The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer
by David Whitsett, Forrest Dolgener, Tanjala Kole
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Book Reviews of The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer
Book Review: Worked for me
Summary: 5 Stars
This book has a lot of good reviews already, but I felt compelled to leave one more.
This summer I decided that I wanted run a marathon, so I got this book on the kindle store. I liked the way book is organized. I don't really like reading all that much so having very structured chapters made it easy for me to skim certain parts. The book has a chapter for each week of the training. Each chapter is divided into three sections. One section is devoted to mental preparation. Another section is about the physical training. The last section had information from people who had run marathons. The organization of the information made a lot of sense. It might seem like the mental preparation for the marathon isn't that important, but this book really gives you the right way to think about a marathon and the experience.
During the course of my marathon training I basically treated everything in this book like axiomatic truth and it really paid off. I just finished my first marathon yesterday! It was a great/difficult experience and I had a great time. Without this book, I probably wouldn't have even stayed motivated enough to make it though any training program let alone actually finish the marathon.
Book Review: Just Mediocre
Summary: 2 Stars
I won't say that this is a bad book but it certainly has problems. This is another you can run a marathon in n weeks book that has the athelete adding a huge number of training miles in a very short period of time. The authors also provide a program to get nonrunners started. They claim there has never been a failure. First, the results are based on a course and no information is provided on dropout rate. Second, the authors have written journal papers on the results from the course and conveniently not included the dropouts. Thirdly, although the authors claim the runners are from a variety of backgrounds, weights, etc. this is not really true. There is only one truly heavy runner and he was a former football player. Fourth, for some inexplicable reason, the authors seem to believe the runner can run through just about any kind of injury! The mental training aspects of the book are good enough and the stretching sections are useful for the uninitiated. But many people will be injured if they follow this training plan. The real basic assumption here is that those for who the program does not work will disappear and not be heard from again. That is unfortunate for there is a real need for a book at this level.Book Review: Excellent in every way.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have run for over 20 years and never contemplated a marathon. My wife trained with 3 friends and ran one in 2001; I was the support person and ran the last 7 miles. I did a couple of half marathons and did not do well and wanted to train, formally, for a half marathon. I decided to start from scratch and I bought this book thinking that if I did some or most of their training protocol, I would be in good shape for a half marathon. The book sucked me right in from the start. It has spoken to me as few other books have (Body Building 101 did, too). I did the training and enjoyed it where before distance running could be a chore. My wife and I completed the Cape Cod Marathon on 10/26/03 and I know in my heart that I would never have even started this journey without the inspiration, information and motivation of the folks that wrote this book. I am positive that the physical and mental tools it taught me will continue to make a huge difference in every aspect of my personal and professional life. A truly wonderful book and experience. Its not about the 26.2 miles, its about learning how to overcome self-imposed limitations in every aspect of life be they physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.Book Review: Great book for beginner runners!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book for those looking to complete a marathon. I have used this guide to run 4 marathons so far and am looking forward to my 5th.
This book is a great motivator. My sister was the first to buy it. She let me read the intro and we were both hooked. I bought myself a copy and off we went to running a 4:22 marathon. Neither of us had ever done long distance running. She couldn't stand it. This book teaches you how to convince yourself you CAN do it and how to "think" when you're running. It's realistic. The authors keep everything in perspective. You're not going to like every minute of training and you're going to hate a bunch of it, but stick to the program and you will achieve your goal.
Ms. Kole is an inspiration. All through the training I kept reminding myself that if she can do it, I can too.
The important thing for me was that this training guide was for 4 days a week of running. With my current work schedule and family responsibilities this was my limit.
I have recommended this book to countless friends and family. Already 6 others have used it to train for their first marathons too. Great guide!
Book Review: This book made me a Believer!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yesterday 10/15/00, I ran and finished my first marathon! I purchased this book back in May/June, read through it that month, chose my marathon, and started the program. I did exactly what the authors said and as an extra helper--I even signed up for a marathon class (but I did not use the class' 6-day weekly training schedule). It turned out, I really didn't need the marathon class, the book alone was enough! I used the 4-day weekly schedule and the mental imagery exercises and it worked! I even missed a few days of training, which I thought might have hindered my efforts during the marathon but my longest run was 18 miles and as they write in the book, "if you can run 18 miles, you can run 26!" Being a first-timer, I set no time goals, my only goal was to finish--(one tip I did take from the class was to do the marathon 5 miles at a time), and I finished my marathon in 5:18. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE! I recommend this book to anyone who has an inkling of a thought that they might want to run a marathon--get this book and get started! YOU CAN DO IT! "LESS THAN 1% OF THE POPULATION EVER ATTEMPTS A MARATHON." JOIN OUR 1% MARATHON FAMILY!