Marathon Training for Dummies

by Tere Stouffer Drenth

Book Overview

In today's modern world, there's no need for anyone to run twenty-five miles to deliver a message, as Pheidippides did from Marathon to Athens around 500 B.C. However, hundreds of runners each year run 26.2 miles at hundreds of marathons worldwide. To conquer this mountainous challenge, you must know how to properly eat, stretch, identify and treat injuries, and develop a running program that hones your mind and body into a running machine. Marathon...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764525107
• ISBN13: 9780764525100
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Not you one stop shop, but really good information to have on hand, the isolated stretches were wort

This is a really good basic fundamentals book for training to run a marathon. It promises to help you train. I think the section on isolated stretches is worth it alone. This is not your one stop shop for running advice, but it is a good place to start your training from. As a newbie to running, I thought this was extremely helpful. The book is divided into 5 parts, I. Getting Started with Your Marathon Training, (risks and rewards of running, choosing your running gear, figuring out where you and when to run, taking your first run, stretching, warming up, and cooling down) II. Taking Your Running a Stride Farther (developing a mileage base, addig strength and speed, improving your running technique, eating and running) III. Dealing with Running Injuries (pinpointing the cause of injuries, treating your injuries, cross-training while you're injured) IV. Planning Racing Strategies (easing into marathon racing, marathon countdown: T minus 24 hours, After Your Marathon is Over, Reducing Your finishing time next time) V. The Part of Tens (ten ways to keep running fun, ten biggest marathons, best tune-up races in North America) Primarily I have focused on the earlier chapters. My actual goal is not to run a marathon at this point, I want to increase my endurance, I want to be comfortable as a long distance runner who runs for health. In that respect this book was very helpful for me. Your goals may not be the same as mine. Runners World has a Running Book for Women and I also found that book to be extremely helpful for the specific needs of women to men.

great rudimentary read

Marathon for Dummies is an excellent way to acquire a holistic understanding about what to expect/prepare for when running your first marathon. I highly recommend it for beginner marathoners.

Tere Stouffer Drenth knows her stuff

What is Reader from Eastern US talking about? Tere Stouffer Drenth is a 3:06 marathoner, a time she won't brag about but she's a 37-year-old woman, so it puts her in a really elite category. This book has been reviewed by numerous running experts and it does not contain ANY misinformation that could lead to an injury. The fact is Tere did exhaustive research for this book (and tried everything on herself first), so it covers the latest trends in marathon training not outdated information from 10, 20 or 30 years ago.Here's what the Chicago Tribune says this about the book; "As with all the For Dummies books, Marathon Training is easy to use and well-organized, covering the basics for those ready to take the 26.2-mile plunge. Everything from proper eating and drinking to stretching, weight lifting and buying the right shoes is covered, along with how to actually train for one of the toughest athletic challenges there is." Publishers Weekly also did a great review.Other books (by John Bingham, Jeff Galloway, and Hal Higdon as mentioned by Reader from Eastern US) are good for some people, but those authors sometimes tend to forget what it is like to be new at marathoning. Although Tere has 25 years of running and competing experience at 10K and shorter races, she saved marathoning for the end of her running career, so she can emphathize with her readers about what trying a marathon for the first time is like. She also can make the driest material seem like fun, which makes the book just whiz by. This book is serious about your goals and fun to read at the same time so whether you're new to marathoning or trying to improve on your last marathon time, you'll love it. New marathoners can skip information about interval training and other techniques and experienced readers can skip information about setting up a training plan.

pretty good book

I thought this book covered the basics pretty well. I have never run a marathon before and found the information about shoes, clothes, and diet helpful. The workout portion is more for people trying to improve their marathon running time not really first timers. The workouts are too much for people just starting out. First timers would do better with the "non runners guide to marathon training" for the workout program but I have gotten a lot of useful information out of this one as well. A definate good buy.