Running Health

Writing from both the cutting edge of scientific discovery and the front-lines of elite athletic performance, National Magazine Award-winning science journalist Alex Hutchinson presents a revolutionary account of the dynamic and controversial new science of endurance.

There's no other book like this. Longtime running writer Scott Douglas marshals expert advice (including his own, cultivated from more than 100,000 miles of personal experience), and a growing body of scientific research to show how running can make us happier. How? Everyone knows that running builds stronger muscles and a healthier heart; science now shows it also helps develop a healthier brain. For those struggling with depression and anxiety, a consistent running routine can enhance the mental-health benefits of talk therapy, antidepressants, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Training for the Uphill Athlete translates theory into methodology to allow you to write your own training plans and coach yourself to endurance goals. Steve House, one of the best mountaineers, and his coach Scott Johnston, an Olympic-level cross country ski coach, along with Kilian Jornet, hands down best endurance athlete at this time, present training principles for the multisport mountain athlete who regularly participates in a mix of distance running, ski mountaineering, and other endurance sports that require optimum fitness and customized strength.

In Eat and Run, Scott Jurek opens up about his life and career - as an elite athlete and a vegan - and inspires runners at every level. From his Midwestern childhood hunting, fishing, and cooking for his meat-and-potatoes family, to his early beginnings in running (he hated it), to his slow transition to ultrarunning and veganism, to his world-spanning, record-breaking races, Scott's story shows the power of an iron will and blows apart all the stereotypes of what athletes should eat to fuel optimal performance.

When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived, Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move, and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman's body but to heal his mind as well - and so Chris decided to teach Sherman how to run.

Aside from her rock star looks, Catra Corbett is a standout in the running world on her accomplishments alone. And, unbelievably, she's also a former meth addict. After two years of addiction, Catra is busted while selling, and a night in jail is enough to set her straight. She gives up drugs and moves back home with her mother, abandoning her friends, her boyfriend, and the lifestyle that she came to depend on. Her only clean friend pushes her to train for a 10K with him, and surprisingly, she likes it and decides to run her first marathon after that.

This revolutionary training method has been embraced by elite runners - with extraordinary results - and now you can do it, too. Respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald explains how the 80/20 running program - in which you do 80 percent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 percent at a higher intensity - is the best change runners of all abilities can make to improve their performance.

Unfortunately, with running comes injuries, as a result of wrong information and improper training. Author Jay Dicharry was tired of getting the same treatments from doctors that didn't heal his joint and muscle pain from running, so he decided to combine different fields of clinical care, biomechanical analysis, and coaching to help you avoid common injuries and become the best runner you can be.

What will it take to run a marathon in less than two hours? The world's fastest times for the marathon have been dropping since the distance of 26.2 miles was made official nearly one hundred years ago. But after a noticeable decline that occurred for a half century, the times, while still edging lower, have stalled several minutes north of two hours for the past decade. For the first time, 1:59 examines what it will take for an elite distance runner to go subtwo hours.

Written by the late, beloved Dr. George Sheehan, Running and Being tells of the author's midlife return to the world of exercise, play, and competition, in which he found "a world beyond sweat" that proved to be a source of great revelation and personal growth. But Running and Being focuses more on life than it does, specifically, on running. It provides an outline for a lifetime program of fitness and joy, showing how the body helps determine our mental and spiritual energies.

In 80/20 Running, respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald introduced his revolutionary training program and explained why doing 80 percent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 percent at a higher intensity is the best way for runners at all levels - as well as cyclists, triathletes, and even weight-loss seekers - to improve their performance. Now, in this eye-opening follow-up, Fitzgerald teams with Olympic coach Ben Rosario to expand and update the 80/20 program to include ultramarathon training and such popular developments as the use of power meters.

Ross Edgley has spent decades perfecting the principles and practice of extreme fitness to achieve the impossible. Following a career-threatening injury in 2018, Ross was forced to reassess his training and take the next steps in a lifelong journey of redefining what the human body is capable of. In Blueprint, Ross shares the cutting-edge training program that empowered him to rebuild his body from surgery and a doctor’s gloomy prognosis in just 365 days to complete a world record swim.

Farrah Foley runs the way she runs her love life - too cautiously. She slows down just when it's time to fly. Getting dumped with no explanation by the love of her life, she's determined never to find herself in that position again. When Jude Farnesworth comes along, Farrah is intrigued but fears she can't compete with the kind of high-society women he meets in his town of Greenwich, Connecticut. Raised in Queens, she lives in the Bronx, where she runs with the Van Cortlandt Track Club.

It's never too late to chase your dreams: Before she discovered running, Nita Sweeney was 49-years-old, chronically depressed, occasionally manic, and unable to jog for more than 60 seconds at a time. Using exercise, Nita discovered an inner strength she didn't know she possessed, and with the help of her canine companion, she found herself on the way to completing her first marathon. In her memoir, Sweeney shares how she overcame emotional and physical challenges to finish the race and come back from the brink.

A smart and refreshingly brilliant running book designed for the all-too-often overlooked middle-of-the-pack runner, written by Marathon Talk’s Martin Yelling and Anji Andrews. Welcome to the midpack! Running pushes us, stretches us, asks us difficult questions, challenges us. It gives us space, calms us down, picks us up, boosts our energy, rewards, inspires and fulfils us.

Ultramarathons don't leave much room for mistakes. Don't learn the hard way: Get a jump on training for an ultramarathon with Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning, a comprehensive handbook to running 30 to 100 miles and beyond, authored by one of the most experienced and recognized athletes in the sport.

Find the plan that works best for you from the detailed day-by-day training schedules by choosing between 18- and 12-week preparation and selecting weekly distances of 55, 55 to 70, 70 to 85, or 85-plus miles. If you run marathons close together, you'll find six- to 12-week training plans to maximize your training time and recovery. For older marathoners, there is a full chapter dedicated to their unique training, nutrition, and recovery needs.

Injuries affect every athlete, from the elite Olympian to the weekend racer. In the moment, a traumatic crash, a torn muscle or a stress fracture can feel like the most devastating event possible. While some athletes are destroyed by the experience, others emerge from their recovery better, stronger and more confident than ever. The key to a swifter, stronger comeback is the use of mental skills: psychological tools that enable an athlete to take control of their recovery and ultimately use the experience to their advantage.

A breakthrough program for triathletes - beginner, intermediate, and advanced - showing how to balance training intensity to maximize performance - from a fitness expert and elite coach. Cutting-edge research has proven that triathletes and other endurance athletes experience their greatest performance when they do 80 percent of their training at low intensity and the remaining 20 percent at moderate to high intensity.

Long distance running is much like any other fitness training. If you want to improve, you need a good plan that has a progressive nature. If you are new to this game, you need a solid foundation to build on. Having a running program is not the only thing that you need. Sound advice and running tips should be taken from someone who has "walked the walk", or in this case, "ran the run".