Must Read Running Books

scotth, thanks for this list, there are some titles here that I am interested in.

Here are a few titles that have eluded me over the years, I am still searching for them.

The Flying Finns - Matti Hannus

Kenyas Running Tribe - John Manners

Triumph & Tragedy – Abebe Bikila story - Tsige Abebe

deCastella on Running - Rob deCastella

The David Bedford Story - James Coote

All Time greats of British Athletics - Watman

Another book I have, although not a running book, but an awesome story (my all time favorite) is: Ultimate High, by Goran Kropp.

This is a story about Goran's journey, he rode his bike 7000 miles from Sweden to Kathmandu, Nepal. Then he climbed Everest, solo, without oxygen, then loaded up his gear and rode the 7000 miles back to Sweden.

Great list! I also have been collecting and reading running-related books for many years. Some of my comments;

I didn't see the recently released by 'The Harrier' (written by 2 cousins regarding their hs XC season). Also 'Finding Their Stride' by Sally Pont. These two along with 'God on the Starting Line' make a nice triolgy of hs XC running.

Another book is 'Fastest Kid on the Block' by Marty Glickman. Talks about (among other things) missing out on the '36 Berlin Olympics.

I rarely see Brian Lenton's books mentions. Good ones. Does he publish 2 or 3?

The Runner's World monthly booklets, many of which you have are also great and hard to come by.

Finally, The Mazda Track Club put out yearbooks while they were around in the mid-late 80s and early 90s. In Japanese and some English. Great photography.

It used to be an adventure discovering, hunting and ultimately obtaining these books. With the Internet, most of the thrill is gone. In one or two clicks, practically any book can be found, and it is just a matter of laying out the money to obtain them.

Damn! Forgot to mention one of my favorites;

'My Race Be Won' by Vince Matthews with Neil Amdur. Talks about the summer European circuit, his childhood, college career, Olympics. A real Gem. I hardly see this one anywhere.

I have two of Brian Lenton's books:

Through the Tape

The Incomplete Book of Australian Distance Running

I am not sure if he has any other works out there.

I heard that there is a book written about Japan's great Toshihiko Seko, in Japanese. I never looked into it as I don't read Japanese, but I will bet that it is a great story.

Great article, only available now through manipulating google cache; first two pages are below:

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:fCi2cWUqui4J:msn.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s7-52-74-0-5634,00.html

http://72.14.209.104/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fmsn.runnersworld.com%2Farticle%2F0%2C5033%2Cs7-52-74-0-5634-2-1X2X3X4-5%2C00.html

broken arrow wrote:

Another book I have is: Ultimate High, by Goran Kropp.

This is a story about Goran's journey, he rode his bike 7000 miles from Sweden to Kathmandu, Nepal. Then he climbed Everest, solo, without oxygen, then loaded up his gear and rode the 7000 miles back to Sweden.

There's a movie to be made here for sure!

Others:

Condititioning of Distance Runners Tom Osler

Racing Techniques World Publ (w/Pre on cover)

Practical running psychology World Publ

All about Distance Running shoes World Publ

Exercises for runners World Publ

The Running Mind Jim Lilliefors

Going the distance George Sheehan

Running the Trans America footrace Barry Lewis

Thanks for the link...reminded me of 2 others:

Pain Dan Middleman

Following the Flame Greg Lautenslager

World Class: Grete Waitz and Gloria Averbuch

Marathon Stories: Kathy Switzer and Roger Robinson

A quick internet search revealed the following 4 books by Brian Lenton:Through the TapeOff the RecordThe Incomplete Book of Australian Distance Running (1970-1995)InterviewsSince running, and marathoning in particular, are very popular in Japan, I would assume there is a treasure trove of books on the subject in the land of the rising sun (is it PC to say that?)I recall hearing about a great coffee table sized book on the Fukuoka Marathon.

broken arrow wrote:

I have two of Brian Lenton's books:

Through the Tape

The Incomplete Book of Australian Distance Running

I am not sure if he has any other works out there.

I heard that there is a book written about Japan's great Toshihiko Seko, in Japanese. I never looked into it as I don't read Japanese, but I will bet that it is a great story.

OK. Last one for today,

Fast tracks: The history of distance running since 884 B.C Krise, Raymond & Squires, Bill

Finding their Stride, Harriers and God on the Starting Line are good. Another good one is "Pretty Good for a Girl" by Leslie Haywood.

Anyone ever see Jeff Johnson's Farm Team book (I think it's more of a booklet than book) I've always wanted to get my hands on one of those.

broken arrow:

Anyway you can email me. You have some books I have been looking for and I need help finding them

jrap85@msn.com

I own about 700 running books. I would post the list on here, but I think it would be boring for people to read.

Hope you are well;

Joel

i have jeff's book. when i asked if he had any more, he told me he had given them all away.

how is why die? any good?

why die? was well researched and extremely well written. cerutty was a very complex person and this book gave great insight into his life. it was the best book i read the year i read it and if anyone is interested in herb elliot, cerutty or that era of running history i suggest reading why die?

I sent you an email and would like to discuss further. I am sure that you have some books that I am not aware of.

Anyone know where you can obtain a copy of a good Lydiard book for cheap? I was interested in RUNNING WITH LYDIARD, but it is like $70 on Amazon, and my local bookstore couldn't get it in...

Any recommedations for books which are more geared towards sprinting?

It is available on www.abebooks.com for $15 USD.