I have had this book for quite a while but held off on writing a review until putting it to the test. I ran my first marathon this month – the New York City Marathon, at age 61. My personal target was 4:30 and I succeeded in just beating that. I used many sources of inspiration and information, some printed and the others verbal or web-based. This book, which intrigued me, was one such source.
It is a short book (about 100 pages). It is a little out of date. Nevertheless, I found it very relevant, easy to use, and often of help. If someone wanted to run their first marathon and was limited to reading no more than one 100-page book, this book is undoubtedly the answer.
The book includes some valuable inspirational material, including an anecdote surrounding the author’s father and the story of Oprah. This is a great start for a questioning first marathoner.
It also includes an outline training plan. While I would not rely totally on that plan, I found it a good basis for a personal training program. If I was ever in doubt as to my own training approach, I found it useful to read this book’s plan to check that I was in the same ballpark. Many little tips in the book are also useful.
In summary, I found this book very helpful, and I would definitely recommend it as one book to read for anyone contemplating running his or her first marathon.
Warwick Ford