Imagine Bill Bryson wrote an intro to running book...

September 19, 2013 1:04 PM

What's a good introduction to running book? I'd prefer a quick read, not too technical, humorous but not insulting. Something that starts with the basics (shoes, feet, clothing) and goes on to talk about things like all weather running and maybe even the basics of marathon training.

I know I probably just described The Dummies Guide To Running but I'm looking for other options.

I just finished Couch to 5K and I'm looking to maybe continue and/or take things a bit further. I have no plans to turn into Bill Rogers or Superman and the book should reflect that. Running for the Mostly Lazy, or something like that.

I'm looking for more practical advice rather than training schedules. There are plenty of apps for schedules.

Bonus if they have a Kindle version.

posted by bondcliff to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (15 answers total)

I strongly recommend almost anything by Jeff Galloway. His website is a great resource, too.
posted by bearwife at 1:07 PM on September 19, 2013 [2 favorites]

I haven't really found one that meets all your criteria (my favorite ones are super-technical), but you might want to check out The Runner's Field Manual by Mark Remy. Kindle version available, and you can do the 'look inside' thing to see if it's the kind of thing you're looking for. Mark Remy has been writing for Runner's World for many years, and his writing is often at least amusing.
posted by matcha action at 1:33 PM on September 19, 2013

You want John ("The Penguin") Bingham's No Need For Speed.
posted by asterix at 1:49 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]

Galloway's Book on Running

Jeff's run/walk method is not for everyone, but it's a great way to start, and he has so much to say that's really insightful. And he is a hell of a nice guy.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:58 PM on September 19, 2013

No Need for Speed as well as The Courage to Start are exactly the books you are looking for. Bingham is a great story teller and talks very honestly about going from non-runner to runner.
posted by advicepig at 2:16 PM on September 19, 2013

You might think about a subscription to Runner's World. It's a fun magazine, with lots of articles for beginning or casual runners, written in a chatty style.
posted by Malla at 2:17 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]

To Be a Runner: How Racing Up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking On a 5-K Makes You a Better Person (and the World a Better Place), by Martin Dugard. This is very much a book with a compelling narrative voice, much like Bryson's books.
posted by u2604ab at 2:18 PM on September 19, 2013

The book that really changed the way I look at running and that is an entertaining, delightful, enjoyable read is Born to Run, by Christopher MacDougall. I've read it on my Kindle and also listened to it on my mp3 player via Audible.
posted by janey47 at 2:25 PM on September 19, 2013

My sister swears by a book called Run, Fat Bitch, Run. It was a big bestseller here last year. I haven't read it, but the description sounds like it fits your needs. You can read a preview on Amazon and see if it suits.
posted by rollick at 4:20 PM on September 19, 2013

I came here to recommend Galloway, but I've been pre-empted twice. So +2.

If you feel like going deeper, by far the best book is Tim Noakes, The Lore of Running, 4th edition. It's old enough that he should really bring out a new edition, but what's in there is based on both solid research and his own experience as an ultramarathon runner.
posted by brianogilvie at 6:26 PM on September 19, 2013

I'm going to throw Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running into the mix. It fits the Bryson category.
posted by padraigin at 7:44 PM on September 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Not a book rec per se, but you should go get shod at Marathon Sports. They'll look at your gait and will recommend a pair of shoes that works for you. It's a little pricey but once you know the model and size you can get more pairs online for cheaper in the future.
posted by Aizkolari at 8:22 AM on September 20, 2013

I just finished C25K as well - high five! I haven't really decided what to do next, but I figure if nothing else I can work on my pace. Hope this isn't too much like a running plan, but: to that end I bought an inexpensive desktop app called Cadence and set about analyzing the beats per minute for the songs in my iTunes library (I found I needed to do it in chunks of 100-200 tracks, otherwise the app just crashes) so that I could then make a smart playlists with tracks at just the right tempo for my current comfortable pace (I used jog.fm to figure out the optimal BPM.) I figure if I bump up the tempo 10 BPM or so every week or so it will be a nice ramp up without killing myself. In general I have to say, running in time with music makes a *huge* difference for me, it adds just a little motivation where I might otherwise be tempted to slow down a bit.
posted by usonian at 12:16 PM on September 20, 2013 [2 favorites]

(Sorry, on reread I didn't answer your question at all.)
posted by usonian at 12:31 PM on September 20, 2013

Response by poster: That's ok, it's still sound advice.

See what I did there?
posted by bondcliff at 12:42 PM on September 20, 2013