About the Book
After a successful career on Wall Street, the Catskill Mountains beckoned. In Chasing the Grid, author Kenneth Posner, a seasoned corporate worker and intrepid but non-elite runner, sets out after an ultra-distance mountain-running record which nearly destroys him. Along the way, he stumbles upon an obscure peak-bagging tradition known as the 'Grid,' which becomes his new obsession.
The Grid is a project where a determined athlete must run and climb a list of peaks in every month of the year, the purpose being to get to know the mountains intimately, in every season. For New York's Catskill Mountains, where this story takes place, the formula requires more than 400 separate ascents. For Posner, the Grid turns out to be not just another running challenge; it's a pilgrimage. It offers a retreat from the spirit of modern running, often reduced to a one-dimensional activity driven by ego and moderated by clocks, in favour of how our ancestors moved through nature in days gone by purposefully, patiently, and mindfully. Posner emerges from the experience as a radically different kind of runner now running barefoot across trails and shirtless in the winter, leaving behind food, water, lights, navigational gear, and even bug spray.
By following Posner in his quest to complete the Grid, readers will feel sandstone fragments under bare soles; pad across a bed of moss as luxurious as a Persian carpet; squelch with him through cool black boreal mud; dance across snow and ice; and participate in discoveries about the passage of time, the energy of nature, and the sense of self.
About the Author :
Kenneth Posner's running credentials include completing 110 races of marathon distance or longer and setting fastest known times for the 294-mile Badwater Double in Death Valley and New York's 350-mile Long Path. As a barefoot athlete, he has run 112 races, climbed 485 mountains, including every 4,000-footer in the Northeast, and thru-hiked the John Muir Trail. As board chair for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and Run Wild, Inc., he supports land conservation and stewardship and advocates for connecting young people with nature. Following service as a US Army infantry officer, his business career now spans 30 years as a Wall Street analyst and corporate executive. He is currently serving as senior vice president of strategic planning and investor relations at Mr. Cooper Group, the nation's largest mortgage
servicer.
Review :
For readers, the book offers not a prescription but a provocation: What train are you on, and when will you jump?....Posner is equal parts analyst and ascetic, record-chaser and barefoot mystic. The contradictions don't cancel each other--they power the story forward. If the book convinces you of anything, it's that the path worth following is rarely a straight one.
--Chronogram
"Chasing the Grid is a Walden for the Garmin age, a beautiful and powerful reminder of what running is--or should be--all about."--Matt Fitzgerald, author of Life Is a Marathon
"In this fascinating account, Ken undertakes a daunting physical endeavor. A Big Fitness Goal. A journey in which he leaves behind digital distraction. Ventures deep into the solitude of the mountains. Wrestles with the primitive challenges of life on the trail. Discovers the important values which we need so badly to instill today. Relevant, timely, and inspiring!"--Mike Erwin, CEO of the Character and Leadership Center, founder of veteran organization Team Red, White & Blue, West Point grad, and former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer
"Ken is truly anti-fragile, and he moves with the grace of a deer. This story will help you find your inner runner."
--Dr. Robert Conenello, Orangetown Podiatry, faculty member Dominican and St. Thomas Aquinas Colleges, Honorary Surgeon New York Police Department, past president American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine
"Kenneth Posner found himself, cast inner demons aside, and discovered a new way of life that put technology and modernity aside in favour of nature."--Running Tales
"Moving through a natural environment doesn't require technology; it takes curiosity and enthusiasm. Ken's account is a roller-coaster ride through the mountains of New York amid a series of increasingly minimalist adventures. Along the way, he falls back in love with nature, learns to study the signs and clues, discovers the art of natural navigation, and ends up showing the reader how to reconnect with the world around us."--Tristan Gooley, internationally acclaimed navigation expert, award-winning and bestselling author of The Natural Navigator and The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs
"Nature lovers will revel in Ken's vivid descriptions of the Catskill Mountains. He invites the reader to feel the dirt beneath their feet, breathe deep the aroma of spruce-fir forest, and admire the trailside flower and crusty lichen alike. His story conveys an urgency to slow down and listen closely, for in doing so we discover not only nature's wonders but our innate and wondrous human abilities." --Heather Houskeeper, herbalist, long-distance hiker, author
"Once again, Ken takes us into the laboratory of human performance, which this time consists of the rugged mountains in upstate New York. This time the experiment is to find out whether an aging ultra-runner can keep moving despite thick vegetation, deep snow, rocky trails, and injury. What will he discover and learn? The result is a case study in important American values, like determination and acceptance--and a wild read."--Vinnie Totorich, celebrity fitness trainer, author, radio and podcast host, film producer, and international motivational speaker
"Running can be more than just exercise; it can be a powerful meditative practice that brings the gifts of stillness and presence to all other aspects of our lives. Posner's account of his transformation from conventional to natural runner is a wild mix of energy, adventure, and determination. It draws on themes of the American Transcendentalist tradition and is enriched by the beauty of the Catskill Mountains, not just backdrop but another character in Posner's story. This book will inspire runners of all levels of experience to pursue their own journeys of empowerment and transformation."--Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, Zen teacher and author of Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion
"This is not just a story about running and hiking in the mountains. It's the story of a pilgrimage, which means an exercise in discipline and a journey into the gap where creativity begins and where connection is found. A very interesting, entertaining, and educating read!"--"Barefoot Sue" Kenney, author of My Camino, level 2 Wim Hof Instructor, rewilding instructor, and TikTok barefoot influencer
"This is the story of a pilgrimage, but an especially wild and intense one, as Posner fights to escape the depressingly comfortable prison of modern life. The result is what can only be described as an aesthetic experience, and a one-way trip into the unknown."--John Kaag, professor of philosophy at University of Massachusetts Lowell and author of Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are
"Through a slow-motion and sometimes painful personal transformation, Long Path record-setter Ken Posner brings us the magic and majesty of the Catskills. His journey will have you too shedding your shoes and leaving behind your GPS, cell phone, and even maps. Among the living mountains, Ken reshuffles his priorities to find fresh insight and new appreciation for going light."--Joan Burroughs, President, John Burroughs Association and great-granddaughter of John Burroughs, naturalist
