Title: 50 Halfs from First to Last
Author: Brian Baleno
Publisher: TQR Media
ISBN: 978-0615586182
Pages: 158, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Non-Fiction/Young Adult
Reviewed by: Erin Lund Johnson, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
5o Halfs, from First to Last by Brian Baleno is a book with a unique premise and a lot of heart. It is the story of a former soccer player and recreational runner who sets himself the goal of running a half marathon in each of the 50 United States. I must admit, it is a goal and a book topic I’ve not come across before. Fellow athletes will relate to his descriptions of both runner’s highs and cramps, and those familiar with marathon races will understand the context. I’m not athletic, so what spoke to me most in this book was the author’s unfolding personal story, insightful reflections, and impressions of new places.Balero begins by introducing the reader to his youth as a soccer player and the choice he faced in college to make it a career, or pursue a different course. He chose to pursue a degree program instead of sports, but though he gave up soccer, he retained recreational running for fitness and stress relief. Originally, he ran his first half marathon as a means of training for running a full marathon. Racing the marathon itself exhausted him and he was convinced he’d never do it again! The desire to run half marathons in all 50 states crept up on him slowly as he was drawn into the experience of improving his running times, and running in different locations and conditions. Once decided upon, the venture took him nearly two years to complete.
The author really opened himself up to the fullness of each half marathon experience, both in place and moment. He freely shares his personal insights and impressions of new landscapes and vistas, different people, past memories, and feelings of gratitude for what he’s had in his life. Baleno is very comfortable sharing from the heart, and this comes through on each page. His writing flow also picks up as the book progresses, finding its pacing and little delicious turns of phrases to carry the story along. I enjoyed his descriptions of the cities he ran through, the ocean and mountain views he took in, and exchanges he had with the people he met during his travels. His sense of gratitude for the goodness in his life is genuine, and his stories depicting his relationships with his family and girlfriend are heartfelt.
While this could have been a flat reiteration of an athletic achievement full of runner vernacular only understood by fellow runners, it is instead a personal memoir of a goal sought and worked towards, and all the personal experiences taken in along the way. The visual layout of the story progression is also fun; as new states are run through, they are drawn into their respective locations in a US map, gradually filling in and completing the picture as the story unfolds, like a jigsaw puzzle. Even the book’s back cover tells the author’s story, through a collage of the runner’s numbers he wore in the half marathons. One thing which surprised me was that his running times did not drastically improve over the half marathons. He notes his running times for each race, and they seem to stay within the same 10 minutes or so of each other. I had expected the times to gradually reduce as he ran more races, thinking this would be a logical outcome of more running experience. I appreciated, though, how his times altered with differing conditions of weather and terrain.
This is a unique story concept with a lot of potential, engagingly told with a very personal touch. Readers need not be athletes to enjoy and relate with his process of goal setting, experience with travel, impressions of new places, and insights gained from encountering new people. The author opens his heart to his readers on every page. I enjoyed taking this trip with the author.
