The 27th Mile

How to Smooth the Rough Transition Out of Your Running Years

By: Dimity McDowell

Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt

From a former contributing editor at Runner’s World, a narrative-driven prescriptive book on reckoning with the end of an athletic journey—and what comes next.

On January 18, 2020, Dimity McDowell unknowingly went on her last run. The deceleration of her running career began three years before that, following a medical visit which ended in the assessment that she should not run anymore. She should have quit then and there. But running is not like other hobbies; the sport anchored major parts of her identity, including her career, self-image, and mental health. This is true for so many runners (who are legion: about 50 million Americans participate in some form of running or jogging). And many of them will have to grudgingly hang up their sneakers at some point.

This is the story of anyone who lives and breathes the pavement—and has to give it up. The 27th Mile focuses on the time when running—or any other physical pursuit that anchored your daily life and self-identity—is no longer a healthy choice because of injury, chronic pain, or illness.

While The 27th Mile is anchored in Dimity’s personal journey, as one of the founders of the popular website Another Mother Runner, she taps into her vast network to share stories from others who have been there, as well as expert advice for empathy and wisdom to help guide readers to the next chapter of their athletic identity.

Movement for your future

This book is written by a woman that I’ve never met in real life, but whom I feel like I know from the many happy miles I’ve had while listening to her and her former business partner’s podcast for the many years that I ran. While that podcast and business are no more, she continues to virtually coach and cheer on runners and walkers (and me!), and everything in between. I’m currently fully engaged in her Many Happy Miles strength/mobility/cardio program, and am feeling stronger than I have in a long time.

Dimity beautifully expressed the last ten years of my life in this book. I haven’t run during most of that time, constant injuries sidelined that. Having been a runner for about 15 years, it’s been a huge and painful transition, mentally and physically. I’ve managed to stay mostly injury free by walking, hiking, and doing yoga, but, man, I’ve missed running. I’ve started picking up the pace again, but have accepted that running will probably never be my primary workout again. This book completely validated my feelings about that and really helped me put it all in perspective.

If you’re chronically injured and looking down the road at what the future holds for you movement wise, or heading into menopause and not loving the way your body and mind are feeling, pick this book up.

My only complaint is a small one. I know Dimity’s voice so well having listened to it for many years, so I was mildly disconcerted by the narrator of the audio version. I immediately recognized Dimity’s words, but the narration really threw me off. The narrator did a perfectly fine job, but I would much rather this had been read by the author. I asked Dimity about it before the book’s release, and she told me she didn’t pass the voice test. 😂😂 Don’t know if she was kidding, but I would much rather have heard her voice. Small nit, though. It certainly didn’t take anything away from the book.

Happy reading, and I hope your future is filled with purpose and movement for all the years of your life. This is a great starter guide for doing just that.