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Summary: One more marathoner chimes in...
Review: Prior to buying this book in October 2002, I had once run 6 miles, but usually stuck to 3 mile distances. On March 22, 2003, I ran my first marathon. I trained alone using only this book for guidance, and it addressed a ton of my questions. This book works.The content in the book is great; a new edition could be improved by better subheads in the table of contents and the addition of an index.
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Summary: I RAN A MARATHON!
Review: I decided to run a marathon after joining Team In Training so in addition to what TNT gave me, I needed guidance so I searched for a book. This book was it!
I had ALWAYS hated to run and had quit smoking less than a year before I decided to do this.
This book was an amazing tool in my training. I am not sure I would have been as successful (or successful at all) without it.
It showed you everything mentally and physically.
I completed the marathon 2 days ago!!
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Summary: Great but only as companion to other handbooks
Review: I did get a lot of value reading this book, but it's primary goal is to guide you through the *schedule* of a 16 week program designed for non runners. As my review title says, I don't believe this book alone is sufficient for beginners like myself. I happened to buy "The Runner's Handbook" by Bob Glover along with this one and found in it a wealth of information that greatly complements this work. So the title of this book is fitting, and it does a great job in the area of scheduling and building inspiration, but do your body a favor and get a more complete handbook along with this one to fill in the gaps--specially if you're a non-runner and attempting a marathon. Some minor complaints:
- no index
- no chapter number headings on pages (author constantly says, "now turn to chapter X before continuing--you have to thumb a lot of pages before you find it)
- no nutritional information
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Summary: THE book for first marathoners
Review: Prior to getting this book I had done triathlons, 5 & 10Ks and one half-marathon. But still I hated and dreaded running. I wanted to do a marathon both to make 10Ks no longer scary and to make myself stick to a running program. I am slow, and a coach once said I'm not going to get faster until I'm running 20-30 miles a week regularly. I had never gotten over 15 miles in a week with all the cross-training for Triathlons. Another reviewer recommended this book as great for runners who dislike running, and that sold me. Thank you! This book should be listed first in the search results, because without question it's the best. It's 1/3rd mental training, 1/3rd physical training and 1/3rd comparative experiences of other folks who have followed this plan. It worked great! I stuck with the program with only one running partner (who is faster than I am) through two injuries that made me miss runs, through a vacation to Hawaii and through the holidays to come out a 5:03:48 finisher of my first marathon - the San Diego Marathon in Carlsbad, CA on 1/19/2003. Thank you David, Forrest and Tanjala!
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Summary: It helped this old beginning runner.
Review: I started running at age 61 and decided 6 months later to run a marathon. I bought this book and 4 months later completed the Chicago Marathon. Looking back now (I've been running two years and have run two marathons), I wouldn't have rushed into that first one so soon, but without this book I couldn't have done it at all. Whitsett lays down a training program for beginners, and--just as importantly--helps the reader with motivational techniques.
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Summary: What a Book!
Review: I could go on and on about how wonderful this book has been for me. But I will say only this - after reading barely half of it and just starting my training, I am 100% sure that I will run a marathon! In fact, I am sure anyone who follows this guide can run a marathon. It is full of advice for your body, mind, and spirit. Don't pass up your chance - you are a marathoner!
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Summary: Great book -- all aspects covered in a friendly manner
Review: I just finished the Marine Corps Marathon (Oct 2002) and used only this book to help me do it. I had run a half-marathon last May, but I started right at the beginning with the short "long runs" and I felt great during the marathon. There were definitely times when I dreaded my longer "long runs", but this book really helps you keep everything in perspective and not just inspires and teaches you, but helps you to recognize what you are subconsciously thinking and consciously inspire yourself. It gives you the major aspects of training: state of mind, health, reality (people's stories), and a plan.
Now that I have run a marathon, I think I'll try a couple of other books to run more for time, but I'll always come back to Tanjala, Dave, and Forrest for a strong dose of "You can do it!"
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Summary: Great place to start
Review: I just completed my first marathon (NYC Marathon), and this book was largely the basis for my training. While this book's training is essentially a 16 week training program, I ran for about 40 weeks, so I ended up relying on other sources of advice for slightly more intensive training programs (check out marathontraining.com). Before this year, I had not run more than 4 miles...this book was a good source for nutritional and mental tips, and also provided good physiological advice.
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Summary: A Fantastic Book
Review: If you ever wanted to run a marathon, this is the book for you! This book was recommended to me from a friend who ran the Philadelphia Marathon. I purchased the book, followed the training schedule, and completed the New York City Marathon.
I am now looking forward to running another! The book is designed to help runners achieve their goal of completing a marathon. The advice provided throughout is excellent. Each chapter discusses the workouts a marathoner should follow in a week to week progression. This is an outstanding book! If you follow the program, you will be able to say "I Am A Marathoner!"
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Summary: The program works! What more can you ask?
Review: I just finished my first marathon (the Midsouth Marathon in Arkansas) 2 days ago using the program outlined in this book. For about the past 15 years or so, it has been a goal of mine to train for and run a marathon, but I never got close enough in my training to ever even make an attempt. I always thought that I would need at least a year to build up to it and that I would have to reach and maintain mileages in excess of 60+ miles per week before I would be ready. According to this book, all you need are 16 weeks (assuming you can already do an uninterrupted 30-minute jog) and 4 days a week of training. The emphasis is on one long run per week, with the other shorter runs serving mostly just to maintain your fitness level between the weekly long runs. The training peaks at a weekly mileage of 36 miles, held for 2 weeks before tapering off to much lower levels in the two weeks prior to the marathon. I definitely had my doubts throughout the program. My longest runs prior to that had been 10-milers, and it had taken me about 5 months to even get up to that. I couldn't see myself ever being able to get beyond that in just a few weeks. When I finally did reach 18 miles, I was quite impressed with myself, but it was such an ordeal, I couldn't imagine myself ever going as far as 20, even walking the last two miles. My last 18-miler was so bad, I had to do a lot of walking at the end and even had to sit for several minutes. It seemed I was getting worse rather than better, and then I had to begin doing the taper. During that period, I could actually feel myself getting out of shape and putting on weight. I believed that the marathon would be impossible, and that even 18 miles would no longer be possible. Amazingly, I did it. The taper did a lot to heal my aching joints and blisters, and apparently the little running I did was enough to maintain my fitness level. I don't want to downplay the difficulty of the race. It was long and grueling, and up until about mile #22 I was convinced there was no way I would make it to the end. But I did. My time was not impressive, but I never hit the wall, and some of my training runs had actually been worse and had taken longer to recover from. The book definitely deserves 5 stars. It worked. No other running book has ever helped me as much. I was a little disappointed at how short it was. I would have preferred a much longer book, brimming over with several hundred pages of supplemental material. After all, if you're referring to it for 4 months, it would be nice to always have lots of fresh material to read, rather than constantly going back and rereading everything, since you can easily get through all the material in your first week. Also, I found it interesting that the book never once mentions pulse monitors. I monitored my heartrate religiously while training and during the marathon. I found this to be extremely helpful in pacing myself, and I'm not sure I could have made it through the program without doing this. Nevertheless, the book does what it sets out to do (at least for me). It got me through my first marathon!
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