Self Made Olympian

I'll second Old School Steve, Orv and other here who knew him and add that Self-Made Olympian is also quite well written. Better written than Once A Runner, by a mile.

By the time I got to know him, in the mid-80's, he was like a shaman. His book is useful not for the specifics (some of us good-naturedly referred to SMO as Self-Made Cobbler), but for the overall attention to detail and dogged single-mindedness he brought to his preparation. If you THINK shaving an ounce of rubber from your flats will give you an edge, it WILL give you an edge.

I just finished it. It was very good, worth the money. You can't compare it to Once A Runner, because they're very different books. OAR is fictional and intended to motivate. The majority of the Self Made Olympian is about how to adapt Lydiard to fit your own needs and overcoming obstacles such as heat, cold, altitude, etc. It's mostly a training guide. He does an excellent job clearing up some misconceptions I had about Lydiard training, and this is after I've already run Run to the Top. Overall, it's definitely my favorite training book, and probably my second favorite running book behind OAR and ahead of Running with the Buffaloes. I plan on incorporating a lot of the stuff in the book into my training for track.

I read this book over and over when I was competing to bring my marathon time down. I got it down to 2:22:33 back in the early 80s and ran a 30 minute 10K applying Daws principles which were Lydiard stuff. This book I still have and it is old and worn from me reading it over and over.

Reading about Ron and Steve Hoag were very inspiring. Maybe

Old School Steve is Steve Hoag a very accomplished runner back in the day.

The winter shots were inspiring which helped get me out the door since I lived in Michigan at the time.

Monty

Monty, I confess, I am "Old School Steve". I had the honor of training with Ron Daws from 1965 to 1992. He was also a very good friend, and we had some great times training, travelling to races, canoeing, etc. I owe him a lot. I am glad that his book helped you with your 10K and marathon times! Steve Hoag.....incurably "old school"

P.S. Don't ever loan "Self Made Olympian" out. You probably won't get it returned, and it's so hard to get copies today.

Well I enjoyed reading it last week. Thank goodness someone gave me that copy. I had been wanting to read it for 25+years.

I have the 1972 Olympic recap issue too.

Shorter and Ghammoudi headed to the start of the 10K (I believe). First on black and white cover for RW.

What makes Daw's compelling is that for faster club runners of the day, his times, if you were willing to do the work, were obtainable. I still have the book and have read it more than a few times. I can remember reading the book and thinking, am I willing to run 100 mpw during my base period?

The answer was "no." I ran 65-70 mpw and while I did well, I was never the local stud that Daws was.

He made the 1968 Olympic team and might have (on a good day) made the 72 team. After that his times just don't get him close enough. He was a man of times. He saw the opportunity and made the most of it.

I have Running Your Best on order. Even SMO is expensive on eBay and Amazon. Both books are usually $70 or more on both sites.

I'm curious to see how he applies Lydiard principles. I also am interested to know if Tinman used his principles based on Daws as well or has even heard of him.