Long Distance Running: Beginner's Guide to

This is a solid, yet brief, introduction to long distance running. Their are good training programs inside for all distances from 5k to ultra-marathon. The focus of the training guides is more on time than on distance. Another good book for those interested in long distance is the Non-runner's guide to marathon trainer. Good mental tips to keep yourself going.

I have been following 2 of the 6 training programmes in this book. The Level 1 programme is ideal for novices who are looking to get into running. Following the Level 2 programme I ran a 5k race within 6 weeks of starting training and was surprised at how well I did. After a one year hiatus from running due to an unrelated injury, I am looking forward to entering my 2nd 5k race in a few weeks. If you follow the training programmes in this book you will get excellent results. Besides, the training programmes the book is filled with tips that go into as much detail as necessary for a novice runner. Topics include, diet, clothing and injuries. I feel that the upper level programmes lack the detail of those in the lower level.

I agree with the previous reviewers. This is a good book for us newbies. I learned about shoes, diet, and, most important, got a nice overview of a program to help me begin running and perhaps work towards loftier goals. I think it only took me an hour or so to get through this yet the example running plans to me are what I'll remember the most. I am not so sure I would say buy this book since you skim it more than read it. I happened to see it in my local library. I am going to run copies of the training recomendations though. Great information, yes, but worth spending the money when I can run copies of the few pages I got the most out of? Maybe better to save my $$ for a more advanced book (if and when I get there).

If you don't like a lot of fluff, and you want to run a 1/2 or full marathon, I'd recommend this book. It covers the basics, a variety of training schedules (depending on your current level), and answers questions that new marathoner might have. It was a great reference for me as I trained for my first 1/2 marathon.