Good Running Books/Bios

jebuz

I got myself a kindle recently, fantastic little device but that's one for the rave thread. Predictably enough, I've been through a few running books so far and found some of them really engaging particularly Charlie Speddings From First to Last, really good read and particularly enjoyed his recount of the famous battle with John Treacy in the 1984 Olympic marathon.

Just reading about the sort of training he did back then is so interesting and as an aspiring marathon runner myself it's really inspiring to read. The running scene was very different than what it is today. Those guys were off the charts, a 2:10-2:15 marathon time was just expected of you and there were groups of lads training together running these times like it was nothing, while working full time. It really was a golden era, the road racing scene was one of pure competition where spectators would come out and watch their heroes battle it out on the streets, the competitive element of road racing seems to have been somewhat tempered over the years. It's great to see so many people out running these days but our times and the number of competitive athletes running those times doesn't really compare to that era. They didn't use HR monitors, GPS watches, electrolyte drinks, gels, expensive runners, they didn't follow plans out of a book, they just went out and ran hard...then went to the pub. It's not necessarily the right way to do it, it's just interesting to see how different it was then and they got results.

Another book I'm on now is British Marathon Running Legends of the 1980's another great read so far, it's basically just a collection of interviews on men and women who were successful runners in the 80's, most of them were average runners relative to their time but would eclipse most top Irish and British distance runners today. A common theme throughout most of the interviews is that they trained in groups, they ran hard and they ran fast, they didn't obsess over diet, weight or equipment. In each interview, the author asks why it is that we're not running times like we did back in the 80's and then general consensus seems to be the usual, lack of physical activity in children, computer games and social media, the lack of romance in the sport and interestingly that a lot of coaches over protect their athletes and we're not training hard enough. Is it time to toughen up?

I also read Mo Farah's bio recently - Twin Ambitions, a really good honest read from a seriously dedicated athlete and has truly earned all his success. His turnaround came when he was in his early 20's, he was talented but he wasn't fully committed, he was running well on the track but couldn't make that extra step up. He went to live with the Kenyans in London, started copying their habits, became so focussed on achieving his goals and soon started beating them.

That leads me on to Running with the Kenyans which chronicles the journey of an average runner (and journalist) to Iten in the Rift valley to live and train with the Kenyans culminating in a marathon. Excellent read on how these guys live, why running is everything over there and what makes the Kenyans so good.

Anyway, I think it's really beneficial to read about top class runners and their habits, it opens your eyes on what you need to do if you want to get the best out of yourself, if anything gives you an appreciation of the sort of dedication required to get to the top level.

Now I'm ending the current book, can anyone recommend some good biographies or interesting reads?

Billy Mills

jebuz wrote: »

I got myself a kindle recently, fantastic little device but that's one for the rave thread. Predictably enough, I've been through a few running books so far and found some of them really engaging particularly Charlie Speddings From First to Last, really good read and particularly enjoyed his recount of the famous battle with John Treacy in the 1984 Olympic marathon.

Just reading about the sort of training he did back then is so interesting and as an aspiring marathon runner myself it's really inspiring to read. The running scene was very different than what it is today. Those guys were off the charts, a 2:10-2:15 marathon time was just expected of you and there were groups of lads training together running these times like it was nothing, while working full time. It really was a golden era, the road racing scene was one of pure competition where spectators would come out and watch their heroes battle it out on the streets, the competitive element of road racing seems to have been somewhat tempered over the years. It's great to see so many people out running these days but our times and the number of competitive athletes running those times doesn't really compare to that era. They didn't use HR monitors, GPS watches, electrolyte drinks, gels, expensive runners, they didn't follow plans out of a book, they just went out and ran hard...then went to the pub. It's not necessarily the right way to do it, it's just interesting to see how different it was then and they got results.

Another book I'm on now is British Marathon Running Legends of the 1980's another great read so far, it's basically just a collection of interviews on men and women who were successful runners in the 80's, most of them were average runners relative to their time but would eclipse most top Irish and British distance runners today. A common theme throughout most of the interviews is that they trained in groups, they ran hard and they ran fast, they didn't obsess over diet, weight or equipment. In each interview, the author asks why it is that we're not running times like we did back in the 80's and then general consensus seems to be the usual, lack of physical activity in children, computer games and social media, the lack of romance in the sport and interestingly that a lot of coaches over protect their athletes and we're not training hard enough. Is it time to toughen up?

I also read Mo Farah's bio recently - Twin Ambitions, a really good honest read from a seriously dedicated athlete and has truly earned all his success. His turnaround came when he was in his early 20's, he was talented but he wasn't fully committed, he was running well on the track but couldn't make that extra step up. He went to live with the Kenyans in London, started copying their habits, became so focussed on achieving his goals and soon started beating them.

That leads me on to Running with the Kenyans which chronicles the journey of average runner to Iten in the Rift valley to live and train with the Kenyans culminating in a marathon. Excellent read on how these guys live, why running is everything over there and what makes the Kenyans so good.

Anyway, I think it's really beneficial to read about top class runners and their habits, it opens your eyes on what you need to do if you want to get the best out of yourself, if anything gives you an appreciation of the sort of dedication required to get to the top level.

Now I'm ending the current book, can anyone recommend some good biographies or interesting reads?

All good recs jebuz will have to check out a few of those...Here are mine:

Once a Runner: a fictional novel set in a US College top programme. Seminal.

Kings of The Roads; the men who made running go boom!: Great account of epic duels between Rodgers/ Shorter/ Salazar

Eamon Coughlan's bio is decent

What I Talk About When I Talk about Running : Haruki Murakami's class meditation on running.

ecoli

The Perfect mile - Neil Bascombe

Follows the trial and tribulations of the top milers in the world in their quest for the sub 4 min mile - Wes Santee from USA, John Landy in Aus and Roger Bannister in UK. Includes insights into the approaches of Percy Cerutty and Frank Stampf's coaching methods and culminates in the Miracle Mile at the Empire Games.

Still the best running book I have ever read

Sub 4.00 by Chris Lear

Follows The US mile record holders first year in college after he became the first HS sub 4 miler in US since Jim Ryun. Interesting read on how he adapted to the college system.

Running with the Buffalos by Chris Lear

Follows a top Collegiate XC team in the US through a season at the time of Lagat and Goucher amongst other top names running in the collegiate system at the time.

pa4

I just recently finished reading Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffes books. Would highly recommend both of them.

tang1

Run to Overcome - Story of Meb Keflezighi.

Duel in the Sub - story of battle between Salazar & Dick Beardsley for 1982 Boston Marathon.

Pre - Story of possibly Americas greatest ever middle distance runner.

The Last Pick - Story of Dave McGillivray long time Boston Marathon director and the dedication he gave to the race.

This Fat Girl Runs

I really enjoyed Running; a Global History by Thor Gotaas.

I also have Born to Run by Christopher McDougall on my pile of books to read. Looking forward to that.

wrstan

Previous thread here with lots of good recc's and discussions

For me, I loved Roger Bannister's the First Four Minutes, not that easy to get your hands on, but a really enjoyable read.

I've also just finished Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand's brilliant biog of Louis Zamperini. Your gonna hear more of this one as it's scheduled to be released as a movie for Christmas this year.