Running Book Recommendations (not just BF)

Pes Planus

Barefooters
May 12, 2012
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Germany
Hi,

thought this Forum could do with a book recommendations thread - so here we go :)

1) Born to Run by C. McDougall
I'm pretty sure everyone here will know it but thought I'd include it nevertheless :)

2) The Runners Body by R.Tucker & J. Dugas
A great read about the science behind running (includes things like metabolism, bones, cardio-respiratory system, Immune system, Injuries,...). A definite recommendation for anybody that is interested in those kind of things!

3) Ultramarathon Man by D. Karnazes
Brilliantly written, lots of interesting & funny stories by Karnazes. It's basically an autobiography, just not as dry ;)

4) Relentless Progress Forward: A guide to running ultramarathons by E. Grossman & B. Powell
Nice intro to ultramarathon running that covers pretty much everything a beginner to ultras might want to know.

5) Running on Empty by M. Ullrich
Good read by another Ultramarathon Runner and his run across the States. Even though I didn't enjoy it as much as Karnazes book, I'd still recommend it!
Btw.: Ullrich had his toenails removed, so he wouldn't have to worry about them when running :D


That's it from me - any other recommendations?
 
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I just read a fantastic book called "Running with the Kenyans" by Adharanand Finn.

It's about a British journalist who wants to learn properly (ends up barefoot/minimalist), so gets advice from Lee Saxby before heading out to live in Iten Kenya for 6 months, training with the likes of Mary Keitany, Wilson Kipsang etc etc.

It's a great read, makes me want to go out there! :)
 
I got mine on Kindle, it's pretty much the only place I get books from these days.

Actually there's an interview with the author on the newest issue (96) of the podcast 'House of Run'. I'm listening to it on the train at the moment. :)
 
I enjoyed Why We Run by Bernd Heinrich. He writes about the physiology of endurance in various animals (birds, insects, antelope, frogs, etc), and tries to draw lessons to understand the physiology of human running. It gave me a new appreciation of migratory birds as "the true ultra-marathoners" (no offense to human ultra-runners who might be reading this).
 
Addendum: The Bernd Heinrich book was originally published under the title Racing the Antelope: What animals can teach us about running and life. The current edition appears to be titled: Why We Run: A Natural History.
 
Richard Askwith's Feet in the Clouds - about British fell running - is excellent. One for ultra runners, anyone interested in the history of the sport and anyone who just likes running in hills.

Thor Gotaas's Running: A Global History is good, though it's more a collection of individual stories than a single coherent narrative. This is largely because it covers so many different running traditions and cultures. A good read, but perhaps best in small doses.

Neal Bascomb's The Perfect Mile - about the runners competing to be the first to break the four-minute mile - is excellent.

I'd also recommend Running with the Kenyans and Why We Run, which others have mentioned already.

You might also enjoy a couple of books that talk about running among other sports. Anyone who likes Born to Run will probably enjoy Mike Stroud's Survival of the Fittest, which is about extreme endurance and survival. I've also recently read Matt Fitzgerald's Iron war, about the classic Ironman race between Dave Scott and Mark Allen: it was one of the most enthralling sports books I've read in a long time.
 
I'm reading 50/50 by Dean Karnazes and have been reading it for several months. It is pretty fragmented and disjointed so I would not really recommend it for entertainment value. He does have some useful running or nutrition tips in it so that keeps me reading it. I think he didn't remember a lot of the marathons very well so he would write a little about one and then a lot about another. In any case he's a stud for doing 50 marathons in 50 days so it's interesting in that sense.
 
@ Nick - I have not read 50/50, mainly because I have heard exactly what you said. I did watch the 50/50 documentary, which wasn't that great either tbh. His first book however was excellent!

P.S.: For those of you that would like to watch a good documentary I can highly recommend Running the Sahara (3 guys running across the entire Sahara, a "mere" 7000km;) ).
 
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Pes that was a great and inspiring movie! It's on Netflix if anyone wants to see it. I've also got the books Running on Empty and Ultramarathon Man which I will get to reading once I'm done with this 50/50. Probably be several more months before I'm finished though...
 
What I think about when I think about running: Haruki Murakami. I really enjoyed this book, the way it was written, and the fact that it got me running again. Loved it.
 
Glad someone mentioned the Gordon Pirie book, a guy who predicted the injury epidemic caused by running shoes back in the 1980's.
Another book I enjoyed was Lisa Tamati's "Running Hot" she is a Kiwi who has run in some of the worlds toughest ultra races, she's run the Badwater twice. I got to meet her at her shop in New Plymouth a couple of years ago where she kindly signed my copy of the book.
Just bought the Running with the Kenyans book on my Kindle :)

Neil
 
I'm re-reading the whole 'Game of Thrones' series again at the moment, but I'll probably re-read 'Running with the Kenyans' again next.

I have Scott Jurek's book on pre-order with Amazon (Kindle) so looking forward to that in the next couple of weeks. :)
 
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I'm re-reading the whole 'Game of Thrones' series again at the moment, but I'll probably re-read 'Running with the Kenyans' again next.

I have Scott Jurek's book on pre-order with Amazon (Kindle) so looking forward to that in the next couple of weeks. :)

Haha - exactly the same... Reading the GOT series atm (first time for me though) and got Jureks book pre-ordered :D