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4 Months to A 4 Hour Marathon
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Rating: 3.68/5 from 34 reviews Great starter book - it helped me run my first marathonperfect book for 20-something female wannabeI wanted to find out the basics to training for a time-goal marathon. This book provided all the pertinent information for my attempt of a 4 hour and 30 minute marathon. I recommended it to a friend and she is going to train for a 4:45 marathon with me. One thing I also like about this book, in comparison with other running books I've looked at, is that it doesn't have a "special" section on "women's running." It treats us like we're all the same in the running world. Last I checked we all have two feet! Some of us may be faster than the guys, too. So look out! Dated information?This book is good but not great, and appears to have lots of dated information. For example, the author cites Nike, Reebok, and Adidas as the brands to look for when buying technical running shoes, but the fact is that these three companies make a lot of "casual" and "retro" shoes, many of which are mixed into their line and sold as "technical" shoes to the unknowing. He also seems to suggest that cotton t-shirts and sweatshirts are fine to run in; if you are seriously training for a marathon, whether it's your first or your fifth, you would be better off with advice that encourages you to wear technical running tops made of technical fabrics (coolmax, dri-fit, etc.). They are much more comfortable, breathable, and moisture-wicking, therefore leaving your body to focus on running efficiently rather than struggling to cool you off. It just seems like there's some not-so-great advice in here, which then made me wonder about the rest of the information he was presenting... | ||||||||||||||||||||
Some people have complained that it is too brief and not very thorough but I found it to be the best trait of this book. Many other books have simply too much information and if you have to spend a week or two digesting hundreds of pages of technical information, your initial enthusiasm to train for a marathon has cooled somewhat. '4 Months' at the same time is very concise and to the point, giving simple, step-by-step instructions for everything from shoes to nutrition.
It also contains a very well-defined training program, which I followed to the letter. The program was relatively hard but once I had completed it all, I was able to beat the hour mark surprisingly easily, so I can say that it really works!
Therefore, if you are already an established runner, or if you're looking for more theoretical background, I suggest you get some "more advanced" book like the above-mentioned 'Galloway's Book on Running' or 'The Competitive Runner's Handbook', both are very good.
But if you are like me back when I didn't have too much running background then '4 Months to A 4 Hour Marathon' QUICKLY gives you all you need to get started. I owe it one of the greatest experiences in my life.