Barefoot runner and School of English lecturer Dr Vybarr Cregan-Reid makes a compelling case in a new book for how running can make people\u2019s lives better.<\/p>\n
Entitled Footnotes: How running makes us human <\/a><\/em>(Ebury Press <\/a>, May 2016), Dr Cregan-Reid\u2019s<\/a> book explores the simple human desire to run.<\/p>\n Using insights from literature, philosophy, neuroscience and biology, he explores how running has had many different connotations over the years, including exercise, health, marathons and monotony.<\/p>\n He also highlights the importance of people getting off the beaten track, switching off, and opening up their curiosities in a world determined to keep us \u2018plugged in and switched on\u2019.<\/p>\n With running in his blood \u2013 his uncle won a European Championship marathon gold medal for Ireland \u2013 Dr Cregan-Reid puts into practice the idea that running is not just a sport but rather a way to reconnect people with their bodies and the environment.<\/p>\n Using examples drawn from his own life, including his predilection for barefoot running,\u00a0Dr Cregan-Reid considers and answers the questions: what of running for the sake of it? Can idle running \u2013 not work, nor exercise \u2013 but the simple movement of foot to ground in nature, reconnect people with their true selves in a deep and meaningful way?<\/p>\n Dr Cregan-Reid<\/a> is a Senior Lecturer in English and American Literature in the School of English. He will be in conversation with Ebury Press editors at a launch party<\/a> on 31 May in the Senior Common Room at Keynes College on the University\u2019s Canterbury campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"