Don't Call It a Comeback

What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing Happiness

De: Keira D'Amato, Evelyn Spence - contributor

A victorious tale of coming back in middle age to topple marathon records, from the running world's most beloved underdog, mom of two, and woman voted "most fun follow" on Strava.

Keira D’Amato was an all-American runner who used to chase success. But after being injured in her early twenties, she assumed her running career was over, and settled into life as a military spouse and mother of two young children. In her early thirties, she found herself overweight, out of shape, and battling postpartum depression. She knew that improving her fitness would make her feel better, and told herself to just get out and run ninety seconds, down her street and back. To her dismay, she couldn’t do it. But two days later she tried again. And six years after that, she broke the American women’s record in the marathon at the age of thirty-seven.

Keira has created a buzz in the world of professional athletics by taking the road less traveled. The normal trajectory for an elite female athlete has been to focus on sport first, then get a "real" job, and finally, have a family. Keira upended that: she married her high school sweetheart, had two babies in quick succession, began her career in real estate—and only then returned to running. But it’s not just her relatable background that makes Keira so popular amongst fellow runners. We assume that to be successful, one must be serious and humorless, with an all-or-nothing approach to ambition. But what if the opposite were true—that cultivating more fun, and more variety in your life could actually help you reach your biggest goals?

At an age when most athletes consider retirement, Keira is just getting started. And she’s determined to share the secrets of her success to help listeners to start chasing their own happiness, to dream a big, scary dream, and ultimately to find their way back to themselves.

©2025 Keira D'Amato and Evelyn Spence (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"I’ve read hundreds of running books in the last fifty years, and Keira D’Amato’s Don’t Call It A Comeback stands apart from the pack. It’s not that she’s faster than everyone else—though she comes close. It’s that she’s zanier, more spontaneous, and ultimately more honest than the rest. D’Amato’s realistic look at elite running—the good, the bad, and the bonky—makes her book a reader’s delight."—Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon Winner and author of First Ladies of Running

"Don't Call It a Comeback is fireworks in a crowded field of athlete memoirs. With a knack for hilariously vulnerable storytelling, Keira D’Amato unspools a fascinating tale of her unconventional running career. Even though I’m a much slower runner, I found Keira’s story incredibly relatable, and I would enthusiastically press this book into the hands of anyone who runs or jogs or walks."—Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

"D’Amato’s success has been riveting to watch, in part because it seemed to come out of nowhere. She had only resumed running competitively in 2017 following a seven-year hiatus. In the interim, she adopted the life of a typical suburbanite—career, marriage, kids. And then, around the time most people are starting to reminisce about their glory days, D’Amato started living them. Really living them. She found more success in five short years than most elite runners do in an uninterrupted lifetime of training."—Runner's World