Alen Yen Publishes Best-Selling Book
In October, Alen Yen (BFA ’93) published a new book on marathon running for amateurs that quickly became an Amazon Top-New Release and best seller. As President and Creative Director of the iFactory digital agency, Yen’s love of information design — coupled with a self-described “embarrassing lack of running talent” — has yielded an accessible, funny, honest, and brutally useful text. 50 Ways to F- Up a Marathon: an amateur’s guide to #marathonfails is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.
Marathons can suck. Sometimes that’s because of the, you know, running. But epic tragedies often result from small, dumb mistakes in race selection, training, fueling, and clothing — mistakes no one bothers to mention. Experienced marathoners know dozens of tips for averting catastrophe, but most books focus on plans and mechanics. The practical lore that veterans rely on has never been collected, vetted, and organized in one place… until now.
This is a catalogue of failure, sifted from thousands of miles of bungled racing, wrapped in a love letter for terrified newbies, heartbroken veterans, and anyone in the middle desperately wanting to improve. Inside are 50+ straightforward lessons we all learn the hard way, bolstered with over 40 lurid tales of disaster and inspiring moments of intestinal fortitude.