I'm trying to get a list of good books to recommend to other Runners for our Club's website at
http://www.26point2.co.ukI've trawled through Amazon.co.uk, but would like some suggestions for books that I've missed or comments on the ones I've chosen. If you've got a good book on running, training or diet etc. please suggest it on our site - you'll just need the ISBN, author & Title. Hopefully we can get some idea of what's worth the money and what's avoided.
You can rate exisiting books at
26.2 Book Recommendations as well!
Thanks
Simon
Comments
I have a copy of Bruce Tulloh's "Running is Easy" which I find great, and very straightforward. Pretty good for beginners. Sorry can't do the ISBN as the book is at home and I am abusing the internet at work at the moment.
First time I've visited the 26.2 site - very impressive.
venom
Thanks for the comments about the website - I should spend more time running than fiddling with it though... :-) I did have some Heart Rate Spreadsheets for download but they got "lost" during an upgrade. I'll post here vwhen they're up again.
Cheers,
Simon
The Art of Running by Malcolm Balk & Andrew Shields. Ashgrove Publishing isbn 1-85398-132-x £9.99
a novel about an american college runner on the 70/80s.
has the most intense description of a mile race you will ever read.
Don't know if you already have this listed but without a doubt one of the funniest running books I've ever read (and the only one to make me routinely laugh out loud) is 'Hills, Hawgs and Ho Chi Minh' by Don Kardong ISBN 1-879628-12-0, just brilliant.
In terms of ultra running madness (although I've still managed to resist the urge to do anything beyond 26.2) 'The Death Valley 300' by Richard Benyo takes some beating. Although not the best prose I've ever come across, his ability to convey the profound and montonous agony of partcipation in an event so utterly divorced from the realms of consideration for most of us 'ordinary and well-adjusted' runners is not to be missed, ISBN 0-915373-01-7, awesome.
Also, by Rich Benyo, 'Making the Marathon Your Event' is mainly, well, pants, in my humble opinion. Specifically, I think the training regimens are insane (perhaps not suprising when one considers the fact the the man wrote the book on completing the Death Valley 300). Nevertheless, if you can beg, borrow, steal or photocopy the appropriate sections, Part IV, Chapter 17 'Lessons from the Great Marathoners' is truly great reading. I was crying with laughter just the other night as I perused the section on Emil Zatopek, absolutely priceless (except for the fact that it isn't worth the price), ISBN 0-679-73930-0
best, mm ;-)
Lots of pages for your money too.
I'm not sure whether it is available in print but it can be downloaded from http://www.gordonpirie.com
Runner's World complete book of women's running by Dagny Scott.
Excellent.