Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz

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Book overview:
Showing Up by Nedd Brockmann is a memoir about his incredible 3,953-kilometre run across Australia. At age 23, the former electrician ran from Perth to Sydney in 46 days to raise millions of dollars for homelessness. Written with raw humor, the book explores his "why can't I?" mindset, early discipline in sports, and the physical and mental toll of voluntary suffering to inspire readers to embrace discomfort and chase big goals 

Author Bio and Interesting Facts:

Nedd Brockmann is an Australian ultramarathon runner, author, a...

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In this episode, Alan and Liz welcome back frequent-flyer guest Matt Fitzgerald to talk about his rawest and most personal book yet: Dying to Run: An Athlete's Quest for One More Finish. This is Matt like you've never read him. After long COVID took away not just running but his ability to move, work, and feel like himself, he made the reckless, wonderful decision to attempt a 100-kilometer ultramarathon in record-breaking desert heat. We dig into what long COVID actually is and why it can turn exercise into something close to poison, the...

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In the running boom of the 80s the small town of Bernardsville New Jersey emerged as a magical place for the sport, producing champions at all levels of distance running. The young, passionate experimental coach of the junior program feeding a lot of the success was Mark Wetmore; before he became of the worlds best collegiate coaches. Blood Sweat and Spikes is a story of one of the runners in that town (Lyle Smith) and the people that made it unique in the history of the sport.<...

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Here we are again with a recap of 10 running books. This time is a first with Shayan added to the usual Alan and Liz mix

Here's a list of all 10 books and and a link to the full podcast episodes in which they are featured.

Chasing the Grid by  Ken Posner

https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/17934193

Fuel for Thought by Renee McGregor

https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/17951831

Ultra Women by Lily canter and Emma Wilkinson

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In One Step Forward , we follow Gene from his initial unhealthy lifestyle as he  transforms from sedentary starter to 11x Ironman finisher—with a 10-year Boston Marathon streak

During this journey Gene extracts over 100 life lessons from his running but applicable to all kinds of situations. They fall into 5 major categories

Gene Jochen is an endurance athlete who has completed over 100 marathons including his 11th Boston in 2022 and all six Abbott World...

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Marathon Excellence for Everyone is a bible about marathon training and racing. It has 50 chapters divided into 8 sections (not counting the appendix):

John Davis is a scientist, writer, and coach. His work uses modern machine learning and biostatistics to understand biomechanics, physiology, and human health. Recently, he’s focused on using these same tools to tackle problems in AI alignment and AI interpretability. 

His...

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In this episode, we talk with author, former professional runner for the Nike Oregon Project and current Irish national runner, and Stanford medical student Mary Cain about her memoir: This is Not About Running. We ask her about her youth, growing up in an abusive athletics system, training for Alberto Salazar as a high schooler. We also talk about her work with Atalanta NYC and The Athlete's Survivors' Assist, her growth and the many hats she wears as a survivor, leader, mentor, student and professional runner. She speaks on what she wishes for...

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In this episode, we dive into the transformative 31-day journey laid out by legendary ultrarunner and coach Allie Bailey. This isn't just a "how-to" for running; it’s a manual for the mental game of life. Whether you are training for your first 5K, an ultra, or just trying to navigate a career shift, Allie’s 1-2-3 structure (Focus, Example, and The Work) provides a realistic, down-to-earth roadmap to getting your head in the right place. We break down the 6-part framework, the power of her 5-day worksheets, and why honesty is the...

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In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he’d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a dozen critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and—even more important—on his writing.

Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marath...

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Here are a few of the discussion points in this episode:

Focus on your protein   --- Lauren Antonnuchi ,  High Performance Nutrition for Masters athletes

Carbs are good! Fuel your training  --- Renee McGregor, Fuel for Thought

Enclothed Cognition is a real thing! --- Kara Goucher, Strong

You can have running success as a warrior or a worrier  --- Believe Journal, Lauren Fleshmann and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas

Animals and care for animals can teach you some wonderful things --- Running with Sherman, Chris McDougall  and Findi...

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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...

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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:

Advanced marathoning for masters runners (The older (and wiser) marathoner –  in the 3rd ed.)

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Move, Rest, Recover guides readers on the practice of rest and recovery. It tries to answer questions like: 

The book is split into 4 sections:

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 lo...

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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’...

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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 t...

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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 un...

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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

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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...

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Link for 20% discount on Caffeine Bullet  https://caffeinebullet.com/RUNNINGBOOK 
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If...

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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 sett...

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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...

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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...

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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 ar...

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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...

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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 an...

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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:

As you can probably tell by the...

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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 ar...

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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 stra...

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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...

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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 w...

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Here we are again with another recap episode. Alan and Liz chat about their last ten reads:

If you're behind in your listening then this episode is for you. You can get a feel for...

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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:

Bill Donahue is a journalist. In reporting stories, he has searched for...

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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...

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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 in...

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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 a...

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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...

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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...

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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 an...

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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 sp...

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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: