Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz
All types of running related books are reviewed by two non-elite track, road and trail runners. Observation and description of running books intended to inform, help and inspire anyone involved or related to running at any level. Whenever possible we chat with the author about the book, but if not then we try to do it justice. If you have been enjoying the podcast and want more, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. You can also go to our Buy Me A Coffee website where we have a few more posts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AlanandLiz
SPECIAL EPISODE: Over 5 years of Running Book Reviews
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Discussion points in this episode
1. Focus on your protein --- Lauren Antonnuchi , High Performance Nutrition for Masters athletes
2. Carbs are good! Fuel your training -- Renee McGregor, Fuel for Thought
3. Enclothed Cognition is a real thing ! --- Kara Goucher, Strong
4. You can have running success as a warrior or a worrier --- Believe Journal, Lauren Fleshmann and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas
5. Animals and care for animals can teach you some wonderful things --- Running with Sherman, Chris McDougall and Finding Gobi, Dion Leonard
6. Running form drills are worth...
Still Running After All These Tears, by Lisa Jackson
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Still Running After All These Tears is the newest book by Lisa Jackson, and it perfectly aligns with the realization I shared at the beginning of the episode. After years of sub-3 hour marathon attempts ending in disappointment, Liz took Alan's advice to "hold (her) goal lightly." Instead of focusing on the clock, her mantra became "run for those who can't." She explains in the intro story how she dedicated her miles to her late sister-in-law who passed away from breast cancer, a new friend recovering from breast cancer who waited for her at...
Advanced Marathoning (4th ed.), by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas
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Advanced Marathoning (4th ed.) is the newest version of the training book Alan and I have been using for our sub-3 hour marathon attempts. This version, like the last one, is divided into 2 parts:
Training componentsElements of trainingNutrition and hydrationBalancing training and recoverySupplementary trainingAdvanced marathoning for masters runners (The older (and wiser) marathoner – in the 3rd ed.)
Tapering for peak marathon performanceRace day strategyTraining programFollowing the schedulesMarathon training up to 55 miles (89 km) per weekMarathon training on 55 to 70 miles (89 to 113 km) per weekMarathon training on 70 to 85 miles (113-137 km) per weekMarathon tra...Move, Rest, Recover, by Erin Taylor
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Move, Rest, Recover guides readers on the practice of rest and recovery. It tries to answer questions like:
Why should I rest and recover?How do I know when to stop and rest?When I stop, what should I do?The book is split into 4 sections:
Understand recoveryActivate recoveryStrengthen recoveryKeep recovering
Erin Taylor is an international recovery expert, writer, and yoga teacher. For 20 years she has coached professional athletes, everyday runners, pre- and post-natal women, office workers, and anyone looking to integrate practices that improve well-being and longevity. Sh...
Running The World, by Robyn Godfrey
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In this episode we speak with Author Robyn Godfrey about her book Running the World. Robyn didn’t plan to become a marathoner. She stumbled through adolescence as a clumsy teen and later partied through midlife while searching for purpose. Everything shifted the day she laced up her running shoes. What began as thirty seconds on a treadmill grew into a running journey that redefined her life. Running the World follows Robyn’s quest to conquer all six World Marathon Majors—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City—while navigating her husband’s stage 4...
Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes, by Kylee Van Horn
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Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes delivers the practical, science-based information and strategies you need for long-term health and superior performance in your sport.
Kylee Van Horn—registered dietitian, endurance athlete, and coach—will help you navigate the challenges of endurance sports with the following:
You’ll learn to desi...
Road To Redemption, by Tom Fitzgerald
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For today's episode we got to read another fictional running story. These are rare but we've enjoyed every single one we read so far and this one was no exception.
Toeing the start line of the 1983 Boston Marathon, Cooper McKenzie (the main character) finds himself in a race to make meaning of his troubled, unimpressive life. Cooper McKenzie is contending with the stark realities of middle age—he is fully disenchanted with his career, he is struggling to meet the financial needs of his young family, and he has accumulated an unbearable nu...
Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 111-120
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Here we are again with another recap episode. Alan and Liz chat about their last ten reads and we've also linked the full episode for each book in case you want to hear more!
If you're behind in your listening then this episode is for you. You can get a feel for each of the last 10 books, before going back to the episodes in order of which books you're most interested in.
Unbound, by Bill Donahue
Full episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/16892720
R...
Ultra Women, by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson
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Recently, a trend has captured public attention: female athletes have been beating the strongest male contenders, in the toughest races in the world, races designed for men. In Ultra Women, the authors (who are themselves endurance athletes) delve into the surprising science of sporting performance to explore the physiological and psychological differences between the sexes. They ask: could fat stores and muscle type (and capacity for not sleeping) really give women an edge over men in ultra long distances? And what roles are played by pace, preparation, and motherhood? Speaking to elite athletes, historians...
Fuel For Thought, by Renee McGregor
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Chasing the Grid, by Kenneth Posner
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Chasing The Grid is the story of the authors physical and spiritual journey running in the Catskill Mountains. Originally wanting to beat the record for climbing all 35 peaks in one outing, Kenneth Posner got injured on his second attempt and needed to find a new goal for his running. His new goal came from a chance encounter while in the mountains he loved, and it’s the main subject of this book!
Kenneth Posner’s running credentials include completing 110 races of marathon distance or longer and setting fast...
Stroke of Luck, by Steven Kelly
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Stroke of Luck: My Life in Amateur Athletics is a chronicle of passion and rediscovery—the emotional story of a dedicated competitive runner, Steven Kelly, whose participation in the sport spans fifty years. As a teenager, Steve searches for his niche while dealing with challenges that will be familiar to many families. After he discovers running, it soon becomes part of his identity. Steve’s adventures take him across North America and Europe, and he fulfills a lifelong dream by running in the 2001 Boston Marathon. Along the way, Steve comes to realize that much of h...
Marathon Mindset, by Erica Rasmussen
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Marathon Mindset is Erica’s story of becoming a runner while on a 100 pound weight loss journey. She also talks about her past struggles with an eating disorder, anxiety and depression which started in high school. Through her running journey, Erica learned 5 lessons which she brings to the rest of her life: Grit, Grind, Grace, Growth and Gratitude.
Erica is a mom who unexpectedly became a marathon runner. She also took on the challenge to run a race in all 50 states by age 50 and wants to complete all of the...
How To Run, by Scott F. Parker
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Giving an overview of this book is complicated. It’s like giving an overview of what running is… where do you start? What kind of running are we talking about? Trail? Road? Ultrarunning? This book is also misnamed because it won’t teach you how to run. You likely need to already be a runner and have opinions about running for it to speak to you. The short answer is that this book is a collection of poems and short essays about running. Most of them express Scott’s love for running, but there are also...
Feet In The Clouds, by Richard Askwith
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Feet in the Clouds is a deep dive into the world of fell running. It talks about the history of the sport, some of its GOATs like Bill Teasdale and Kenny Stuart, and professional vs amateur races. At the same time, the author tells the story of his own journey in fell running and his quest to complete the Bob Graham Round in under 24 hours.
Richard Askwith is a UK Northamptonshire-based journalist and author whose passions include running, outdoor adventure and the traditions and ordinary people of the English...
Mud, Sweat and Bears, by Harriet Gaywood
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Mud, Sweat and Bears is mostly about the author, Harriet Gaywood’s, ultra racing experience in 2024. Before you think the book is going to be about conquering a hundred-miler or any other single race distance, I’ll let you know that Harriet’s 2024 race season had 1850k of official race kilometers with many races of 100k or more. Harriet races all over Asia, and shares her experience as well as the things she learned along the way about:
· Kit essentials
· Nutrition
· Training
Harriet Gaywood was born and educat...
Chasing Mastery, by Matt Fitzgerald
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If this author's name sounds familiar it's because we've had him on 7 times before... and we haven't even covered half of the books he's written about endurance sport. As always, Matt is a great speaker and talks to us about the concept of mastery and mastering what it means to master your sport, which is the subject of his latest book, Chasing Mastery.
Chasing Mastery is a guide developed to help athletes master their running through 25 lessons grouped under five pillars:
MotivationLearningUnderstandingIndividuationChallengeAs you can probably tell by the pillars...
Believe Training Journal, by Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas
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Believe is primarily a tool to help runners log details of their training so they can find patterns that will help them identify what is and isn’t working in their training, but it is more than that. The Believe Training Journal also has examples of how pro runners Lauren and Ro fill in their journal, information that can help you bring your performance to the next level and quizzes to help you identify your personality traits so that you can work with them instead of against them; for example, I discovered there are tw...
What If?, by Ashley Varley
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What If? Is the story of author Ash Varley’s running journey between 2016 and 2023. At 43, with years of running experience behind him, he wondered if dedication, patience, and a willingness to break free from the comfort zone could lead to the realisation of long-held running dreams. In this book he explores how he ended up running multiple sub-3 hours marathons and 100-mile trail races. Along the way he talks about surprising himself with his ability when he’s able to get out of his own way, how he is inspired mid-race by random strangers, and...
Run Less Run Faster, by Bill Pierce and Scott Murr
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Run Less Run Faster is a book explaining the 3plus2 training program developed by the Furman Institute of Running & Scientific Training, FIRST... and don't worry, RUN LESS doesn't mean TRAIN LESS!
The book is divided into 5 sections which cover everything from the training program, why it works and the science behind it, all the different components like strength, stretching, and cross training) and ends with a section about qualifying for the Boston marathon. The programs in this book include everything from 5k to marathon. For the beginners out there, there is a r...
BONUS TRACK: Alan at the 2025 London Marathon
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We haven't done one of these in a while and Alan just got back from his time in the UK for the London Marathon! ...he may have also seen some family and stuff, but you probably don't want to hear about that.
If you've been following us for a while, you know that Alan has been applying every year to try and get into the London Marathon via the lottery. He has been disappointed every single time. So how did he get in? We talk about that in this episode, along with h...
Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 101-110
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Here we are again with another recap episode. Alan and Liz chat about their last ten reads:
Running From Tragedy by Michael SalsburyRunning Through the Dark, by Jen ScotneyBuilt To Run, by Matthew SilverThe Ultimate Guide to Parkrun, by Lucy WaterlowThere Is No Finish, by Stephen ParkerTo The Limit, by Michael CrawleyThe Frontrunner, by Brad FawleyThe Ultimate Ultra Running Handbook, by Claire MaxtedRunning Past 50, by Caolan MacMahonA Few More Laps, by David ChalfenIf you're behind in your listening then this episode is for you. You can get a feel for each...
Unbound, by Bill Donahue
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In this episode of Running Book Reviews, we had the pleasure of speaking with author Bill Donahue about his recent book, Unbound.
Unbound is a collection of some of the best stories Bill has written about endurance sport for Runner’s World, Outside, Backpacker, Washington Post Magazine and others. The stories are divided into 5 subcategories which make up sections of the book:
RunningCyclingExplorationOn The SnowFrom The Margins of Endurance SportBill Donahue is a journalist. In reporting stories, he has searched for fall...
A Few More Laps, by David Chalfen
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A Few More Laps is a compilation of stories and thoughts about high level distance running and training. A Few More Laps is a compilation of stories and thoughts about high level distance running and training . The book starts with a little about David and how he started running and his experience in the club environment in the UK, and later takes a deep dive into several areas David was exposed to through running and coaching, including the path to international level running (and how it can be hard to make that final leap...
Running Past 50, by Caolan MacMahon
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In today’s episode we have the pleasure of interviewing athlete and coach Caolan MacMahon about her new book, Running Past 50. As you move past the age of 50, the physiological demands of running require adjustments in training intensity, recovery, goal setting, and mental outlook. Running Past 50 is your guide to addressing those demands so you can continue to enjoy, compete, and excel in the sport you love. Additionally, you will find 10-week training programs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced runners aiming to conquer a 5K or 10K; a half-marathon program for novice and intermediate ru...
Built To Run, by Matt Silver - Episode 2
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When we had Matt on the podcast at the end of 2024 there were several topics we never got a chance to talk about. Two of them, running form and breathing, are things that Matt is passionate about because he believes they can make a big difference for runners. We obviously had to have Matt on again to talk about these topics, and he also talks about the importance of the foot and arch.
A little reminder about Matt's book. Built to Run is a book to help runners improve form, mobility and s...
The Ultimate Ultra Running Handbook, by Claire Maxted
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In this episode we have a repeat guest, Claire Maxted, and she talks to us about her new book, The Ultimate Ultra Running Handbook.
The Ultimate Ultra Running Handbook is not called “ultimate” for no reason. It goes through many topics in a beginner friendly way with lots of lists and pictures. If you have Claires previous book, The Ultimate Trail Running Handbook, then the format will be familiar to you. Almost every trail running question is touched on during the 7 chapters and there are also training plans for distances from 50k to 10...
The Frontrunner, by Brad Fawley
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The Frontrunner is a fictional coming of age story about a boy named Russ who grows up without a mother, and loses his father to cancer when he's barely an adult. He grows up running everywhere, and later finds out that running can bring much more to his life. On the other side of the world in Russia, twin brothers are taken from their parents to participate in the countries sport program designed to make them into the best distance runners in the world. Eventually these three athletes race each other, but not before...
To The Limit, by Michael Crawley
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To the Limit sets out to explore why we voluntarily do exhausting things, like running ultra distances in the mountains and climbing mount Everest, and rediscover the joy of moving together as a group – whether it's running the length of the Lake District in a day, or navigating the descents of the Sindhupalchok International Trail Race in Nepal. It shows us how endurance activities can help bring people together, and even change the way we think about the natural world and our place in it.
Michael Crawley is an anthropologist, writer and ru...
There Is No Finish, by Stephen Parker
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In this episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with author Stephen Parker about his new book There Is No Finish; The Backyard Ultra Story. This book is all about the backyard ultra; how it started, who started it, and how it’s grown over the years (especially since the pandemic). There are 8 chapters. The book starts by introducing key characters like race organizer, Lazarus Lake, and his late dog, Big, and ends with the authors personal experience running and crewing backyards. In between there are many epic race stories which demonstrate the spirit of...
Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 91-100
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Here we are again! ...and AGAIN it's been more than 10 books since the last recap episode!
Here are the books we chat about in this episode:
The Ultimate Guide to Parkrun, by Lucy Waterlow
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This book is everything you’d want to know about parkrun. How it started, what countries it spread to, how it benefits mental and physical health, and why participants keep coming back to both run and volunteer. The book has 9 chapters:
How it started… and how it’s goingMeet the parkrunnersThe high-viz herosA day in the life of a parkrunWhy you should parkrun for your health and well-beingParkrun around the worldTraining, destination and challenge inspiration The future How to set up your own parkrunLucy Waterlow is an author, ghostwriter and journalist who has c...
BONUS TRACK: Alan and Liz's Fall Marathon Recap
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For those who wanted to hear about it, we decided to tell you about our most recent sub-3-hour marathon attempt in this bonus episode. For our listeners we explain what plan we were using and the history we have with following the same plan in the past, but most of this episode is about the result of our marathons.
The race we did was the Wineglass marathon in Corning, NY. In case you're interested in knowing more about the race, here is their website: https://www.wineglassmarathon.com/
Link f...
Built To Run, by Matthew Silver
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Built to Run is a book to help runners improve form, mobility and strength so that they can run injury free more often… because we all know we’ll eventually get some kind of niggle, but the idea is that we’re not sidelined for months at a time. The book has 8 chapters, starting with an explanation of your body as a system, moving on to training mobility and strength, and ending with breathing (yes, we can actually train that!) and common running injuries.
Dr. Matthew Silver is a coach, educator, physical therap...
Running Through the Dark, by Jen Scotney
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Ultrarunner Jen Scotney has achieved podium finishes in some of the UK’s toughest races and now has her sights firmly set on the Pennine Way. In Running Through the Dark, Jen talks about her ambitions, not just to run the 268-mile Pennine Way but to take the record as the fastest woman to do so. But that didn’t happen. Nothing went according to plan. The Jen the world knew was a successful lawyer and running coach – all photoshoots and finish-line smiles – but the truth was much darker. The real Jen Scotney, the one she...
Running From Tragedy by Michael Salsbury
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Running From Tragedy is Michael Salsbury’s family story and how running, in the end, helped lessen the burden of three life changing events. Michael met the love of his life when he decided to take a break from his career in the financial industry to work at Club Med for a few months. Little did they know that they were both carriers of an ultra-rare genetic mutation that ended up taking the lives of three children before they were old enough to eat solid food.
Michael was born and raised in Co...
Good for a Girl, by Lauren Fleshman
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Good For A Girl by Lauren Fleshman is the story of Lauren's life and experience in professional running. Running seemed straight forward when she was growing up, you work hard and you get the reward, but women don't have the same performance trajectory as men when going through puberty. Women often plateau as they get used to their "new body" after puberty, but this comes at an inconvenient time in college when coaches are picking top performers for scholarships and want their team to win in the NCAA system. Lauren's story is about navigating...
Running Challenges, by Keri Wallace
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Running Challenges, by Keri Wallace, is like a tour guide for Trail running in the UK. It features 100 of the best trail, fell and mountain runs in England, Scotland and Wales, and those three countries make up the three sections of the book. There is something for everyone with the shortest challenges being 5k parkruns and the longest ones going over 100k.
Keri Wallace is a mountain runner, running guide for Girls on Hills (which she also founded), rock climber and freelance writer. She is Summer Mountain Leader (SML), Rock Climbing Instructor (R...
Trails and Tribulations, by Susie Chan
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Trails and Tribulations is Susie Chan's memoire. She tells us a little about her life before running, including some pretty big life events, how she started running, and some of her very very long runs. A few of the races that Susie did and talks about include:
Marathon de Sables (which she ran more than once!): A self-supported, multi-day, stage race through the dessert. The Jungle Ultra: Another self-supported, multi-day, stage race… this time through the jungle. A 24-hour track race. The Badwater 135: 135 miles through the hottest place on earth.and a few others...How to Run the Perfect Race, by Matt Fitzgerald
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How To Run The Perfect Race is a book all about pacing. The book is divided into two sections:
Section 1: All about how to master pacing
Section 2: RPE based training plans for your next 5k, 10k, half-marathon and marathon.
Pacing isn’t about having an even pace on your Garmin. It’s about having an even effort which takes into account things like terrain and weather conditions on race day. Pacing may sound easy but most of us aren’t very good at it (and definitely not as good a...
