Best Running Book Available ?

ytareh

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=187976

ironmanwannabe

Seems like a big book!

ytareh

Yeah if you carry it round in your back pack running training , it will take at least 5-10 minutes off your marathon time!Seriously its got so many different sections its great to dip in and out of various areas.I liked the sample training programs of different athletes throughout history.

Raighne

ytareh wrote: »

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=187976

Yeah, its a great book, got it as a Christmas present a few years ago. One of the few I had to spend a very significant time to finish, simply because of the size. Well worth it though...

Redjeep!

Strange then that whoever's selling it, has said they've hardly ever opened it.

Raighne

Redjeep! wrote: »

Strange then that whoever's selling it, has said they've hardly ever opened it.

It doesn’t surprise me at all actually: This is not a book for everyone. To appreciate most chapters you need scientific training or a good understanding of the scientific process. While other chapters (such as the athlete profiles) are more accessible to the average runner, the book doesn’t provide a tool-kit, it’s a summary of as much of the current running “lore” as the author deemed fit to cram into the book.
It’s a book for serious coaches, physiologists, sports scientists and serious runners with a scientific mindset and/or training, a very specific audience. Yet the book is ubiquitously held in high esteem about those with the qualifications to properly assess it, a testament to the quality of the content and the timelessness of the material in there.
Apart from the overall principles outlined by Noakes it’s hard to take any one thing and implement it straight into your training. In general you need to go the source material he references to get the full story.
And its a pretty intimidating tome for anyone who's not a regular reader.

Bruce Wayne 2

Just finished the Lance Armstrong books and while not running books, found them inspirational. Believe what you will but taking the books at face value, they can only inspire and help in logging those long miles.

hot to trot

Krusty or Amadeus recomended the Pete Pgitzinger and Scott Douglas Book- advanced marathoning and it is absolutely brill. Really well written and an invaluable source of understandable information that makes it perfectly clear what the various training sessions are for, how they work , alternatives to the usual running schedules plus many schedules for different levels of speed and mileage, and more...
Should be on everyones list . Easons got it for me for 18 yoyos.

kit3

Two books I loved were 'Survival of the Fittest' by Mike Stroud and 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall. Both great reads and great motivation for anyone attempting a half/full marathon for the first time.

guapos

kit3 wrote: »

Two books I loved were 'Survival of the Fittest' by Mike Stroud and 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall. Both great reads and great motivation for anyone attempting a half/full marathon for the first time.

Does anyone know where you can see all the photos that were taken during the run in this book? I'd say they are spectacular

PatientBear

kit3 wrote: »

Two books I loved were 'Survival of the Fittest' by Mike Stroud and 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall. Both great reads and great motivation for anyone attempting a half/full marathon for the first time.

I would recommend the Non-Runners Marathon Trainer for anyone doing their first marathon or half-marathon, particularly if they are overweight, unfit or low in confidence. It's a bit American, but an absolutely great training companion.

http://www.amazon.com/Non-Runners-Marathon-Trainer-David-Whitsett/dp/1570281823

KentuckyPete

hot to trot wrote: »

Krusty or Amadeus recomended the Pete Pgitzinger and Scott Douglas Book- advanced marathoning and it is absolutely brill. Really well written and an invaluable source of understandable information that makes it perfectly clear what the various training sessions are for, how they work , alternatives to the usual running schedules plus many schedules for different levels of speed and mileage, and more...
Should be on everyones list . Easons got it for me for 18 yoyos.

+1 on Advanced Marathoning.

I bought it on Amadeus' recommendation on here and it's become my bible in my Rotterdam prep. As well as excellent programs (for different abilities), it has very good sections on flexibility and core training. There are also very good profiles of top runners and analyses of their big races.

One key section is the chapter on planning your race - it makes an awful lot of sense.

Interesting aside for anyone in Ireland - in the book Pete Pfitzinger describes his victory in the US trials for LA 1984 and his subsequent participation in the Olympic marathon where he came 11th. He describes it positively and is proud of his 11th. Then you remember that there were not one but two Irish runners ahead of him. Jerry Kiernan's achievement is often overlooked. If he'd picked any other Olympics to finish in the top 10 in the marathon he'd be a national hero.
I still rate that night as one of the greatest experiences I've had in Irish sport - watching the race build slowly and seeing the big guns drop off the pace one by one. De Castella, Seiko etc., all going by the wayside. Then rousing the whole house at two o'clock in the morning to get them down to the sitting room to see the last six miles of the race and Treacy sprinting away for the silver. Still brings a tear to the eye to think of it

But I digress - Advanced Marathoning is an excellent book - available well cheap on Amazon too.