When Brendan Leonard decided to get serious about running in 2015, it only lasted a few weeks—the “getting serious” part, not the running part. Since running his first-ever ultramarathon race that year, he's logged thousands of miles on roads and on trails, completed dozens of marathons and ultramarathons, and spent a lot of time thinking about why we do what we do when we put on running shoes—whether we're qualifying for the Boston Marathon or finishing an ultra-distance trail race a minute before the final cutoff. And it’s not always that serious. 
The 25 essays, race reports, illustrated stories, and goofy lists in this book pull from a wide range of experiences: The high-decibel chaos of running the New York City Marathon with 53,000 other people, shuffling through the night on lonely trails in the mountains of Colorado and North Carolina, digging for the mental fortitude to finish a 100-mile race, and the admission that we all have procrastinated a 5-mile easy run on a weekday for longer than it takes to do the actual running—often while wearing our running clothes. Have Fun Out There Or Not will, according to a good friend who’s probably biased to say nice things about Brendan’s work anyway, leave you laughing and shaking your head saying, “Me too,” or “Been there, done that,” or “OK, that’s kind of gross.” Also, possibly, “Why would you think that was a good idea?” or “What did you expect, after you ate all that pizza?” or “The person who wrote this should really find another hobby, like, I don’t know, golf or something.” 
There are no real training tips in this book, except maybe the one on page 60 about how to go No. 2 in the woods and keep your hands 100 percent clean while doing it.

Have Fun Out There Or Not: The Semi-Rad Running Essays

Sports & Outdoors

Leonard, Brendan

Individual Sports

Semi-Rad Media

When Brendan Leonard decided to get serious about running in 2015, it only lasted a few weeks-the "getting serious" part, not the running part. Since running his first-ever ultramarathon race that year, he's logged thousands of miles on roads and on trails, completed dozens of marathons and ultramarathons, and spent a lot of time thinking about why we do what we do when we put on running shoes-whether we're qualifying for the Boston Marathon or finishing an ultra-distance trail race a minute before the final cutoff. And it's not always that serious.\nThe 25 essays, race reports, illustrated stories, and goofy lists in this book pull from a wide range of experiences: The high-decibel chaos of running the New York City Marathon with 53,000 other people, shuffling through the night on lonely trails in the mountains of Colorado and North Carolina, digging for the mental fortitude to finish a 100-mile race, and the admission that we all have procrastinated a 5-mile easy run on a weekday for longer than it takes to do the actual running-often while wearing our running clothes. Have Fun Out There Or Not will, according to a good friend who's probably biased to say nice things about Brendan's work anyway, leave you laughing and shaking your head saying, "Me too," or "Been there, done that," or "OK, that's kind of gross." Also, possibly, "Why would you think that was a good idea?" or "What did you expect, after you ate all that pizza?" or "The person who wrote this should really find another hobby, like, I don't know, golf or something."\nThere are no real training tips in this book, except maybe the one on page 69 about how to go No. 2 in the woods and keep your hands 100 percent clean while doing it.

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

When your life plan explodes, you ask yourself the big questions: What do I really need in life? How can I make my life a work of art? Should I buy a house? Have kids? What is a life?Following in Kerouac and Steinbeck's tire tracks, a 32-year-old, post-breakup Brendan Leonard hits the road in search of healing and a new, post-economic-downturn American Dream. Sleeping in the back of a beat-up station wagon, he seeks answers—and hopefully, the occasional shower—in the postcard-worthy places of the American West. Part ballad to the romance of the road and part heart-searching treatise on the American Dream, The New American Road Trip Mixtape is Leonard's raw, often hilarious, barstool storytelling at its best.

The New American Road Trip Mixtape

Mountaineering

Brendan Leonard's Semi-Rad.com has become the funny, introspective voice of everyman and everywoman adventurers—from the pitfalls of introducing a new love interest to a dangerous sport, to the mishaps we have trying to use the bathroom in the wild. Since 2011, more than one million visitors have read and shared Leonard's writing, making Semi-Rad.com stories some of the most viral outdoor content on the internet. Funny Shit in the Woods collects 40 of Semi-Rad's most popular stories in one volume: a single portable archive without the mouse clicks or internet searches—complete with all-new amateurish illustrations hand-drawn by the author, usually while in the front seat of a moving car. If you've ever considered the absurdity of sleeping on the ground in a place where bears live, pooping in a bag on a glacier, or trying to teach someone you love a sport that could scare them to the point of loudly threatening to kill you in front of strangers—or if you find yourself inexplicably drawn to adjust the burning logs in a campfire every two minutes, Funny Shit in the Woods will make you laugh, and might inspire you to get outside a little bit more.

Funny Shit in the Woods and Other Stories: The Best of Semi-Rad.com

Science & Math

Nature & Ecology

Brendan Leonard's Semi-Rad.com has become the funny, introspective voice of everyman and everywoman adventurers-from the pitfalls of introducing a new love interest to a dangerous sport, to the mishaps we have trying to use the bathroom in the wild. Since 2011, more than one million visitors have read and shared Leonard's writing, making Semi-Rad.com stories some of the most viral outdoor content on the internet. Funny Shit in the Woods collects 40 of Semi-Rad's most popular stories in one volume: a single portable archive without the mouse clicks or internet searches-complete with all-new amateurish illustrations hand-drawn by the author, usually while in the front seat of a moving car. If you've ever considered the absurdity of sleeping on the ground in a place where bears live, pooping in a bag on a glacier, or trying to teach someone you love a sport that could scare them to the point of loudly threatening to kill you in front of strangers-or if you find yourself inexplicably drawn to adjust the burning logs in a campfire every two minutes, Funny Shit in the Woods will make you laugh, and might inspire you to get outside a little bit more.

When your life plan explodes, you ask yourself the big questions: What do I really need in life? How can I make my life a work of art? Should I buy a house? Have kids? What is a life? Following in Kerouac and Steinbeck's tire tracks, a 32-year-old, post-breakup Brendan Leonard hits the road in search of healing and a new, post-economic-downturn American Dream. Sleeping in the back of a beat-up station wagon, he seeks answers-and hopefully, the occasional shower-in the postcard-worthy places of the American West. Part ballad to the romance of the road and part heart-searching treatise on the American Dream, The New American Road Trip Mixtape is Leonard's raw, often hilarious, barstool storytelling at its best.

Travel

Travel Writing

A concise kick in the ass to start doing the creative thing you dream about but don't feel like you have the time/skills/know-how to pull off. Nobody gets tapped with a magic wand and suddenly has the ability to produce art, music, photos, films, or writing—they just do it. And you probably should too. Make It Till You Make It breaks down 40 myths and truths about the pursuit of creative expression, whether you want to make $0 a year doing your thing or $100,000 a year.

Make It Till You Make It: 40 Myths and Truths About Creating

Arts & Photography

A concise kick in the ass to start doing the creative thing you dream about but don't feel like you have the time/skills/know-how to pull off. Nobody gets tapped with a magic wand and suddenly has the ability to produce art, music, photos, films, or writing--they just do it. And you probably should too. Make It Till You Make It breaks down 40 myths and truths about the pursuit of creative expression, whether you want to make $0 a year doing your thing or $100,000 a year.

An Outdoor Cookbook with a Distinctly Refined Palette “Roughing it” doesn’t have to include the food you eat when you’re in the backcountry. Even when you’re miles from a full spice rack and only have a single-burner backpacking stove to work with, you can—and should—eat well. Best Served Wild offers up good back country food meant to be shared with friends around an open campfire. Adventure writer Brendan Leonard and food writer Anna Brones team up to bring you veggie-focused recipes for taking your backcountry food game beyond freeze-dried backpacking meals and brick-like energy bars. They share recipes for everything from single day adventures to overnight trips to multi-day outings—real food for real adventures."

Best Served Wild: Real Food for Real Adventures - Vegetarian

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

BRONES, ANNA

Outdoor Cooking

Falcon Guides

The Art of Getting Lost will illuminate the details of dream trips, and inspiring readers to understand that adventure is not out of reach. Most of us face a couple of obstacles when it comes to living our Walter Mitty-esque adventure dreams: ideas of what to do, and concrete knowledge of how long those ideas will take. It’s a long way from talking to some guy at the bar about his Grand Canyon Raft trip to going home and Googling a synopsis of how to make it happen, and then clicking around a guide company’s website to find out if it takes three days or 30. But it won’t be hard to flip through this book and get inspired.

The Art of Getting Lost: 365 Days of Adventure, Big and Small (Falcon Guides)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Leonard, Brendan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Leonard, Brendan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Leonard, Brendan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Have Fun Out There Or Not: The Semi-Rad Running Essays

Have Fun Out There Or Not: The Semi-Rad Running Essays

The New American Road Trip Mixtape

Funny Shit in the Woods and Other Stories: The Best of Semi-Rad.com

Funny Shit in the Woods and Other Stories: The Best of Semi-Rad.com

The New American Road Trip Mixtape

Make It Till You Make It: 40 Myths and Truths About Creating

Make It Till You Make It: 40 Myths and Truths About Creating

Best Served Wild: Real Food for Real Adventures - Vegetarian

The Art of Getting Lost: 365 Days of Adventure, Big and Small (Falcon Guides)