In her new essay collection, Personal Record, Toor immerses the reader in the world of long-distance running, examining her bruised, muscular body, the contents of her closet, her pantry jammed with energy gels and protein bars, and her love life in the process of explaining what running means to her and describing the experiences the sport has given her."—Jenny Shank, New West “Rachel Toor makes me want to be a runner. . . . We can all find something inspiring in this book of stories about her running experiences.”—Doris Anne Roop-Benner, Story Circle Book Reviews