The River Road: Becoming a runner in 1972 by Dennis Barker
A fun little reader. Written by a great guy.
The River Road: Becoming a runner in 1972 by Dennis Barker
A fun little reader. Written by a great guy.
How has nobody mentioned Kenny Moore?
My favorite HANDS DOWN is Kenny Moore's Best Efforts. It's a compilation of articles, but sewn together in a sort of cohesive way and very insightful and well written. Not sure if it's available any more though. You used to be able to order personally inscribed copies.
Must read to get your feet wet:
Bowerman and the men of oregon I will admit can be a bit tedious if you don't care about Bowerman's personal life, but I enjoyed it and I think Moore's writing is more skilled than that in most of the books mentioned so far.
Alan P. wrote:
The River Road: Becoming a runner in 1972 by Dennis Barker
A fun little reader. Written by a great guy.
I was waiting to see if anyone put that one down. It's also inexpensive.
It is a great book about the 1972 Olympics, Bobby Fischer's Chess matches, and
running in St. Paul, MN in the 1970s.
Yes, and Dennis Barker is a coach, runner, and a friend to everyone!
A few novels:
The Purple Runner (set in 1980s England, it follows several people as they train for the London Marathon).
Pain (kind of like OAR but takes place in the early 90s).
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (kind of like OAR but it takes place at a 1950s English reform school).
and a memoir:
Wannabee Distance God (i think there's a review of it somewhere on LRC)
and a biography:
Corbitt
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Has anybody said RUNNING AND BEING by George Sheehan? Probably not. Bunch of animals.
A lot of good books mentioned already. I picked up one recently that I’m guessing not too many people have heard of. Varsity Seven: An American Rift Valley. Goes through the history of runners/running in Spokane (Gerry Lindgren, Rick Riley, Don Kardong). I was surprised how many great runners are linked to the era and it was cool to hear about them racing against Pre, Frank Shorter, etc.
Learn the correct spelling of coaches names.
Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention
Jay Dicharry
This book is phenomenal for any science-minded runners who want to truly understand how their body experiences and adapts to training of any sort.
The Perfect Distance by Pat Butcher re the Coe v Ovett rivalry.
1. Lore of running Tim noakes
2. Better training for distance runners Martin and coe
3. A book by David costill ex pays but can’t remember title
4. Running the lydiard way lydiard
5. Running with the Buffs
6. Jack Daniels Daniels running formula
7. Miller programmed to run
I’m about half way through Runners of the Nish by Alex Cyr. It’s good! It’s like Running with the Buffalos, but not from the outsider’s perspective.
Also JD running formula and endurance by Alex Hutchinson
Anything by Percy Cerutty is worth reading, especially his first two books. Ignore the 50% that is either contradictory of something he said few pages earlier or just plain wrong; the other 50% is pure gold and decades ahead of its time.
Most of the modern books mentioned are well worth the effort in reading them. I would just add to the list The Art Of Running Faster by Julian Goater (British runner of the 1970s & 80s, 13:15ish and 27:30 ish). Lots of practical advice for a runner of almost any level from absolute beginner to sub elite standard - in other words 98% of those of us who run!
[quote]theJeff wrote:
1. Once a Runner.
You will find haters on this board. They are the same people that give the one bad review on Rotten Tomatoes just so their review stands out. Screw them. It is the closest thing to a must-read for any serious - even if only in their own mind - runner in the world of fiction. The follow ups, Again to Carthage and Racing the Rain, aren't nearly as good, but still beat a kick in the pants.
I've read most of the running books and outside of any training resources, the Parker books capture the essence of running the best. A bit over the top when it comes to the languid hero, but still the emotions and efforts ring true. Nearly as difficult to capture what is essentially a physical exertion in a few words. Parker does it the best.
Well I don’t frequent this website as often as I used to, but I still enjoy it & running. I’ve read and still have every book that has been mentioned. My personal favorites are
The Van Aaken Method
Conditioning of a Distance Runner-Tom Osler
Speed with Endurance- Bill Squires/Bruce Lebanese
Ron Clarke Talks Track
Run Run Run-Fred Wilt
Running to the Top-Derek Clayton
What Research Tells Us About Distance Running-Costill
Running With Your Head-J.O. Hanna
I realize most of these books are older than most of those who view these pages, but if you can get ahold of them it will be a great read
Thank you for providing this link!
I love Kenny Moore's Best Efforts and read his SI article about Mamo Wolde. And now I know the rest of the story. It is extraordinary! And incredibly moving! Any old timers who remember Mexico City and Munich - or any younger runners who care about the history of our sport/ endeavor - will find Kenny Moore's account fascinating. And will come away with enormous respect for Moore and the many others who never gave up on freeing Mamo Wolde.
Best Overall Training: Daniels' Running: Formula -3rd Edition
Best Masters Training Middle Distance: How to Be a Champion from 9 to 90 by the legendary Earl Fee
Best form book: Programmed to Run by MIller
Best Injury rehab and prevention: 200 Tips Every Runner Should Know by Cash
Best Fiction: Once a Runner
Other Books That Have Changed How I Run: Brain Training for Runners by Fitzgerald
Best philosophical book about running: Running and Being by Sheehan.
Honorable Mention Philosophical Books: Everything else by Sheehan
Best book for very young runners: Training Young Distance Runners - 3rd Edition (Technically, this is a book for coaches, but it will explain how and why young runners don't progress linearly and how to deal with it.)