Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Favorite Running Book
What is your favorite running, or motivational book? Is there a particular book that changed the game for you?
So far, I've read Running and Being, and 80/20 Running, as well as a couple motivational books by Seal Team members, all good reads. Always looking for something to change the way I think.
What is your favorite running, or motivational book? Is there a particular book that changed the game for you? So far, I've read Running and Being, and 80/20 Running, as well as a couple motivational books by Seal Team members, all good reads. Always looking for something to change the way I think.
Hansons Marathon Method
The book changed my entire outlook on running, not just marathons. Lots of science based info. I bought in 100%.
Lore of Running by Noakes. Lotta good stuff, slightly dated in some areas. Like a running Bible. How the pros trained is the best chapter IMO. You can glean a lot of useful stuff there.
https://www.amazon.com/Lore-Running-4th-Timothy-Noakes/dp/0873229592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515039236&sr=8-1&keywords=lore+of+running
Slower but happier
Unbroken. I listened to it on some very long runs.
2020 goal: couch to 5K, currently working on the couch block
Interval Junkie --Nobby
Once a Runner - John L. Parker
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
I haven't finished but got The Runner's Brain from the library. Some pretty interest tidbits and cited studies in there.
Once a Runner and Unbroken are two favorites of mine. Some others:Duel in the Sun, by John BrantA Cold Clear Day, by Frank MurphyThe Olympian, by Brian GlanvilleRunning with the Buffaloes, by Chris LearBorn to Run, by Chris McDougall
Why We Run: A Natural History by Bernd Heinrich.
Running and Being.....motivated me to run back in 1980. Still running 38 years later! Thank you George Sheehan
Hansons Marathon Method The book changed my entire outlook on running, not just marathons. Lots of science based info. I bought in 100%.
i totally agree with you this book changed my outlook as well! excellent book!
This video 5 minute video of him is pretty cool: Salomon Running. I love how he gets choked up a couple of times describing his joy of running.
Running and Being.....Thank you George Sheehan
+1
I would add his other books as well, especially The Essential Sheehan
"Famous last words" ~Bhearn
Not specifically running books, but I also liked:
Iron Will (about the Hawaii Ironman)
Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth (about the Raid Gauloises adventure race)
I love this quote from Once a Runner (yes it's a little corny, "they" are guests at a dinner party and "he" is the main character, an aspiring olympian):
What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.
It's a similar book to Once a Runner, but I also enjoyed The Gift - A Runner's Story by Paul Maurer
Here's a quote similar to the one paul2432 posted from OaR:
Running isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for.
And you can quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx
Rob
Are we there, yet?
The Unforgiving Minute, Ron Clarke's autobiography published by Pelham Books or Track and Field News (ISBN 9780718173104). I think it's been out of print for 30+ years and used copies run $200 or more the last time I checked. It should be available through inter-library loan.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.