What are the Best Running Books?

What are the Best Running Books?

What are the Best Running Books?

What are the Best Running Books?

Running books are a great way to seek out a bit of coaching while not having to spend a fortune on a personal trainer. They also work to provide a level of motivation to the aspiring runner. Some of the running books you will find are historical works, essay collections, quote collections, fictional tales, and anything else related to the activity of running that you can imagine. Here are a few of my favorites from differing categories.

Fictional Books: One of the best books I read while in school was "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker Jr. That is quite a testament as I was in school on a literature major, and had read every famous novel you can imagine. It is the story of an amateur runner who is booted out of school, yet still has the lofty dream of competing against and defeating the best in the world. Obviously, my school was very unlike the one from the book, but there are many instances throughout the book that resemble things that every running team does. Finding a character or situation to relate to in this book is easy, and you will be hooked quickly. I actually attempted to duplicate a 400m workout detailed inside the novel. I failed miserable, but it was fun to attempt nonetheless.

Biographical Books: These are probably the most common type of running books you will come across, as everyone has a story to tell. From an inspirational and retrospective standpoint, the ultimate auto-biographical work would probably be "Ultra-Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner." Many people in the community of ultra-marathons are at odds with the blatant self promotion of Dean Karnazes. I feel that he relays a wonderful story, and comes across as an extremely charismatic person. The book will place you directly inside his head to see what drives him, and is filled with humor on every page. It may not have given me the inspiration to head out and tackle the Western States 100 mile race, but it did give me the inspiration to look into the possibility of working up to the 50k or 50 miles distance race in the two or three years after reading it.

Reading running books can serve many purposes. Some people use them to enhance their drive and inspiration. Other people simply enjoy hearing about the struggles others have had within this great sport. I appreciate all of that, as well as the inherent humor instilled in many of these books. They are a good read, no matter what you are hoping to get out of it.

For more information, check out Running Books, and Run to Finish.

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