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Books for Runners

Feb 21, 2014 | Lifestyle, Reviews, Running | 2 comments

I’ve recently been chatting via email to Simon Lamb, about his response to the ‘How to prevent running injuries when marathon training’ post that he so passionately disagreed with (although more on that in another post).
In one of his emails he sent me a couple of books to read to educate myself as a runner and athlete, to help me get to know my body and what it does when we run or get injured. I thought I’d share his recommendations with you, along with a few of my own. I absolutely love reading, especially on my boring hour commute to work, and with a kindle it makes it so easy to download a new book as soon as I’ve finished the last. It also eliminates embarrassment about my choices in books!

Books for Runners;

Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking your athletic potential for health, speed and injury prevention by Jay Dicharry. ‘This book is the best, every runner should read it’ Simon 
Run like a Girl’ by Alexandra Heminsley. A hilarious and honest guide to starting to run, my only gripe with this book is that I feel like it suggests that to be a runner you have to run a marathon, and doesn’t suggest starting with 5Ks and 10ks. Brilliant nonetheless. 
The Cool Impossible: The coach from Born to Run shows how to get the most from your miles- and from yourself, by Eric Orton. ‘A great book for putting you in charge of your body when you run’  Simon 
Running with the Mind of Meditation by Sakyong Miphan. I had this recommended by a few running friends but just couldn’t get in to it- sadly it’s just not me. However Cat wrote a brilliant review of it here
Nothing to do with running, just reading ON A BEACH
The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing by Philip Maffetone. ‘Everything you need to know about how your body works when you’re running’ Simon. 
Run: The Mind-body Method of Running by feel by Matt Fitzgerald. ‘My personal favourite way to run and train’ Simon. 
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running  by Haruki Murakami. A brilliant, short but sweet book about the highs and lows, thoughts and non-thoughts that come with running. 
Run Faster, Run Less by Bill Pierce. Think you don’t have time to train for a marathon, think again. This book tells you how to train optimally by running 3 days a week, plus 2 cross training sessions, following the FIRST principle. Would love to train for an event using this theory one day. 
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I haven’t read this yet but it’s on my list! 
There are plenty of other books out there on running, training, racing, nutrition etc. What are your favourite running books? I’d love to add some of them to my list or do a follow up post! 

2 Comments

  1. Lauren (@PoweredbyPB)

    Great list, I love Born to Run and What I talk about when I talk about Running. Also big fan of Finding Ultra and Eat and Run. Will have to check some of these out.

    Reply
  2. Becky Lodge

    I’ve read Born to Run a number of times, especially when I need reminding how much I love running-reading it has helped me realise how much fun the action of running can be! Also love Eat and Run by Scott Jurek-he is amazing and it is so interesting to read about the impact of his diet on his running ability. I heart running books 🙂

    Reply

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