Is there any halfway decent literature about running?

My two favorite articles about running are

https://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/duel-in-the-sun.html

and another one called "The turning point of US Distance Running" which is about the Webb/Ritz/Hall Foot Locker race.

Some old gems from the 60s - Percy Cerrutty's books, including 'Be fit or be damned', 'Middle Distance Running' and 'Athletics: how to become a champion'. He wrote several books about running (the man was truly hard core, old school) - you can get his books on Amazon.

Amazing stuff. Look him up - old Cerutty was about as nutty as they come, but his methods worked.

Condensed vesion:

THE FRONT RUNNERS

Recognizable marquee names include John Parker's Once A Runner, Dan Middleman's Pain, Brian Glanville's The Olympian, Bruce Tuckman's Long Road To Boston, and the dark horse entry - Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner by Alan Siltoe.

THE CHALLENGERS

The second tier of running novels consists of some good efforts.

Tom McNab's first novel Flanagan's Run is a sprawling epic of heroic proportions. Lively and readable, Flanagan's Run, is the most commercially successful running novel, reaching a mainstream audience with its blockbuster appeal. More focused on running, but lacking the depth of Flanagan's Run, Miles To Go by Mark Kram follows three international runners as they prepare to set a record shattering pace in the 1983 Boston Marathon...

THE SPRINTERS

Split Seconds - Tales of the Cinder Track by Jackson Scholz is a collection of sprinting stories loosely connected by the character of a wise, but unnamed track coach at a middle-western university. Published in 1927, the stories are timeless in their positive portrayals of running and sportsmanship.

...

THE NEWCOMERS

Sharp writing and real insight give Life At These Speeds by Jeremy Jackson a definite edge on the competition. For something completely different try Geoff Wightman's Sports Armageddon. Carrying review quotes from Paula Radcliffe and Sebastian Coe, Sports Armageddon is a timely look at running crossed with the hype of reality television. This tale of a junk sport endurance event gone bad requires participants to swim Lake Okeechobee in Central Florida, then cycle around the state before running from Jacksonville to Atlanta. It is a harrowing page turner of murderous competitors and television ratings driven by the constant threat of death. Robert Kellogg's Murder on the Run is a lighthearted look at a group of Hash House Harriers involved with exotic poisons and murder and bizarre sex.

FINAL KICK

The Runner's Literary Companion by Garth Battista.

Finding Their Stride by Sally Pont

Running & Being by George Sheehan

What I think About When I think About Running

The Self-Made Olympian by Ron Daws

God on the Starting Line by Marc Bloom

Dandelion Growing Wild: A triumphant journey over astounding odds by American marathon champion Kim Jones

The Ghost Runner: The Epic Journey of the Man They Couldn't Stop by Bill Jones

The Silence of Great Distance by Frank Murphy

Today We Die a Little!: The Inimitable Emil Zátopek, the Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time

No Bugles, No Drums Hard by Peter Snell , Garth Gilmour

The Running Life: Wisdom and Observations from a Lifetime of Running by Donald Buraglio

The Animal Keepers - The Story of an Unlikely Hero and an Unforgettable Season by Donn Behnke

Running with the Buffaloes is pretty outstanding if you like to actually read about training and racing.

Unsure how it counts as 'literature' more than a great longform news article, if you know what I mean. May not be your thing.

Cassidamius wrote:

I'd argue that if you did not like "Once a Runner" then you never were.

This. It's a book by runners for runners and definitely is not going to be a draw to a large population outside of running.

Duel in the Sun

"Patch," by C.H. Frick

Good luck finding it in the library, it was written in 1957. I'm not sure that the writer knew much about running but he put together a good story.

I admit that I have read several running books that were great and based on real live cross country teams. But I do not remember their titles.

Galloway's Book on Running by Jeff Galloway

Joe Newton has written a few for high school cross country.

Training Distance Runners by Martin and Coe

Train Hard, Win Easy

Most books written by Runner's World are interesting.

Gee I guess there have been a few!!!

Best Efforts by Kenny Moore...former U of Oregon runner and Sports Illustrated journalist. He also wrote Men of Oregon which someone else suggested. Would highly reccomend both

So you're wanting enjoyable fiction right? Read THE MEMORY OF RUNNING by Ron McLarty. OK it's not actually about running. But it's a book runners really like. At least I did.

JackNubbins wrote:

Cassidamius wrote:

I'd argue that if you did not like "Once a Runner" then you never were.

This. It's a book by runners for runners and definitely is not going to be a draw to a large population outside of running.

Thirded. Sure there's fat and sensationalism, but legal pranks and kooky sneak into race plots aside, it is the best description of the motivations and experiences of competitive runners.

Cross Country 101

By Dan Martinez

About a high school cross country team...

What's not to like...

Great read.

http://www.runningentertainment.com/

You are welcome ;-)

a famous American clock cleane wrote:

JackNubbins wrote:

This. It's a book by runners for runners and definitely is not going to be a draw to a large population outside of running.

Thirded. Sure there's fat and sensationalism, but legal pranks and kooky sneak into race plots aside, it is the best description of the motivations and experiences of competitive runners.

You are all missing the point. He's looking for a book that is well written. Meaning consists of good writing.

Thanks, all. This should keep me occupied for the summer at least.

"Poverty Creek Journal" by Thomas Gardner takes the format of a very introspective training log, viewing the passage of a year as a journey of miles run. I enjoyed it.

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/little-running-book-sees-sudden-surge-in-sales

TX Harrier wrote:

Becky Wade's "Run The World" is a good read. It's more of a travelogue based around running and food than what you probably mean by "literature." But she does a good job of conveying the feeling it was for her, as a recent college grad, to venture out into the world by using running as an ice-breaker to get a taste of a variety of global cultures.

I read this book too. I think Becky would have had a better book if she would have been able to take advantage the chance to join a Japanese professional team. Becky could not do it based on the terms of her fellowship.

Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins wrote:

a famous American clock cleane wrote:

Thirded. Sure there's fat and sensationalism, but legal pranks and kooky sneak into race plots aside, it is the best description of the motivations and experiences of competitive runners.

You are all missing the point. He's looking for a book that is well written. Meaning consists of good writing.

What is "good writing" if it is not the ability to draw one mentally/emotionally into the book...? Do people read books purely for good sentence structure, grammar and the following of literary norms?

First Four Minutes by Roger Bannister

Anything by Percy Cerutty ( absolutely mental, but some gems in there too)

many will probably hate it, but I really liked Running with the Pack by Mark Rowlands. it's really a book which uses running as a vehicle for philosophy, but I've gone back to it a couple of times now