Marathon: The Ultimate Training and Racing Guide

Rating:
Summary: A very efficient training guide
Review: I bought this book to prepare my first marathon. (Indianapolis, 1997). I had a real pleasure reading it. The author covers all the aspect of marathon: History, training, personal advices, and many examples. He gives you very efficient guide lines in order not to get injured and to really enjoy running. I red it few times, trying to study it. I still read part of it to check informations. What I like a lot compared to the other books I red is the clarity of the text. It's organised to be as simple as possible and to really fit your needs. The author has also a good sense of humor. It's a great book, efficient, serious, easy to read, and fun!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide for beginners and experienced runners
Review: I have read this book over and over during marathon training and post training recovery. It has given me a lot of insight from many experienced trainers. This is the best book I have found for beginning runners (I am now on to my 5th marathon) both short and long distance. There is not one chapter that did not provide helpful information.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent guide for beginners and experienced runners
Review: I have read this book over and over during marathon training and post training recovery. It has given me a lot of insight from many experienced trainers. This is the best book I have found for beginning runners (I am now on to my 5th marathon) both short and long distance. There is not one chapter that did not provide helpful information.

Rating:
Summary: Hal Higdon comments on "Marathon"
Review: If you are planning a marathon--or running long distances in your training--this is the book for you. It is the companion volume to "Run Fast," my book for 5-K and 10-K runners. When I appear at marathon Expos, thankful runners often dash up to the their hotel rooms to bring copies down for autographs. We use "Marathon" as text book for our LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon training class, which had 600 participants in 1996. If you want a program to help you with your next marathon, you can also check "Virtual Marathon Training" on my web site: www.halhigdon.com

Rating:
Summary: Guides without Guidelines
Review: The Marathon Guide of Hal Higdon misses what many books miss when trying to reach as many potential readers as possible: Focus. The book promises to suit everyone's needs, first time marathoners as well as experienced marathoners. Even though the book starts with chapters written especially for three different levels of marathon performance, the book looses this concentration in the following twelve chapters. The author mixes content for experienced runners with content for beginners. A confusing and weakly structured work is the consequence. Undoubtedly, the author is an experienced runner and coach. But this disposition leads more to a description on "how I did it" than to suggestions how runners should behave to train for and run a Marathon. You could expect more from a "ultimate training and racing guide".