Four Months to a Four-Hour Marathon: Everything a Runner Needs to Know About Gear, Diet, Training, Pace, Mind-set, Burnout, Shoes, Fluids, Schedules, Goals, & Race Day, Revised

I kept hearing over and over that all decent runners can finish a marathon in under 4 hours, so since my first marathon time had put me closer to Oprah-runner level than decent-runner level, I decided to pick this one up, and I'm glad I did. After (mostly) adhering to the training schedule in the book, I just ran my second marathon in 3:58 and took nearly 30 minutes off my previous time. I had my doubts along the way that I was physically capable of doing this, but thanks to some pacers, a flat course (which the book advises you to pick) and the training I got from this book, I did it. The key is the interval workouts and the workouts done at faster than race pace. This book also had me running longer runs (up to 24 miles) than other training regimens, and I think that's what made the difference in the end. The advice in the book is simple but accurate, and the training schedule is actually pretty easy to adjust to your own schedule if you work long hours or travel a lot since you're really only running about 4 days a week. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a 4-5 hour goal time in mind.

I was told by a neighbor about this book when I was thinking about running my first marathon. I have seen numerous different training schedules and had no idea what to try. This book tells you excactly how to train. It is great,EASY reading. During the 4 months of training I re-read this book many, many times. He has a way of motivating you with his words and keeps you from burning out. I just finished my first marathon and achieved my goal of 4:00 hours. I couldn't have done it without THIS book. Thanks Dave.

I have either recommended or given this book to several people. Five years ago, I was a novice runner who hadn't even run a 5K. I followed the book to the letter and ran a 4 hr 4 min marathon. I then tried following some other regimes and couldn't come close to that time. I decided to follow the book again this year and just ran 3:58 in Chicago. Mr. Kuehls' program works!

This is a real simple book to review. If you want to run a four hour marathon and spend four months training for it, then buy this book. It is slim, it is focused, easy to follow, enjoyable to read. It gives you what the title says it gives you. If you want to gain a deeper understanding of marathoning, or want to run one in three hours, etc. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. It is not written with that puropose. I wanted to run my first marathon in four hours. I bought this book. I am as happy with it as anyone could possibly be. I cannot imagine any complaints. (In a different review a reader talks about the quality of the advice (shoes selection, clothing, etc.) Hogwash. For first time marathoners (runners even) the advice is sound and exactly what you need to know.

When I started training for my first marathon a few years ago, I had this book and also 'Galloway's Book on Running'. The interesting thing was that while Galloway's book had much more information, I was always carrying the '4 Months' book with me because it had all the basic necessary stuff in an easily accessible format.Some people have complained that it is too brief and not very thorough but I found it to be the best trait of this book. Many other books have simply too much information and if you have to spend a week or two digesting hundreds of pages of technical information, your initial enthusiasm to train for a marathon has cooled somewhat. '4 Months' at the same time is very concise and to the point, giving simple, step-by-step instructions for everything from shoes to nutrition.It also contains a very well-defined training program, which I followed to the letter. The program was relatively hard but once I had completed it all, I was able to beat the hour mark surprisingly easily, so I can say that it really works!Therefore, if you are already an established runner, or if you're looking for more theoretical background, I suggest you get some "more advanced" book like the above-mentioned 'Galloway's Book on Running' or 'The Competitive Runner's Handbook', both are very good.But if you are like me back when I didn't have too much running background then '4 Months to A 4 Hour Marathon' QUICKLY gives you all you need to get started. I owe it one of the greatest experiences in my life.