What are the WORST books on running?

Piran wrote:

Barefoot runner - the Abebe Bikila story. Written as a novel by someone who clearly has no understanding of sport whatsoever

There were a lot of bad reviews of this book when it was published so I was rather disappointed when somebody gave me it for Christmas. But I actually found it to a really inspiring book. True, the author isn't a running specialist and there's a lot passed off as fact that is actually fiction (as well as a few mistakes). Yet if you are willing to suspend your disbelief it's a truly inspiring story and in retrospect I'm glad I read the book.

Frankly there are are lots of running books out there written by people who have an in depth understanding of the sport and are mind-numbingly boring and/or badly written.

Every single verifiable fact about Ethiopian runners' race results, except the place and time for the Olympic marathons, is incorrect. At one point he claims Wolde was 4th in the finals of the 1956 1500m, when he was actually dead last in his heat. That turned me off completely.

The Purple Runner. Funny because it is so painfully bad.

I am suprised no one listed Pain by Dan Middleman.

This book is has the stench of a cheap OAR ripoff.

Easy. ultramarathon man.

Just a hunch ...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446581836/ref=pd_luc_sim_01_03

That dude man wrote:

Once a runner is pretty bad.

I do not get why people love this book. No clue.

I hear ya brother! I read the book and thought it was terrible. It reads like a bad made for TV movie.

I think the only reason it's worshipped is because it's the only book out there about running, so every run geek latches onto it. The writting is bad, the story is boring and dumb, the characters are stock.... it's worthless drivel.

The big problem with OAR is that it is ABOUT running. It's just not a promising subject for fiction. I agree OAR is not a very good book. However, it got published, so Parker is one up on me.

Good fiction is mainly about people. A River Runs Through It (admittedly not really fiction but it reads like it) is a great book often mistakenly identified being "about" fly-fishing, but of course fly-fishing is just something the characters in the book do.

There is room out there for somebody to write the ARRTI of running. Not an easy task though.

Anything written by Jeff Galloway!

Track Fan wrote:

Anything written by Jeff Galloway!

I was wondering when someone was going to say that.

I found No Need For Speed by the Penguin to be quite enlightening and inspiring.

that "brain training" for runners sucked

a few pages of very dubious theory then 200 pages of workouts.

OAR was awful. I'm glad some other people agree. I only got to page 80 before I put it down and never picked it back up.

With its popularity it makes me wonder what percent of people didn't like the book and then just said they did because every other runners seems to

That's some funny stuff about Dean's new book on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446581836/ref=pd_luc_sim_01_03

In the Fall of 2006, Dean Karnazes, known as the "Lance Armstrong of the running world," took on the ultimate challenge:

"(He) makes the extraordinary look easy." --GQ

"The indefatigable man." --Esquire

"One of the sexiest men in sports." --Sports Illustrated Women

So they are equating Dean with Lance?

That would mean Dean is a 7-time World Champion in the most prestigious event in his sport?

I didn't think so...

"Lance Armstrong of the running world"

What the hell does that even mean??

Squid wrote:

Good fiction is mainly about people. A River Runs Through It (admittedly not really fiction but it reads like it) is a great book often mistakenly identified being "about" fly-fishing, but of course fly-fishing is just something the characters in the book do.

There is room out there for somebody to write the ARRTI of running. Not an easy task though.

I said something similar after watching the movie Sideways. Sideways isn't about wine, but the wine country and the guy's enthusiasm for wine, wine tasting etc.. is the back drop of the story.

I'd like to see a movie (or book) where the characters are runners, but the movie isn't really "about" running. What happens then is you get into the Rocky, Karate Kid, i.e typical cliche riddled sports movie.

You're right, but the truth is too painful for many here. OAR is poorly written, poorly structured, and is a cheesy mash of cliches fantasies to boot. A novel written by a bitter has-been wallowing in unfulfilled fantasies. It has a couple of interesting passages, but it's not worth reading the whole thing.

""Running Start to Finish by John Stanton. Stanton has about a 2:40 PB but considers himself enough of an authority on running to write a book, but his authority comes from owning about 90 running stores, mostly in Canada. Sadly, this is probably the best-selling book on running in Canada because of how Running room stores push it."""

I second or third that nomination by far.. who does he think he is... he is to running what McDonalds is to fine cuisine... and on top of that he gets treated with the same respect as serious coaches/athletes and is probably better known in Canada than any of our elite Women or Men are.

Plus his running stores are terrible to work at/shop at or generally be in the general vacinity of, I say this as someone who might have to work there, luckily, as he would never frequent any forum pertaining to real running I should be safe.

I once saw a book about Mall Walking. It looked to be about as long as Pfitz's Advanced Marathoning. Now I'm disappointed I didn't skim through it.

How much could there possibly to write about mall walking? How to pace yourself? How to avoid shoppers? Where to find matching sweat suits? Tapering for the day after Christmas sale?

Honestly, Again to Carthage was pretty terribly written.

ok? wrote:

"Lance Armstrong of the running world"

What the hell does that even mean??

It means a good publicist takes a page out of Goebbels manual.