Thursday, May 21, 2009

Running Book Library

Below are all running (and endurance training) related books I currently own. I'm separating them into two categories: training manuals and novels/biographies/stories. I'm also going to post a rating (scale of 1-5), based on my recollection of how much I enjoyed the book...although I admit that some of these are very vague to me. I have 37 books total (updated 8/14/17). Without further adieu...here they are, in random order:


TRAINING MANUALS

The Long Run Solution
by Joe Henderson
World Publications, 1976, 182 pgs.
[***1/2]

Run Farther, Run Faster
by Joe Henderson
Anderson World Books, 1984, 243 pgs
[***]

The Competitive Runner's Handbook
by Bob Glover and Pete Schuder
Penguin Books, 1983, 544 pgs
[***]

The New Competitive Runner's Handbook
by Bob Glover and Pete Schuder
Penguin Books, 1988, 628 pgs
[***]

Scott Tinley's Winning Guide to Sports Endurance
(How To Maximize Speed, Strength and Stamina)
by Scott Tinley and Ken McAlpine
Rodale, 1994, 258 pgs
[****]

The New York Road Runners Club Complete Book of Running
by Fred LeBow, Gloria Averbuch & friends
Random House, 1994, 634 pgs
[***1/2]

How to Train For and Run Your Best Marathon
by Gordon Bakoulis Bloch
Simon & Shuster, 1993, 270 pgs
[**1/2]

Runner's Training Guide
by Runner's World Magazine
World Publications, 1975 (2nd printing), 94 pgs
[**]

Run With The Champions
(Training Programs and Secrets of America's 50 Greatest Runners)
by Marc Bloom
Rodale, 2001, 246 pgs
[***1/2]

Improving Your Running
by Bill Squires, with Raymond Krise
The Stephen Greene Press, 1982, 206 pgs
[**]

Van Aaken Method
(Finding the Endurance to Run Faster and Live Healthier)
by Ernst van Aaken, M.D.
World Publications, 1976, 134 pgs
[***]

Masters Running and Racing for Runners Over 40
by Bill Rogers & Priscilla Welch, with Joe Henderson
Rodale, 1991, 178 pgs
[****]

Daniels' Running Formula
(Programs and Strategies: 1500 to Marathon)
by Jack Daniels, PhD / Foreword by Alberto Salazar
Human Kinetics, 1998, 287 pgs
[***]

Mark Allen's Total Triathlete
by Mark Allen, with Bob Babbitt
Contemporary Books, 1988, 173 pgs
[***]

Serious Training for Endurance Athletes
by Rob Sleamaker, Ray Browning
Human Kinetics, 1996 (2nd Edit), 304 pgs
[***]

The Lore of Running
by Tim Noakes, MD
Human Kinetics, 2001 (4th Edit), 930 pgs
[*****]

NOVELS/BIOGRAPHIES/STORIES

50 50
(Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days...)
by Dean Karnazes, with Matt Fitzgerald
Wellness Central, 2008, 286 pgs
[***]

My Life On The Run
by Bart Yasso
Rodale Publishing, 2008, 270 pgs
[***1/2]

To The Edge
(A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance)
by Kirk Johnson
Warner Books, 2001, 287 pgs
[****]

The Miler
(America's Legendary Runner Talks About His Triumphs and Trials)
by Steve Scott, with Marc Bloom
Macmillan USA, 1997, 258 pgs
[***]

A Cold Clear Day
(The Athletic Biography of Buddy Edelen)
by Frank Murphy / postcript by Hal Higdon
Windsprint Press, 1992, 197 pgs
[***]

UltraMarathon Man
(Confessions of an All-Night Runner)
by Dean Karnazes
Tarcher / Penguin, 2005, 280 pgs
[****]

Finding The Wheel's Hub
(Tales and Thoughts from the Endurance Athlete Lifestyle)
by Scott Tinley
The Trimarket Company, 1995, 189 pgs
[***]

The Perfect Mile
(Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It)
by Neal Bascomb
Houghton Mifflin, 2004, 322 pgs
[*****]

Running Through The Wall
(Personal Encounters With The Ultramarathon)
by Neal Jamison
Breakaway Books, 2003, 304 pgs
[***1/2]

Why We Run - A Natural History
by Bernd Heinrich
Ecco (Harper Collins imprint), 2001, 292 pgs
[***]

PRE
(The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine)
by Tom Jordan
Rodale, 1997 (2nd Edit), 168 pgs
[*****]

Once A Runner
(A Novel)
by John L. Parker, Jr.
Cedarwinds Publishing Co., 1990 (4th Edit), 248 pgs
[***]

Born To Run
(A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen)
by Christopher McDougall
Knopf, 2009, 289 pgs
[*****]

I Run, Therefore I Am-Nuts!
(Why We Carbo Load, Fartlek Train, Hit the Wall...And Love Every Minute Of It)
by Bob Schwartz
Human Kinetics, 2001, 245 pgs
[**1/2]

The Four-Minute Mile
by Roger Bannister
Lyons & Burford, 1981/1994, 253 pgs
[***1/2]

And Then The Vulture Eats You
(True Tales About Ultramarathons and Those Who Run Them)
by John L. Parker, Jr.
Cedarwinds Publishing Co., 1991/1999, 166 pgs
[***]

Sub 4:00
(Alan Webb and the Quest for the Fastest Mile)
by Chris Lear / foreword by Jim Ryun
Rodale, 2002, 224 pgs
[***]

Duel in the Sun
(Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon)
by John Brant
Rodale, 2006, 203 pgs
[*****]

Running on Empty
(An Ultramarathoner's Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America)
by Marshall Ulrich / forward by Christopher McDougall
Avery, 2011, 304 pgs
[***1/2)

Eat & Run
(My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
by Scott Jurek (with Steve Friedman)
HMH, 2012, 260 pgs
[****]

My Marathon — Reflections on a Gold Medal Life
by Frank Shorter (with John Brant)
Rodale, 2016, 244 pgs
[****]

Marathon Man — My 26.2 Mile Journey from Unknown Grad Student to the Top of the Running World
by Bill Rodgers and Matthew Shepatin
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2013, 322 pgs
[***1/2]

Whew! I'm sure many of these are currently out of print. I've had a few of them for 25 years or so!
Okay, I know I made some ratings that would be considered total heresy within the running community, such as giving Once A Runner and Daniels' Running Formula three stars each. Honestly, I REALLY wanted to like Once A Runner more than I did. It just kind of fell flat for me. I'll re-read it just to make sure. And to be fair to Jack Daniels, his book just makes my head swim. The man is a genius, no doubt...but I just don't want my training to be so complex. For an ultra-competitive racer, his book is a gold mine. For me, overkill. I gave up less than half way through it. Also, there are a couple of dinosaurs on this list that are interesting reads if for nothing more than nostalgia purposes, and learning a bit of the mindset regarding distance running 30+ years ago (Van Aaken Method and Runner's Training Guide).

Okay, that's it. I'll round up my much smaller running movie collection and throw them on here someday.
If you have any comments on these books and/or recommendations, please post a comment! Thanks!

4 comments:

  1. That is a HUGE library, totally blows mine away.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, I had NO idea I had that many. Just started re-reading one of them (To The Edge). It'll be a nice camping book this weekend. You have some good books yourself. I think the only one we have in common is the Lore of Running, which I've geeked out over, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree about "Once A Runner" (although I made good money when I sold it on eBay) and disagree about "Born to Run" (the book, not the album, which is *****+).

    As to Daniels, give it another shot. I've had to go through it a couple of times. Well worth the effort. It informs virtually everthing I do, even if I tweak it now and then.

    I, on the other hand, have never been able to get through Bannister's "The Four Minute Mile." I'd give Lear's "Running with the Buffaloes" a shot, as I mentioned on RRT.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll re-read Daniels book soon, as I can apply a lot of it now (I can only read books like that when I'm actually training, otherwise they don't hold my interest). I'll check out Running with the Buffaloes.

    ReplyDelete