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Summary: Quality Advice on Running Injury Free, Fun, & Respecting the
Review: ...Respecting the Distance.Jeff Galloway is an Olympian who has run 130 marathons. That's why I chose to use his training program for my first marathon, because I believe he must know something about running. I am in my seventh week of training and doing wonderfully. People need to realize that Galloway's program is intentionally designed to get you to the starting line and through the marathon injury free and enjoying yourself, not hurting and tortured (although it's still going to be hard). There is nothing second-rate about walk breaks; he even gives the history of marathoning as having included walk breaks in the early days, and examples of modern record setters who took walk breaks. So posh on the nay sayers. When I added walk breaks to my program, the fun immediately came back and I was able to run twice as far with a smile on my face the whole time, enjoying scenery, rather than plodding along like a mule. He backs up his advice with scientific reasoning that makes total sense: when you give the running muscles a brief rest from the beginning and throughout the race, your legs stay fresh. You don't lose time because of this, and then you get to pass people later on, all while minimizing the risk of injury. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would turn up their nose at that. Hopefully I'll be passing some of them on the course. As for the reviewer below who said that Galloway doesn't mention goo, that is just inaccurate. The important thing to remember (!) is that 26.2 miles is a LONG way. Anyone who crosses the finish line is a marathoner, period, whether you ran, walked or crawled. Galloway's training programs (there are 11 to choose from depending on your goals, even time goals for the competitive reviewer below...HELLO! CAN YOU RUN A 2:39?! Galloway has a program for that, did you try it?) are designed to get you trained and through the race safely and ready to keep running more races or at least running for life. Hopefully with a smile on your face. What more could you possibly want? The other wonderful part are the mental tricks he suggests, such as "Anti-Gravity Fluid" and "Magic Words". This is a great book. Includes chapters on: Long Run, Walk Breaks, Running Form, Cross Training, Training Programs (11), a whole section on inspiration and motivation, what race day is like, Running Faster (speed and hill work), section on food and fat burning, advice on getting older and running, gear, an Appendix and many tables and charts.
Rating:
Summary: Marathons and MORE!
Review: A friend recommended this book to me and I am so glad she did. She is training for a marathon and I am not... at least not yet. This book will give you strategies and guidelines to help you train for a race of any length. I currently do 5K runs and have a 10K (my first!) scheduled later this summer. There are tips and advice about all aspects of running including: walk breaks, drinking water, cross training, training in various weather conditions and more. Galloway says that virtually anyone can finish a marathon with his 6 month training program and I believe it. In fact, after reading the book I am motivated to give one a try... maybe next year though! Galloway does repeat himself a lot. I think this is because readers may chapter-jump when using this book and he wanted to make sure certain things were stressed. It didn't really bother me, but I thought it was worth noting. Also, does Galloway own the company that makes PowerBars or something? He just raves about those things! :-)
Rating:
Summary: A Valuable Running Resource
Review: A great, common sense approach to marathon training. The charactors' story through out the book takes what could be rather dry reading and makes it fun. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Best Attitude for Beginning and Novice Marathoners
Review: After repeated bouts with injuries while training using other programs, Jeff's program got me out the door and running a faster marathon. My initial reaction to his run-walk method was sheer disbelief. After working his plan for a month or so I was converted. I cut 20 minutes off of my personal best with this program. I feel that the Galloway method really teaches you how to work with your body. Most programs try to jam your body into doing a marathon. Galloway's edges you into it and as a result makes it easier for you to complete the training and the marathon. The book also presents a very realistic attitude about running and running marathons. We all aren't Frank Shorter or Catherine Ndereba. This book helps to turn us everyday runners into marathoners.
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Summary: Marathon!
Review: Excellent training manual, encompasses all aspects of marathon training. Lends inspiration and motivation to begining runners. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Don't do a marathon without it!
Review: From dirty tricks on your mind to magic words to keep you going, this is the best low mileage marathon book I have ever followed. I have used his strategies on all 5 marathons I have run.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good info but hard to wade through...
Review: I found this book to have useful information for a beginner, but the manner in which it is presented made it hard to access and use. The format Galloway uses includes an ongoing story that tells of a group of runners and their quest to run a marathon, broken up into parts in each chapter. The story was too precious for me, I found it distracted from the information I was looking for, and made it hard to wade through the book. I would have been much better served by a less cute, more cut and dried manual, using the info Galloway presents, but without the stories. There are some good techniques in here, some interesting points, some valuable tips. But the effort required to extract the good info out of the rest of the mush was too much, and I felt it detracted from the overall value of the book.
Rating:
Summary: I qualified for Boston using this book!
Review: I only gave it 3 stars because of the silly story that readers must wade through to get to the advice. But following the directions in this book, my marathon times were improved and I set PRs in 10ks and 5ks, too.
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Summary: Great and essential information for first time Marathoners!
Review: I picked up this book on the advice of a friend who had done the Houston Marathon the previous year and heard Jeff's seminar on running Marathons. He felt Jeff had given him so much good advice that enabled him to have success in his race thathis book would benefit me. Well, I must say it did. I went out and had a painless, great day in my first 26.2 mile race and I attribute most of it to jeff's training schedule and his run a mile/walk a minute strategy that will actually improve your time instead of what you might think. I am living proof and this book got me through it. I highly recommend this boof for a first time marathoner, it answers many of the questions you may have going in about diet, water, sports drinks, rest, anxiety, what to do if....., etc.. Definitely a book you can trust in and use to make your race the best it can be.
Rating:
Summary: Good advice but not well written
Review: I recently read this book beginning to end and have to say that the poor quality of the writing made it hard to follow at times. Galloway repeats the same sentence throughout the book in inappropriate or unexpected places. He is clearly a runner and not a writer. I have to say though, that his advice and methods are sound and will work. I was relieved to find out that I would not be running all 26 miles, but taking short walk breaks to recover. Some of the book sounded a little dated (he never mentions goo as an alternative to Powerbars) but overall it is a good first step for people considering running their first marathon.
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