Book picks similar to
My Best Race by Chris Cooper
running
memoir
non-fiction
fitness
Run! 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss
Dean Karnazes - 2011
Karnazes runs for days on end without rest, across some of the most exotic and inhospitable places on earth, including the Australian outback, Antarctica, and the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.
From the downright hilarious to the truly profound, the linked stories in Run! create an unforgettable tableau, providing readers with the ultimate escape and offering a rare glimpse into the mind-set and motivation of an extreme athlete. Karnazes addresses the pain and perseverance and also charts his emotional state as he pushes the edges of human achievement. The tales of the friendships he’s cultivated on his many adventures around the world warm the heart and are sure to captivate and inspire readers whether they run great distances, modest distances, or not at all.
Running to the Top
Arthur Lydiard - 1962
His description of a systematic, detailed training programme for beginners and top-runners is based on a clear defined conception of fitness. Beneath detailed schedules for training, the book includes tips concerning equipment, kit, nutrition, prevention of injury, therapy and the relationship between the coach and the athlete.
Running Strong: The Sports Doctor's Complete Guide to Staying Healthy and Injury-Free for Life
Jordan Metzl - 2015
Whether you’re a new runner training for your first race or an experienced marathoner, this cutting-edge book will keep you on the road and running faster. With comprehensive, illustrated information on running health and injury prevention, this book is the first to include embedded scan codes that lead readers to videos addressing such issues as shin splints, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, and runner’s knee. Not only will runners be able to read about how they can treat and prevent hundreds of medical and nutritional issues, they’ll be able to walk into a top-level video consultation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, from anywhere in the world!
4:09:43: Boston 2013 Through the Eyes of the Runners
Hal Higdon - 2013
The book's title refers to the numbers on the finish-line clock when the first bomb exploded.In "4:09:43," Higdon views Boston 2013 through the eyes of those running the race. You will meet George, a runner from Athens, birthplace of the modern marathon, who at sunrise joins the eerie march of silent runners, all aimed at their appointments in Hopkinton, where the marathon starts. You will meet Michele, who at age 2 helped her mother hand water to runners, who first ran the marathon while a student at Wellesley College, and who decided to run Boston again mainly because her daughter Shannon was now a student at Boston University. You will meet Tracy, caught on Boylston Street between the two explosions, running for her life. You will meet Heather, a Canadian, who limped into the Medical Tent with bloody socks from blisters, soon to realize that worse things exist than losing a toenail.In what may be a first, Hal Higdon used social media in writing "4:09:43." Sunday, not yet expecting what might happen the next day, Higdon posted a good-luck message on his popular Facebook page. "Perfect weather," the author predicted. "A 'no-excuses' day." Within minutes, runners in Boston responded. Neil suggested that he was "chilling before the carb-a-thon continues." Christy boasted from her hotel room: "Bring it!"Then, the explosions on Monday! Like all runners, Higdon wondered whether marathoners would ever feel safe again. Beginning Tuesday, runners told him. They began blogging on the Internet, posting to his Facebook page, offering links to their stories, so very similar, but also so very different. Over the next several hours, days, and weeks, Higdon collected the tales of nearly 75 runners who were there, whose lives forever would be shadowed by the bombs on Boylston Street.In" 4:09:43," Higdon presents these stories, condensing and integrating them into a smooth-flowing narrative that begins with runners boarding the buses at Boston Common, continues with the wait at the Athletes' Village in Hopkinton, and flows through eight separate towns. The story does not end until the 23,000 participants encounter the terror on Boylston Street. "These are not 75 separate stories," says Higdon. "This is one story told as it might have been by a single runner with 75 pairs of eyes."One warning about reading "4:09:43" You will cry. But you will laugh, too, because for most of those who covered the 26 miles 385 yards from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, this was a joyous journey, albeit one that ended in tragedy. This is a book as much about the race and the runners in the race as it is about a terrorist attack. In future years as people look back on the Boston Marathon bombings, "4:09:43" will be the book that everyone will need to have read.
Running & Being: The Total Experience
George Sheehan - 1978
This New York Times bestseller written by the late runner, doctor, philosopher, Dr. George Sheehan is a timeless classic. It tells of Dr. Sheehan's midlife return to the world of exercise, play, and competition. Focusing on the importance of "play", Sheehan describes his program for fitness and joy, sharing with the reader how the body helps open up our mental and spiritual energies.
The Pants of Perspective: One Woman's 3,000 Kilometre Running Adventure through the Wilds of New Zealand
Anna McNuff - 2017
I didn’t run for times, to win, to impress: I ran for me. When I ran my bum cheeks rubbed together, so much so that if I was going on a long run I’d have to ‘lube up’. I maintained that I was not a ‘real’ runner – I just liked to run so that I could eat cake." Anna was never anything like those ‘real’ runners on telly – all spindly limbs, tiny shorts and split times – but when she read about New Zealand’s 3,000-kilometre-long Te Araroa Trail, she began to wonder… perhaps being a ‘real’ runner was overrated. Maybe she could just run it anyway? Travelling alone through New Zealand’s backcountry for 148 days, she scrambled through forests, along ridge-lines, over mountain passes, along beaches and across swollen rivers. Running up to 52 kilometres in a day, she slept wild most nights, and was taken into the homes and hearts of the kiwi people in between. The Pants of Perspective is a witty, colourful and at times painfully raw account of a journey to the edge of what a woman believes herself to be capable of. It is a coming-of-age story which will lead you on a roller coaster ride through fear, vulnerability, courage and failure. For anyone who has ever dreamt of taking on a great challenge, but felt too afraid to begin – this story is for you.
Quick Strength for Runners: 8 Weeks to a Better Runner's Body
Jeff Horowitz - 2013
In under an hour a week, runners will strengthen their core and key running muscles to build a better runner’s body. Strength training is crucial to better running and injury prevention. But it’s difficult to know which exercises work best for runners or to get motivated to hit the gym. In Quick Strength for Runners, running coach and personal trainer Jeff Horowitz simplifies strength training into just two 20-minute workouts per week, with no gym or pricey equipment required. Designed specifically for runners, the Quick Strength program pinpoints the exercises that really work. Inside you’ll find: • A guide to how strength training leads to better running form and fitness • 40 targeted exercises, with step-by-step photos and clear instructions • Progressive workouts and advanced form options to increase strength as fitness improves • A focused and efficient 8-week strength training program • Tips on designing your own long-term workout program for a lifetime of fitnessQuick Strength for Runners makes it easy for runners to build a better runner’s body. This highly effective, easy-to-implement program will make you a stronger, faster runner in under an hour a week so you can stay on the road or trail.
I Run, Therefore I Am--Nuts!
Bob Schwartz - 2001
Whether you fall in the middle of the pack, up near the front of the pack, or so far from any semblance of a pack that you're wondering if everyone went home already, you'll find plenty to laugh about in this book.I Run, Therefore I Am--Nuts! is a comical examination of events that are near and dear to every runner's well-conditioned heart. As the Dave Barry of running, popular running humorist Bob Schwartz pokes fun at the idiosyncratic personalities of runners and the funny situations they encounter in training, eating, racing, preparing for races, and revolving their everyday lives around running.I Run, Therefore I Am--Nuts! brings out the humor in situations that every type of runner can relate to:- The intricate art of drinking on the run from paper cups- Trying to reacquaint fingers to toes after years of tight hamstrings - Hitting the wall- Having your heart flutter with the newest cushioned training shoe- Discovering cross-training contraptions designed to strengthen your gluteus to its maximus- Getting excited about the latest flavor of energy gel on the marketAs any runner with tight hamstrings and a funny bone would, you'll laugh your way through these and many other amusing stories illustrated with cartoons by artist B.K. Taylor, whose drawings have appeared in many national publications, including Mad Magazine and National Lampoon.Author Bob Schwartz is America's funniest running writer. An avid, slightly over-the-top runner himself, he has completed countless marathons (but laments that excessive glycogen depletion at the finish prevents him from fully remembering each one) as well as all race distances from the 200 Meter Kids Snowman Shuffle (where he finished second after edging out a four-year-old at the finish line) to an ultramarathon of 50 miles (a feat he has no intention of repeating). In addition to his weekly syndicated newspaper column, he has had hundreds of humorous essays published in national and regional publications, including Runner's World, FootNotes, and Fitness Runner.For anyone who loves the aromatic smell of perspiration, who enjoys the exhilaration of exhaustion, who drinks solely from squirt bottles, or whose wardrobe is filled with reflective clothing--this book is for you.
Chi Marathon: The Breakthrough Natural Running Program for a Pain-Free Half Marathon and Marathon
Danny Dreyer - 2012
Most marathon books and training programs focus primarily on building stamina—but they often don’t address how running all those miles may be seriously harming your body. Chi Marathon debunks the myth that marathons require pushing through and beyond pain and presents a technique-based plan for pain-and-injury-free high performance half and full marathons. Chi Marathon also shows you how to improve your performance by developing your own race-specific training plan tailored to your event.In Chi Marathon, author Danny Dreyer, a highly respected running coach and accomplished distance runner, takes a whole-body approach to running—much like Tai Chi—making ease and efficiency of movement the prime goal of one’s training. Danny and Katherine Dreyer launched the Chi Running movement twelve years ago and now have over 200 certified Chi Running Instructors around the world as well as a strong selling line of DVD’s and training programs. The Dreyers also present Chi Running workshops at many of the U.S. marathons and have a 40,000 subscriber newsletter as well as receiving 50,000 hits a month on their website. Chi Marathon is the book that distance runners have been waiting for. With Chi Marathon runners can revolutionize their technique, their approach to distance running…and their lives.
The Extra Mile: One Woman's Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness
Pam Reed - 2006
How does this 100-pound mother and stepmother of five muster the endurance and courage for the 28-hour climb from the hottest desert floor on Earth to the shadow of the continental United States' tallest point?In The Extra Mile we watch this ultramarathon champion seek balance in her life as a wife, mother, athlete, and entrepreneur. With astonishing candor she tells of her 15-year-long battle with anorexia. And she helps us to understand her passion for ultrarunning--to discover how far the human body can be pushed. The success of Dean Karnazes's book, Ultramarathon Man, and Reed's TV appearances have demonstrated the public's fascination with this growing sport. Reed's book will be an inspiration to women everywhere.
The Born Again Runner: A Guide to Overcoming Excuses, Injuries, and Other Obstacles—for New and Returning Runners
Pete Magill - 2016
Taking up running seemed impossible—but he willed himself to do it anyway. Magill went on to become one of the fastest masters runners ever, and a sought-after coach. Over a glowing (albeit hard-won) career, he has heard every excuse people use to stop running or never start—from achy knees and sore ankles, to advanced age and arthritis, to too many cigarettes or years on the couch. In every case, Magill’s best advice is to do what he did: Run anyway—at a pace and mileage that work. Through inspiration, science, and anecdote, Magill gets runners out the door; through personal action plans, he sets them on the right path; and through the best exercises to protect and rehabilitate the body, he keeps them going—showing a way forward for new and sidelined runners who haven’t before realized how close they are to fun and pain-free running!
Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind
Michael W. Austin - 2007
It features writings from some of America's leading philosophers, including Martha Nussbaum, Charles Taliaferro, and J.P. Moreland. A first-of-its-kind collection of essays exploring those gems of philosophical wisdom runners contemplate when out for a run Topics considered include running and the philosophy of friendship; the freedom of the long distance runner; running as aesthetic experience, and "Could a Zombie Run a Marathon?" Contributing essayists include philosophers with athletic experience at the collegiate level, philosophers whose pasttime is running, and one philosopher who began running to test the ideas in his essay
Your Pace or Mine?: What Running Taught Me About Life, Laughter and Coming Last
Lisa Jackson - 2016
Lisa Jackson is a surprising cheerleader for the joys of running. Formerly a committed fitness-phobe, she became a marathon runner at 31, and ran her first 56-mile ultramarathon aged 41. And unlike many runners, Lisa's not afraid to finish last – in fact, she's done so in 20 of the 90-plus marathons she's completed so far. But this isn't just Lisa's story, it's also that of the extraordinary people she’s met along the way – tutu-clad fun-runners, octogenarians, 250-mile ultrarunners – whose tales of loss and laughter are sure to inspire you just as much as they've inspired her. This book is for anyone who longs to experience the sense of connection and achievement that running has to offer, whether you're a nervous novice or a seasoned marathoner dreaming of doing an ultra. An account of the triumph of tenacity over a lack of talent, Your Pace or Mine? is proof that running really isn't about the time you do, but the time you have!
Train Like a Mother: How to Get Across Any Finish Line - and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity
Dimity McDowell - 2012
At its core, Train Like a Mother will comprehensively cover how to train for a race, including training plans for four race distances (5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon) for both beginner and more experienced runners; the importance of recovery; pre- and post-race nutrition; strength training; injury prevention (and rehab); and everything busy women need to know to add racing to their multitasking schedules. It is all presented with the same wit, empathy, and tone the avid fans connect and identify with.The book is divided into 13.1 chapters--the distance of a half-marathon, the sweet spot for many mother runners--narrated by both Sarah and Dimity. Like the first book, Train Like a Mother chapters have plenty of sidebars, including Practical Motherly Advice (helpful information about training- and race-related advice), Take It from a Mother (advice and answers from the growing tribe of running moms), and Racy Talk (entertaining, race-related stories from the authors and other moms). The .1 sections are entertaining "commercial breaks" celebrating the sport of running and the added thrill of racing.
Off Course: Inside the Mad, Muddy World of Obstacle Course Racing
Erin Beresini - 2014
history. Every week, thousands of marathoners, CrossFitters, and casual weekend warriors shell out money to run through mud and fire, crawl under barbed wire, scramble over ten-foot walls, and dodge baton-wielding gladiators. Some even sprint through electrically charged wires only to suffer muscle-seizing shocks and faceplant in the muck.In Off Course, Outside journalist and endurance athlete Erin Beresini dives straight into this strange world to reveal a new subculture of military-inspired amateur competition and the industry that’s rapidly growing to support it. Having reached a crossroads in her own athletic pursuits, Beresini embarked on a journey to train and compete in several obstacle races herself, culminating in the world’s first marathon-length event, the grueling Spartan Ultra Beast. Along the way, she met a wild cast of characters, from frat boys to housewives, fitness buffs to financiers to fanatics, and uncovered the sport's biggest scandals, lawsuits, and rivalries. As Beresini inches ever closer to her goal — and gets pretty buff in the process — she also illuminates the history, psychology, science, and sociology of this new sport that’s taking the endurance world by storm.