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Anna McNuff
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The Pants Of Perspective: A 3,000 kilometre running adventure through the wilds of New Zealand Kindle Edition

by Anna McNuff (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,004 ratings
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What the Amazon readers are saying:

★★★★★ "A thrilling coming of age journey that'll make you yearn for adventure" - RUNNER'S WORLD

★★★★★ "Beaming with limitless positivity and ambition" - WOMEN'S RUNNING

★★★★★ ”A story that inspires others to blaze a trail." - THE GUARDIAN

★★★★★ "Travel writing at its best!"

★★★★★ "Hilarious and inspiring."

★★★★★ "So down to earth. Full of passion and vulnerability"

★★★★★ "Wow. Wow. Wow. Pure inspiration."

★★★★★ "I don't normally feel moved to review books, but this one blew me away! I was gripped from begining to end."

★★★★★ "I felt like I was running right alongside her."


BOOK DESCRIPTION

"When I ran, I ran for pleasure. I didn’t run for times, to win, to impress: I ran for me. When I ran my bum cheeks rubbed together, so much so that if I was going on a long run I’d have to ‘lube up’. I maintained that I was not a ‘real’ runner – I just liked to run so that I could eat cake."

Anna was never anything like those ‘real’ runners on telly – all spindly limbs, tiny shorts and split times – but when she read about New Zealand’s 3,000-kilometre-long Te Araroa Trail, she began to wonder… perhaps being a ‘real’ runner was overrated.

Maybe she could just run it anyway?

Travelling alone through New Zealand’s backcountry for 148 days, she scrambled through forests, along ridge-lines, over mountain passes, along beaches and across swollen rivers. Running up to 52 kilometres in a day, she slept wild most nights, and was taken into the homes and hearts of the kiwi people in between.

The Pants of Perspective is a witty, colourful and at times painfully raw account of a journey to the edge of what a woman believes herself to be capable of. It is a coming-of-age story which will lead you on a roller coaster ride through fear, vulnerability courage and failure. For anyone who has ever dreamt of taking on a great challenge, but felt too afraid to begin – this story is for you.


♥ The books in the 'Anna's Adventures' series can be read in any order ♥

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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Anna's Adventures
  2. Print length
    542 pages
  3. Language
    English
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  5. Publication date
    July 25, 2017
  6. File size
    2967 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"As someone who has only started running in the last six months and found it a game-changer, I'm now reading this wondering... could I do that? What a great feeling!"

"Anna's writing is engaging, honest and humorous, making me laugh out loud on numerous occasions. The sheer force of her personality, zest for a life of discovery and shared human experience is infectious."

"This book is up there with the best I've ever read! It's heartwarming, funny, endearing, inspiring and downright lovely. I read it flat out in four days between work, in the bath, on the train, whilst cooking.... and then bought a copy for my friend to read. If you love adventure, you'll love this."

"Her adventurer's spirit, passion and toughness burst of the page as she ventures into the unknown and pushes herself to the edge with moments of self-doubt and frailty common to us all."

"Anna is a total badass, even though she down plays it in her book. Followed and loved by many, this account is a real insight in to what it's like for a 'normal' person to undertake a massive adventure. It's refreshing to read a book like this that makes adventure feel so accessible"

"An absolutely inspirational account of one woman's epic adventure throughout New Zealand. If you need any motivation to get out there and try something which may be out of your comfort zone, read this book!"

"I'm sat in a restaurant having just finished this book and was close to tears for the ending. There certainly would have been a few if I'd been at home. I didn't want this book to end. I absolutely loved it."

About the Author

'One of the 50 most influential travellers in the world' CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER MAGAZINE

Anna is an endurance athlete, adventurer and self confessed mischief maker. Once upon a time she represented Great Britain at rowing, but after 'retiring' in her mid twenties, she began darting around the world on the hunt for new and exciting endurance challenges. Named by The Guardian as one of the top female adventurers of our time, Condé Nast Traveller also recently included her in a list of the 50 most influential travellers in the world. She also also the UK ambassador for Girl Guiding.

On a mission to find the limit of her own potential, she aims to help others unlock theirs too.

ANNA'S ADVENTURES TO DATE

In 2013 Anna cycled a beautiful Pink bicycle 11,000 miles through each and every state of the USA, from Alaska to Hawaii. Pedalling up to 130 miles a day for 6 months, solo and unsupported, she encountered blizzards, floods and temperatures as low at minus 15C.

In January 2015, with no previous experience as a long distance runner, Anna set out on a 2,000 mile run along New Zealand's Te Araroa trail. Travelling alone for 148 days, she moved through forests, along ridge-lines, over mountain passes, along beaches and across swollen rivers. Running up to 32 miles in a day, she carried all of her belongings in a backpack that was often as heavy at 20kgs. By June 2015 she had become the first person, male or female, to run then length of the country entirely unsupported.

In October 2016, Anna began a journey to cycle along the spine of the largest mountain range in the world: The Andes. By the time she returned to the UK in April 2017 she had pedalled through some of South America's most remote and inhospitable regions, and ascended over 100,000 metres on a bike - more than 11 times the height of Everest.

Much closer to home, she has also spent a month cycling across Europe directed entirely by social media. As you do.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B072N9H3LN
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rocket 88; 1st edition (July 25, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 25, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2967 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 542 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,004 ratings

About the author

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Anna McNuff

Anna McNuff

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Anna McNuff is an adventurer, speaker, author and self-confessed mischief maker. In 2020 she won the Amazon Kindle Storyteller award for her South American Travel memoir - Llama Drama. Named by The Guardian as one of the top female adventurers of our time, Condé Nast Traveller included her in a list of the 50 most influential travellers in the world. She is also the UK ambassador for Girl Guiding.

Anna has authored four adult books and one kids book - all of them about travel and adventure. Her latest work - 'Bedtime Adventure Stories for Grown Ups' - is a collection of bite-sized adventure tales designed to help adults de-stress and escape to far flung lands before bedtime.

Anna's travels include cycling a beautiful pink bicycle through each and every state of the USA, running the length of New Zealand and exploring the peaks and passes of The Andes mountains – in which she ascended the equivalent to eleven times the height of Everest on a bicycle.

But she is best known for an adventure in which she set off to run – a 2,300+ miles (90 marathons) run through Britain… in her bare feet. All the way along, she gave talks to the young women of Britain about taking on challenges of their own.

Much closer to home, she has also spent a month cycling across Europe directed entirely by social media, run the length of Hadrian’s wall dressed as a Roman Soldier, and the length of the Jurassic Coast, dressed as a dinosaur. As you do.

Anna lives in Gloucester with her hubby and young daughter and can often be found writing in a local café or munching on a slice of lemon meringue pie.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
3,004 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Abigel Csurdi
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging book about a great adventure
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023
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The first of Anna's books that I read and I enjoyed it greatly. Anna writes with sincerity, her sense of humour is engaging and her story very motivating. Recommended for people interested in running, trailrunning and New Zealand and just great adventures in general.
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grunt0311
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, very motivating and uplifting
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2023
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This is such a good story. So positive and motivating. I am so envious of this adventure. Anna does such a good job of describing her days on the trail and keeps it interesting the whole book. She has some big balls to conquer that trail with so little experience and prep. Her toughness and determination are inspiring. I will definitely read her other books. Highly recommended!
One person found this helpful
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Tim Nicholas
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and well worth reading for anyone interested in adventure or endurance
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2017
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I wanted to read something about the experience of the Te Araroa trail and couldn't have asked for better. Not least as I'm a trail running in New Zealand with aspirations to run long distances in nature. Ideal.

I had sort of assumed (pessimistically) that most books about the trail would be pretty dry and unengaging but the cover and title of The Pants of Perspective represent the contents well. Anna is clearly a wonderful woman who has managed to be open and interesting with the physical, mental and emotional struggles of a solo undertaking like this. She's also clearly as hard as nails and able to push herself very hard (in all three of those categories: physically, mentally and emotionally).

On another level, it was great to be reminded of so many wonderful areas in the New Zealand out doors. Just as in any other country, plenty of us New Zealanders find ourselves living life week to week in a rut of work routine. Sometimes it takes hearing stories that are simultaneously close to home and yet distant experiences to remind us of our options.

And its never a bad thing to be reminded that the vast majority of people in the world are Good People.

In terms of pacing, the South Island sections felt much more detailed and complete than the North Island, but I suspect that really does reflect the experience of the trip, rather than any rush in the writing process. The mountains and isolation provide much more fodder for interesting experiences, and the start of the trip was bound to have more substantial discovery elements.

And I'm still astonished she never had a head lamp.
One person found this helpful
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KB
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2023
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I read this book as part of a book club, so didn’t really have any background or even know who the author was or much of adventuring. At first it was a bit slow for me to get into, but less than half way through I began to feel like I was on the trail with her. And then as the journey evolves and she delves into the emotional journey I was brought into it even more. This was a fun read!
On a side note I did not realize that I ordered the Large Print edition, which was hilarious!
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runningdogs
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful adventure!
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2023
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I felt like I was part of the adventure. Fantastic, engaging read! Highly recommend! Loved this book and looking forward to reading her others.
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Anna B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and encouraging
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2022
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This book is a source of confidence and motivation in case we loose ours. Anna's way of making her dreams come true shows that everyhing is possible. You just simply need to do it. Oh and by the way it is also funny and honest. So apart from being motivational it is also a good read.
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delo007
3.0 out of 5 stars A long, but engaging book
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2021
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I'm sure others might compare this book to "Wild" by C. Strayed and there are many similarities. Both are underprepared for their long trek and I admit that I find this quite annoying.

However, Anna writes with an openness and sincerity that is missing in "Wild" - Anna is eager, curious, and engaging.The trek is long as is the book. Anna takes us with her on this journey and makes a reader believe that just about anything is possible.
2 people found this helpful
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Lyn
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read - Inspiring
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2020
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I wish I was half as brave and as fit as Anna. She's a great role model.
Her story inspires me to run (just not as far and not through rivers and up freezing mountains). Her story is honest we get to to admire her strength and fitness but we also get to appreciate her vulnerability too.
The NZ bush isn't for the fainthearted.
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Top reviews from other countries

karen goodale
5.0 out of 5 stars The best running book I’ve ever read
Reviewed in Canada on February 24, 2023
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I couldn’t put the book down! Anna quickly became my running buddy and I fell in love with her adventure. I cannot wait to read all her books. ❤️
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June
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most moving books I have ever read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2023
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If writer Anna McNuff wanted to grab your attention with her book title The Pants of Perspective, she has certainly succeeded. Written and self-published in 2017, pioneer and explorer Anna McNuff ran over 3,000 kilometres on the gruelling Te Araroa trail in New Zealand – not walked, ran! Wearing a heavy backpack just to make things that little bit more ‘exciting’. Eschewing the comforts of being around family and friends, McNuff, who hails from Britain, went to what is arguably the furthest point from her home turf and fought a valiant battle against hail and wind, injuries and loneliness finally emerging triumphant having found her adventurous soul along the way. Brave and unrelentingly honest, McNuff relates every bloodied blister, every agonising shin-splint, each bruise to both body and ego along with some potentially life threatening injuries. Her hilarious anecdotes to banishing the blues (singing at the top of her voice) combined with a level of steely determination to keep running regardless, is an ode to the indomitability of the human spirit. Anna describes friends who hugged and the never-ending relaying of kindness shown to her as she travelled. One of the most amazing things McNuff did was to lay bare her vulnerability without flinching. In her writings, she has managed to merge the reader with the expedition. I truly felt I was on the journey with her. What an amazing book.
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Tim Howe
5.0 out of 5 stars Great 'travelogue' - not just for women readers!
Reviewed in Germany on September 5, 2022
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Most of Anna's reviewers seem to be women, so here's one from a male who equally loves her book.

As a big NZ fan, I gobble up just about everything that's written about Zeal in the way of travel writing. Sadly, there isn't that much on the shelves here in Europe, so thank you Anna for your contribution. You take us with you at breathtaking running speed from one end of the country to the other and give us a real feel for the equally breathtaking landscape you glide through. I love your attention to detail, particularly in the dialogues with such colourful persons you meet en route! I can relate to many of your encounters. Specially the mean guy at the holiday park who wouldn't let you have his tap water! Nicely described.

At 412 pages, this book may be a titch too too long for some - almost too much detail! Still, if you can't hop on a plane and get to NZ, Anna McNuff's 'Pants' is the next best thing!
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M.M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in Spain on August 6, 2019
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I cannot begin to describe how AMAZING this story is. Don’t miss it. It can literally change your life. All women, young and old, need to know about Anna McNuff; I cannot think of a better role model for my daughters; she is brave, incredibly strong (both fisically and mentally) and a lovely and kind person. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
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Christina bulley
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it.
Reviewed in India on February 25, 2019
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It was an absolutely fascinating journey with Anna on this book. I felt like I was actually in the places she talked about. It's human and natural and transports you.
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