Looking for something to read? Here are 72 books about running to check out
Yes, really.
Hello!
Week eight, feeling great.
Actually, feeling low-level stressed and anxious constantly. But we are getting through this. I am eternally grateful I have my core coping mechanisms. Two are healthy: running and reading.
The third is alcohol. You win some, you lose some.
Something I have noticed in my various online run groups is that lots and lots of people are looking for recommendations of running books to read. Makes sense, we are all stuck at home and looking for inspiration. So for this issue, I put together a list of 72 running books to check out.
They are numbered solely so I could keep track, this is not a ranked list. Canadian titles get a little maple leaf by them.
I have not read every title, but I have read about 2/3 of this list. The ones I did not read came recommended to me and I did enough research on them that I feel confident that they do not suck.
Thank you to everyone who recommended titles on Twitter or via email, I shout them out specifically at the bottom of this issue.
Because this list is so massive, all running news is being saved for next week.
I’ll do another running books roundup later this year, so if you have a suggestion, send it to runthenorthnews@gmail.com
The only thing I want to tell you about right now is the virtual 5K being organized in Nova Scotia to support the families of the victims of the mass shooting. It’s $25 and you can run May 8-10. Thank you for running, if you can.
I hope you’re staying safe and hanging in there.
Let’s get to it.
— Erin @ Run the North
Stories of amateur runners
1. Running Ransom Road by Caleb Daniloff
This might me my favourite underrated running book. Caleb Daniloff, who is a contributor to Runner’s World, was an addict. He got sober, in part thanks to running and decides to run a race in each of the cities he lived in growing up, including Boston, New York, Moscow and rural Vermont. Each chapter is dedicated to that race and also reflects on his time there. It’s powerful and beautifully written and speaks to the power of running as a healing and coping tool. Running is not therapy. But it helps.
2. A Long Road to Boston by Mark Sutcliffe 🍁
This is a simple and straightforward memoir about how damn hard it is to get to Boston. Mark Sutcliffe, who used to be the editor of iRun, was always on the bubble of qualifying, running fast enough that a BQ felt within reach, but every attempt fell short. This book breaks down his attempts marathon by marathon and it was a kind reminder that plenty of runners have big dreams and plenty of runners struggle to achieve them. But there’s a beauty in trying over and over again and not giving up.
3. From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle 🍁
I’ll be honest: this book is barely about running. Jesse Thistle is a Metis-Cree academic and speaker who had a difficult childhood, became addicted to drugs and was homeless for a while before finally finding his way out through rehab, education and love. He takes up running during rehab and there’s a great scene about him running in donated shoes as he works his way back to health and wellness. Read it for the inspiring story, appreciate it even more because running is part of it.
4. How to Lose a Marathon by Joel Cohen 🍁
This is a cute look at how one goes from non-runner to marathoner and balances marathon training with a demanding job, a family and having a life. I liked it because here is one about a normal guy doing his best and discovering all the bananas things runners take for granted that are actually bonkers: eating disgusting gels, buying expensive gear, waking up at 5am to run. It’s relatable, funny and easy to read.
5. Full Circle by Andrea Barber
Andrea Barber is best known as Kimmy Gibbler from Full House. She released her memoir last year. Running nerds may know that Andrea is a huge runner and that running has played a big part in Andrea managing her mental and physical health. The entire book is not about running, but it is a common thread throughout her adult life, and there’s a whole chapter dedicated to how she discovered running and her first race.
6. Running: A Love Story by Jen A. Miller
Jen A. Miller writes the New York Times’ running newsletter. She also wrote this book about the role running played in her life over the course of a decade. Through the ups and downs of relationships and her career, running remains a constant outlet. This book is a simple, relatable and fundamentally inspiring story. You don’t have to be fast for running to be important to you or to go after big running dreams.
7. A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valerio
Mirna Valerio is fat, black and run ultramarathons. She doesn’t look like a lot of ultrarunners, and that’s partly she she wrote this book. She’s here to show us that our misconceptions of who can and should run are wrong. Along the way, she’s graceful, funny and candid about her running journey and her life in general.
8. Life is a Marathon by Matt Fitzgerald
Matt Fizgerald pisses me off sometimes with dumb-ass tweets, but his books about running are excellent. There are a few more on this list. This one is his personal memoir. It’s primarily about his relationship with with wife Nataki, her struggle with mental health and psychosis and how that impacted their relationship and how running helped Matt navigate it all.
9. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Ah, the iconic running memoir. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is about Haruki Murakami’s training up to the 2005 New York City marathon. Along the way, he shares the roll running has played in his life, what his training is like and looks back on his life in general. It’s introspective, revelatory and one of the iconic running reads out there.
10. A Year of Running Dangerously by Tom Foreman
This is a cute memoir about how CNN correspondent Tom Foreman became completely addicted to running after his daughter asked him to run a marathon with her. It’s about running, but also triumphing in something expected in middle age, when you think you already know who you are. And it’s about family and how you can find connectedness in surprising ways.
11. Poverty Creek Journal by Thomas Gardner
This book was published by a tiny press in 2014, but blew up after the New Yorker wrote about it. It’s the year-long running log from writer Thomas Garnder, when he is middle-aged and recently lost his son. It’s simple, it’s beautiful, it’s hard to find. It made me cry so hard.
12. Second Wind by Cami Ostman
This is one of the first running memoirs I ever read. Cami discovers running later in life and ends up becoming a passionate runner and traveller with her second husband. They make the goal together to run a marathon on all seven continents. It’s about running but also discovering a new side of yourself and celebrating who you are and the big things you accomplish.
13. The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by The Oatmeal
This comic book absolutely nails why I run. It’s funny, insightful, heartwarming and better showcases the mind and heart of a middle-of-the-pack marathoner better than any other book I’ve read.
14. Boston Bound by Elizabeth Clor
Elizabeth Clor is a popular running blogger at Racing Stripes. Boston Bound is her self-published book about her running journey and about how she overcame her mental blocks to finally qualify for Boston, after seven years of trying. I found this book to be an interesting recap of a regular runner’s quest while also offering some handy mental tips for approaching my own running.
15. What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan
What Made Maddy Run is the story of Madison Holleran, a 19-year-old collegiate runner who died by suicide. It’s the story of her rise as a promising young runner and how the pressures of college and running in the Ivy League impacted her mental health, struggling with depression to the point she took her own life. It’s an eye-opening read on the pressures kids face these days.
16. Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
Running with Sherman is the story of how Born to Run author Christopher McDougall trained a rescue donkey to run. When he takes in Sherman, he decides that signing them up for burro racing, a race where donkeys and people run together will give them a path for Sherman’s rehabilitation. Of course, it’s not easy and nothing goes as planned.
17. Running with Raven by Laura Lee Huttenbach
Raven is a man who has run 8 miles every day on the beach in Miami since 1975. You’re welcome to run with him. Running with Raven is his story, it’s the story of author Laura Lee Huttenbach and how she came to run with Raven, and it’s the story of several people for who running with Raven changed their lives and who keep coming back.
18. Spirit Run by Noé Álvarez
Noé Álvarez grew up in Washington, the son of a mother who worked in an apple-packing plant. He was supposed to go to college and there he discovered the organization Peace and Dignity Journeys, which was a series of marathons designed to inspire and renew cultural connections in North America. Noé quits school and joins this initiative. Spirit Run is about his four-month long run from Canada to Guatemala, what he overcomes along the way and how he reclaims his relationship with the land and his culture along the way.
Stories of elites
19. Mighty Moe by Rachel Swaby and Kit Fox 🍁
This might be the real-life story equivalent of Girl Runner. In 1967, a 13-year-old Canadian girl, Maureen Wilton, broke the women’s marathon world record. But because of her age and her gender, people questioned her accomplishment. The pressure wore on Maureen and she eventually quit the sport, removed herself from the limelight and her accomplishment was pretty much forgotten by history. Until now. Mighty Moe is geared at a middle-grade to YA audience, but it’s a story we all can appreciate.
20. Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor
This is one of the best professional athlete memoirs I have read. Deena looks back on her life and professional running career, but through the lens of how the mental lessons she learned in each training cycle made her a better runner. As a result, this memoir is sharply focused and enlightening. Even if you’re not interested in Deena’s story, there’s a lot of takeaways in this for your own running performance.
21. 26 Marathons by Meb Keflezighi
In each chapter in this book, Meb — probably the greatest American marathoner ever — breaks down his 26 professional marathons and the lessons he’s learned from them. Like Deena Kastor’s memoir, the focused approach makes this book sharp, informative and easy to read. His marathon stories are fun to read and the takeaways are reminders that elites are just like us. They just get paid for it.
22. Running to the Edge by Matthew Futterman
This book is a deep dive into the life and coaching philosophy of Bob Larsen, the long-time UCLA coach who went on to start one of the first pro training groups in the U.S. with runners like Meb and Deena Kastor. This is a great book to read after you’ve read 26 Marathons and Let Your Mind Run because it let’s you see those stories from the coaching side. It also offers interesting insights into how one becomes one of the best running coaches in the world.
23. Running with the Buffaloes by Chris Lear
This book is the Friday Night Lights of running books. Chris Lear spent one season with the cross-country team at the University of Colorado. The team features future stars, walk-ons determined to make a difference and everyone in between. The season Lear ends up covering is nothing short of remarkable and, like the best books about sports, this book isn’t really about running at all. It’s about a community coming together to achieve something, believe in themselves and overcome the imaginable together.
24. Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand
Louis Zamperini’s life was insane and inspiring. He became one of the world’s greatest runners, participating in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, before enlisting to fight in the Second World War. Then his Air Force bomber crashes in the Pacific Ocean, and he survives more than 40 days adrift at sea. This book, which was turned into a movie by Angelina Jolie, is the ultimate story of survival and how running can make you tougher than you ever believed possible.
25. The Greatest Athlete (You’ve Never Heard of) by Mark Hebscher 🍁
Can you name the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal? Yeah, I couldn’t either until this book came out. The answer is George Washington Orton, who took home bronze in the 400m hurdles and gold in the 2500m steeplechase at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris. History incorrectly identified Orton as an American for 70 years. Orton’s story is finally, comprehensively, told, and it’s worth a read.
26. In Search of Al Howie by Jared Beasley 🍁
Al Howie is a Canadian ultrarunner who ran really, really far. Like Prince George to Boston far. Like Winnipeg to Ottawa and back to Winnipeg far. He ran across Canada in record time and won more than 50 ultramarathons and multiday races in his lifetime. Howie died in 2016 and this book, which is based on two years of interview with him, shares his remarkable story
27. Finding Ultra by Rich Roll
Rich Roll is one of the most famous ultramarathoners and now podcasters in the world. His memoir is his life-long journey in sport. He was an elite swimmer, swimming at Stanford, but alcoholism and partying derailed his promising career. He then spent several years in the metaphorical wilderness before realizing he needed to get sober and get healthy for the sake of his family. Finding Ultra is engaging and well-written and even if you’re not a Rich Roll fan, it’s a good story about finding your passions and working hard to become your best self.
28. Her Fearless Run by Kim Chaffee, illustrated by Ellen Rooney
This book is for 8-12 year olds but it’s beautiful. It’s the illustrated of how Kathrine Switzer became a runner and her iconic day at the Boston marathon. The story is compellingly told and the collage-style artwork is lovely. I’d frame it.
29. Inside a Marathon by Scott Fauble & Ben Rosario
This book is definitely the nerdiest book on the list. Scott Fauble and his coach Ben Rosario wrote it together through Scott’s training for the 2018 NYC marathon, where he placed seventh overall and second American. The book is literally his training log and notes with a weekly recap from both Scott and Ben. It’s funny, insightful, informative and a deep, deep, deep dive into what goes into an elite marathon training cycle.
30. First Ladies of Running by Amby Burfoot
This is a collection of straightforward biographies about American women who paved the way for the newest generation of amazing American runners. Some names are well-known, like Kathrine Switzer and Bobbi Gibb, but others like Julia Chase and Charlotte Lettis are not. The book does a good job of tracing the battle women athletes had to fight through history through the individual stories Amby shares.
31. Eat & Run by Scott Jurek
Eat & Run is the biography of one of America’s great ultramarathoners, Scott Jurek. Like Rich Roll, Scott is vegan and changing his diet had a huge impact on his life and approach to fitness. This book is both a straightforward biography about Scott’s midwestern upbringing to running some of the hardest races in the world and a guide to going vegan, exploring the science behind it and offering recipes.
32. Thirst by Heather Anderson
Heather Anderson had run the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail by the time she turned 25. She looked like she had it all. But a few years later, she turned her back on her marriage, job and life as she knew it and dedicated herself to the trails. Thirst is her memoir, and shares her story as she becomes one of the best ultramarathoners in the world, which included four attempts at the Barkley marathons.
33. Runners of the Nish by Alex Cyr 🍁
The easiest way to describe Runners of the Nish is to call is Canada’s Running with the Buffaloes. The book covers the 2016 cross-country season of the St. Francis Xavier University’s mens team as they prepare for the national championships in November. You get to know each team member and the challenges they face balancing running with school and see first-hand what it’s like to train at the collegiate level.
34. Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer
This is Kathrine Switzer’s memoir, the first woman to run the Boston marathon with a bib. It was updated in 2017 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kathrine’s iconic run. Marathon Woman tells Kathrine’s story from how she fell in love with running to what it was like running the race that changed everything, both for her personally and for women athletes who followed in her footsteps.
35. Run the Mile You’re In by Ryan Hall
Ryan Hall is one of the greatest American distance runners ever. Run the Mile You’re In is his memoir, how he went from a kid who hated running to a fearless competitor who holds the American half-marathon record and ran the fastest American marathon ever (at Boston, which is why it’s not record eligible). Ryan also has a very close relationship with God and this book is as much about that as it is about his running journey. This book is part-memoir, part how-to and while the Jesus elements might not be for everyone, the takeaways are still worth your while.
36. Triumph by Jeremy Schaap
Triumph is the comprehensive story of Jesse Owens, the black athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, during the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Author Jeremy Schaap had intimate access to Jesse’s family and archival interviews and media and the result is a compelling and comprehensive telling of a story we think we all know, but don’t, really.
37. Fire on the Track by Roseanne Montillo
Fire on the Track is the story of the earliest female Olympians: Betty Robinson, who won gold in 100m in the 1928 Games, Babe Didrikson, the multisport athlete who won two gold medals (80m hurdles and javelin) in 1932, and Stella Walsh, who won gold in the 100m 1932. I recommend the novel Girl Runner later in this list, and this book is a real-life companion to that novel. Fire on the Track tells the life stories of these remarkable women and how their athletic accomplishments set the stage for thousands more women to follow in their footsteps.
38. Running Tide by Joan Benoit
This is Joan Benoit’s 1987 memoir and it’s pretty hard to find, but if you do, grab it. Joan won the 1984 Olympic marathon, the first time women were allowed to run that distance, and became a sensation. She’s still running, setting impressive goals along the way. Running Tide is part memoir, part guide to running, chronicling Joan’s rise from a young tomboy in small-town Maine to being the most celebrated athlete in America.
Stories behind great races
39. A Race Like No Other by Liz Robbins
This book is about the New York City marathon. It weaves together the race’s history with the story of several runners participating in the 2007 race. The book breaks the race down mile by mile. This is the book that made me sign up for NYC the second time. It’s a perfect capsule for one of the world’s most iconic races.
40. Duel in the Sun by John Brant
This book looks at one of the most iconic marathons ever run: the 1982 Boston marathon and the two-person race between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley. I didn’t include it in my holiday list because Salazar is the worst, but this book is excellent. It looks at both men, their careers, what drove them, the race itself and how afterwards neither of these runners ever achieved that kind of running glory again. The race is written about in so much detail, but it’s completely compelling.
41. 4:09:43 by Hal Higdon
This is an interesting book about the 2013 Boston marathon. Higdon weaves together the stories of several runners from that day, including Canadian Heather Lee-Callaghan, to paint a complete portrait of the bombings and their aftermaths from the perspective of the regular runners whose days, and lives, were turned upside down because of what happened.
42. The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb
The Perfect Mile is the story of how one of running’s biggest barriers was finally broken: the four-minute mile. In 1952, three different runners set out to become the first person to do this: English medical student Roger Bannister, Australian John Landy and American Wes Santee. This book tells the story of these three great athletes and their drive to break the four-minute mile, changing the sport in the process.
43. Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard
The story of Gobi, the stray desert dog who ended up running most of the 155-mile race through the Gobi Desert in China alongside ultramarathoner Dion Leonard, won the hearts of people all over the world. Finding Gobi is the book that tells that story. It covers the race, how this little dog changed Dion’s life and the heart-wrenching search to find her when the race ended and getting her home.
44. Marathon Quest by Martin Parnell 🍁
In 2010, Martin Parnell had an idea: he wanted to run 250 marathons in one year to raise $250,000 for Right to Play. Marathon Quest is the story of that year. Parnell runs races all across Canada, giving speeches, doing interviews and raising money. along the way, he shares the story of his own running and how a young British kid with a penchant for math ended up becoming one of Canada’s greatest ultrarunners and advocates for sport.
45. Tales From Out There by Frozen Ed Furtaw
This hard-to-find 2010 book covers everything you need to know about one of the hardest race in the world: the Barkley marathons. It covers the history of the race up to 2010 and shares stories from runners over the years. It also features maps and photographs and even though it’s now 10 years old and dated, it’s a must-read for any Barkley fan.
46. Olympic Collision by Kyle Keiderling
At the 1984 Olympic Games, the impossible happened in the women’s 3,000m race: the favourite, 26-year-old American Mary Decker, fell. It appeared the fall was a result of an entanglement with 17-year-old South African Zola Budd. Mary did not finish the race, would not accept Zola’s apology and would eventually be found at fault for the collision. Zola would recover to finish seventh, but faced scrutiny and threats for taking down America’s sweetheart for years to come. Olympic Collision tells the story of this memorable race, and the story of these two very different women, how they got to the Olympics and how this race changed both their lives, and what happened to both women in the years afterwards.
47. Wheelchairs, Perjury and the London Marathon by Tim Marshall
This is a great book to better understand the challenges faced by wheelchair athletes and the fight to took for them to compete and to eventually get their own elite division. This book focuses on the fight, specifically, to have wheelchair athletes compete in the London marathon. The 1980s saw a big change when it came to accepting wheelchair athletes of all abilities in races: except in London. Tim Marshall took it upon himself to get that changed and he succeeded in 1983 - 10 days before the race. Wheelchairs, Perjury and the London Marathon tells this story alongside Tim’s own story from how a rock climbing accident changed his life to becoming a leading voice in wheelchair racing.
Fiction
48. The Illegal by Lawrence Hill 🍁
This novel has everything. It reads like a caper, is actually a story about immigration and being a refugee and is also a story about being an elite runner. Keita Ali is an aspiring elite runner who is on the run literally and on the run from government officials and the shady agent he signed with after he flees his home country in fear of political persecution. He sees running as his only way out.
49. Girl Runner by Carrie Snyder 🍁
This is the (fictional) story of Aganetha Smart, who ran the 800 metres at the 1928 Olympic Games. In real life, the 800 metres was cancelled until 1960 after 1928, seemingly because the woman exerted themselves too much. This happens in the book too and the cancellation, taking away the thing Aganetha loves most (not to mention helps pays her bills), sends her spiralling. This may be fiction, but it’s a story of an athlete’s single-mindedness, the fallout of achieving a goal and how sexism can ruin pretty much anything. That certainly seems as relevant as ever right now.
50. Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod 🍁
Runners will only care about the first story in the collection, but the whole book is great. That story, Miracle Mile, is about two elite Canadian middle-distance runners preparing for the 1,500m national championship race. The piece is one of the most perfect works of fiction to ever look at the life of a not-at-all-famous elite athlete, the lure of the race and how a bond over it can keep two very different people connected for their entire lives.
51. Ultra by David Carroll 🍁
This is a charming YA book about a 13-year-old named Quinn who runs an ultramarathon. I know David Carroll, he’s a Canadian ultramarathoner who has won the Haliburton 100. Ultra manages to capture and highs and lows of taking on such an intense race while being fast-paced, engaging and still appropriate for 10-14 year olds.
52. Marathon by Brian Freeman
If you like thrillers, quick page-turners, then this is the running book for you. Marathon re-imagines a scenario like the Boston bombing, only it takes place in Duluth, Minnesota: home of Grandma’s marathon. Detective Jonathan Stride must figure out who did it before it’s too late. There’s a lot of echoes of the real Boston bombing in this book, but it’s structured and paced like a typical mass market mystery.
Books about running business & culture
53. Run the World by Becky Wade
Becky Wade is an elite American marathoner. After college, she took off on an around the world journey to learn what running cultures were like. Over the course of a year, she visits nine different countries, learns a lot running, racing, fuelling and recovering. She writes about it all, and when she returns to the U.S., she applies what she learned to her own training and she launches her competitive marathoning career.
54. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
This is the book that kicked off the minimal shoe and shoeless running boom. It’s about Christopher McDougall’s deep dive into both the history, biology and science of running and the Indigenous Tarahumara of Mexico and the role running plays in their culture. It’s one of those books that has some problems, but has become so seminal in running circles, it’s worth a read just to see what’s up.
55. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Nike. The athletic apparel company that’s so influential a simple symbol has worldwide recognition. It’s gigantic. And problematic. But it began somewhere. And Shoe Dog tells that story really well. The company’s founder, Phil Knight, tells the story of how he went from selling Japanese running shoes out of the back of his car to running one of the biggest companies in the world. I’m reluctantly recommending this one because it’s a good read and understanding the origin story of Nike helps understand why they keep making bad decisions that put the bottom line and athletic dominance ahead of the health and wellbeing of their athletes, employees and the planet.
56. The Gold in the Rings by Stephen R. Wenn
How have the Olympics become the massive, multi-billion dollar enterprise they are? Why are they considered the pinnacle for sport? The Gold in the Rings looks at the rise of the Olympics and highlights four different IOC presidents, each who had a role in shaping the contemporary Games: Avery Brundage, Lord Killanin, Juan Antonio Samaranch and Jacques Rogge. This isn’t a running specific book, but it’s a fascinating exploration of the business and marketing side of things, with a focus on the biggest case study there is.
57. Little Black Stretchy Pants by Chip Wilson
Lululemon is a brand that’s now ubiquitous in yoga and running circles. Little Black Stretchy Pants is the story of how the brand came to be and its astronomical rise in the athleisure market. It’s written by controversial founder Chip Wilson, who hasn’t been connected to the company since 2015 and is no longer referenced in lululemon’s own origin story. As a result, its a little salacious and reads a bit like someone trying to take down an enemy, but it’s still an interesting read about how one builds a brand, and then how that relationship can change as the stakes get higher and visions diverge.
Books about sport science
58. Two Hours by Ed Caesar
This book is dated now that the two-hour barrier has been broken, but I still think it’s worth a read. Two Hours looks at the historical fascination with the two-hour marathon mark as well as the science behind whether or not it would be possible. The best time to have read this would have been before Breaking2. But a good time to read it is now.
59. Good to Go by Christie Aschwanden
This book explores all the recovery trends that have hit fitness lately, from cryotherapy to cupping to compression to Gatorade. It’s readable, it’s fascinating and it teaches you the lesson we all know to be true but tend to ignore anyway: Recovery is easy, but there are no quick fixes. Eat to fuel yourself, sleep a lot and rest when you need to and when you think you should.
60. Grit by Angela Duckworth
This book isn’t about running, but it’s really applicable. Grit explores what drives success and argues that it’s not talent or genius, it’s mostly perseverance. Combine that with a passion for what you are doing, and success is more likely than not. Duckworth uses examples from across industries to show that’s the case, which should inspire anyone chipping away at a big running goal.
61. Endure by Alex Hutchinson 🍁
Canadian science-of-running writer Alex Hutchinson looks at what athletes are able to endure and what is really limiting us. He combines science and storytelling to look at all the things that might limit us — our bodies, how we fuel them, the weather, how we breathe and more — to make the argument that we can endure more than we think and yes, there are physical barriers to success, but most of it might be in our heads.
62. Running is my Therapy by Scott Douglas
Running is My Therapy explores the relationship between running and mental health. It profiles several runners who are managing things like manic depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and more and the role running plays in managing their health. It also looks at the science of this all. It’s a little dense, but offers a lot of insight into a phrase people throw around a lot and the connection between mental well-being and exercise: running is my therapy.
(PS: Running is NOT therapy. Stop saying this. But it can help. This book agrees.)
63. Roar by Stacy Sims
Women are not small men. So let’s stop training like we are and eating like we are. This book breaks down the unique physiological needs of female athletes based on our hormonal structure, how we are built and more. I had never really thought about how my period and ovulation cycle affects my performance beyond feeling like shit when I was menstruating. But this book breaks it all down and offers important takeaways for all women.
Books to improve your own running
64. & 65. Run Fast, Eat Slow & Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow
Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky’s cookbooks are the best. They aren’t the only running cookbooks out there, but these recipes are handy, healthy, mostly easy and they offer insight into what each meal should do for you as a runner. Besides, who doesn’t want to eat like Shalan Flanagan?
66. Rebound by Cindy Kuzma and Carrie Jackson Cheadle
Being injured sucks. The hardest part (and I know from experience) is not the physical healing — it’s the mental game. Being patient. Being resilient. Finding that balance. This book explores this side of the comeback game, sharing stories from elite athletes and offering tools and advice to runners on the rebound.
67. The Sports Gene by David Epstein
This book takes on the nature vs. nurture debate: are great athletes born or made? And what genetic advantages are there, actually when it comes to sport? Epstein takes on ideas like the 10,000-hour rule, genetic advantages, things like growing up in high-altitude countries and tries to decide if such things are true and if they are how much advantage can we really derive from things like genetics and geography.
68. How Bad Do You Want It by Matt Fitzgerald
How Bad Do You Want It uses each chapter to tell the story of one elite athlete (some are runners, but others are triathletes and cyclists) to look at one aspect of performance — such as choking, overtraining, longevity, etc. — and then uses that singular story, combining it with science and psychology to extrapolate lessons for other athletes absorb. It’s super readable and the athletes and stories he chooses to highlight are just as interesting as the takeaways you get.
69. You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
This book is also not specifically about running. Instead, it’s all about bettering your outlook and mindset so you can be less hard on yourself and go after great things, both which are directly applicable to running and running performance. It’s easy to read and concise, but has important takeaways for anyone who is too hard on themselves or doubts themselves.
70. The Champion’s Mind by Jim Afremow
The Champion’s Mind is a deep dive into how the world’s best athletes think: from how they approach their training, their lives to how they make decisions in the moment of competition. It’s not a running specific book, but it’s a worthwhile read for anyone looking to better understand the mental side of performance excellence.
71. Strong by Kara Goucher
Strong is part-training log, part motivational guide out together by Kara Goucher, one of America’s best long-distance runners. It includes motivational quotes and stories and tips and tricks from Kara, other elite Americans and experts Kara has come to rely on throughout her career. It’s almost as good as having Kara coach you herself.
72. Run to the Finish by Amanda Brooks
Run to the Finish is a great overview and guide to becoming a stronger, smarter, better runner for those early in their running career. It has a positive, inclusive tone and lots of helpful information. It embraces and celebrates being a middle-of-the-pack runner while still striving to achieve your best, whether that’s a PR, a BQ or just finishing the damn race.
That’s it for this week!
Thank you to @stevefleck, @andersenruns, @stephenaevans Louise Wood, @courer_fo and @kristaduchene for recommending books for this list.
Thanks to the blog The Guy who Reviews Sports Books for being a great resource.
And thanks to threads in the Fast Women and Ali on the Run Facebook groups for inspiring me to compile this.
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Run the North comes out every Monday morning.
Next week’s issue will include news and links from this week I didn’t include here as well as everything that happens between today and next Monday. I’ll see you then.
Thanks for reading and keep on running. Alone.