Running Well

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As a Tibetan lama and leader of Shambhala (an international community of 165 meditation centers), Sakyong Mipham has found physical activity to be essential for spiritual well-being. He's been trained in horsemanship and martial arts but has a special love for running. Here, he incorporates his spiritual practice with running, presenting basic meditation instruction and fundamental principles he has developed.

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.

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".

It sounds incredible, but running can be a thoroughly enjoyable, lifelong practice - without injury or fatigue. Ultramarathoner Danny Dreyer combines the wisdom of T'ai Chi with insights of a champion runner to present ChiRunning, a step-by-step audio program to help everyone from beginners to professionals "run like a kid again" - effortless, free, and boundlessly energetic.

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.

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.

For half a century, Betty Halbreich curated wardrobes and bore witness to the vicissitudes of life as Bergdorf Goodman’s original personal shopper. Of course, visitors to the store were awed by a 96-year-old woman who still held down a nine-to-five, let alone one in the youth-obsessed industry of fashion. But age is only half the story: Betty built that career by giving encouraging yet deeply honest advice. Much of it was about what to wear, but her insight was by no means relegated only to matters of the closet.

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.

Have you ever wanted to boost your running speed? How to Run Faster will reveal proven techniques that will give you the winning advantage. It really doesn't matter whether you're a sprinter or a runner working towards 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or full-marathon distances. How to Run Faster offers you effective and powerful methods that will quickly deliver amazing results.

At the verge of turning 40, Peter Sagal - brainiac Harvard grad, short, bald Jew with a disposition toward heft, and a sedentary star of public radio - started running seriously. And much to his own surprise, he kept going, faster and further, running 14 marathons and logging tens of thousands of miles on roads, sidewalks, paths, and trails all over the US and the world, including the 2013 Boston Marathon, where he crossed the finish line moments before the bombings.

In her first book, popular runner blogger Amanda Brooks lays out the path to finding greater fulfillment in running for those who consider themselves "middle of the pack runners" - they're not trying to win Boston (or even qualify for Boston); they just want to get strong and stay injury-free so they can continue to enjoy running.

Born to Walk will help reshape fitness culture to reject flawed and dated "no pain, no gain" ideals, and replace them with a simple, accessible, sustainable program to increase general everyday movement, improve aerobic conditioning the right way, avoid the risks of injury and burnout associated with running, and promote a healthy, happy, energetic, long life–one step at a time.

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella explains the simple mechanics of how our bodies have evolved and adapted to run. Despite our natural ability and our human need to run, each year more than half of all runners suffer injuries. Pain and discouragement inevitably follow. Cucuzzella's book outlines the proven, practical techniques to avoid injury and reach the goal of personal fitness and overall health.

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.