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Chasing the Grid
An Ultrarunner's Physical and Spiritual Journey in Pursuit of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge
Published by VeloPress
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
Discover the transformational journey of a conventional-minded runner to a minimalist, mountain-climbing, adventure-seeking ultrarunner determined to conquer the Catskill Mountains challenge known as the "Grid.”
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, hike, or 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 favor 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.
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, hike, or 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 favor 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.
Product Details
- Publisher: VeloPress (September 23, 2025)
- Length: 272 pages
- ISBN13: 9781646048533
Raves and Reviews
"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
“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
"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
“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
"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
"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
"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
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