Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz

Special Episode. What we have learned from 5+ years of Running Book Reviews

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Send us Fan MailDiscussion points in this episode1.       Focus on your protein   --- Lauren Antonnuchi ,  High Performance Nutrition for Master...

Still Running After All These Tears, by Lisa Jackson

01 Mar 2026

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Send a textLink for 20% discount on Caffeine Bullet  https://caffeinebullet.com/RUNNINGBOOK Discount automatically applied and visible on ch...

Advanced Marathoning (4th ed.), by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas

15 Feb 2026

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Send a textAdvanced Marathoning (4th ed.) is the newest version of the training book Alan and I have been using for our sub-3 hour marathon attempts. ...

Move, Rest, Recover, by Erin Taylor

01 Feb 2026

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Send us a textMove, Rest, Recover guides readers on the practice of rest and recovery. It tries to answer questions like: Why should I rest and recov...

Running The World, by Robyn Godfrey

15 Jan 2026

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Send us a textIn this episode we speak with Author Robyn Godfrey about her book Running the World. Robyn didn’t plan to become a marathoner. She stu...

Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes, by Kylee Van Horn

01 Jan 2026

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Send us a textPractical Fueling for Endurance Athletes delivers the practical, science-based information and strategies you need for long-term health ...

Road To Redemption, by Tom Fitzgerald

15 Dec 2025

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Send us a textFor today's episode we got to read another fictional running story. These are rare but we've enjoyed every single one we read ...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 111-120

01 Dec 2025

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Send us a textHere we are again with another recap episode. Alan and Liz chat about their last ten reads and we've also linked the full episode f...

Ultra Women, by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson

15 Nov 2025

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Send us a textRecently, a trend has captured public attention: female athletes have been beating the strongest male contenders, in the toughest races ...

Fuel For Thought, by Renee McGregor

01 Nov 2025

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Send us a textLink for 20% discount on Caffeine Bullet  https://caffeinebullet.com/RUNNINGBOOK Discount automatically applied and visible on...

Chasing the Grid, by Kenneth Posner

15 Oct 2025

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Send us a textChasing The Grid is the story of the authors physical and spiritual journey running in the Catskill Mountains. Originally wanting to bea...

Stroke of Luck, by Steven Kelly

01 Oct 2025

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Send us a textStroke of Luck: My Life in Amateur Athletics is a chronicle of passion and rediscovery—the emotional story of a dedicated competitive ...

Marathon Mindset, by Erica Rasmussen

15 Sep 2025

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Send us a textMarathon Mindset is Erica’s story of becoming a runner while on a 100 pound weight loss journey.  She also talks about her past strug...

How To Run, by Scott F. Parker

01 Sep 2025

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Send us a textGiving an overview of this book is complicated. It’s like giving an overview of what running is… where do you start? What kind of ru...

Feet In The Clouds, by Richard Askwith

15 Aug 2025

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Send us a textFeet in the Clouds is a deep dive into the world of fell running. It talks about the history of the sport, some of its GOATs like Bill T...

Mud, Sweat and Bears, by Harriet Gaywood

01 Aug 2025

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Send us a textMud, Sweat and Bears is mostly about the author, Harriet Gaywood’s, ultra racing experience in 2024. Before you think the book is goin...

Chasing Mastery, by Matt Fitzgerald

15 Jul 2025

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Send us a textIf this author's name sounds familiar it's because we've had him on 7 times before... and we haven't even covered ha...

Believe Training Journal, by Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas

01 Jul 2025

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Send us a textBelieve is primarily a tool to help runners log details of their training so they can find patterns that will help them identify what is...

What If?, by Ashley Varley

15 Jun 2025

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Send us a textWhat If? Is the story of author Ash Varley’s running journey between 2016 and 2023. At 43, with years of running experience behind him...

Run Less Run Faster, by Bill Pierce and Scott Murr

01 Jun 2025

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Send us a textRun Less Run Faster is a book explaining the 3plus2 training program developed by the Furman Institute of Running & Scientific Train...

BONUS TRACK: Alan at the 2025 London Marathon

23 May 2025

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Send us a textWe haven't done one of these in a while and Alan just got back from his time in the UK for the London Marathon! ...he may have also...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 101-110

15 May 2025

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Send us a textHere we are again with another recap episode. Alan and Liz chat about their last ten reads:Running From Tragedy by Michael SalsburyRunni...

Unbound, by Bill Donahue

01 May 2025

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Send us a text In this episode of Running Book Reviews, we had the pleasure of speaking with author Bill Donahue about his recent book, Unbound. Unb...

A Few More Laps, by David Chalfen

15 Apr 2025

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Send us a textA Few More Laps is a compilation of stories and thoughts about high level distance running and training. A Few More Laps is a compilatio...

Running Past 50, by Caolan MacMahon

01 Apr 2025

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Send us a textIn today’s episode we have the pleasure of interviewing athlete and coach Caolan MacMahon about her new book, Running Past 50. As you ...

Built To Run, by Matt Silver - Episode 2

15 Mar 2025

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Send us a textWhen we had Matt on the podcast at the end of 2024 there were several topics we never got a chance to talk about. Two of them, running f...

The Ultimate Ultra Running Handbook, by Claire Maxted

01 Mar 2025

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Send us a textIn this episode we have a repeat guest, Claire Maxted, and she talks to us about her new book, The Ultimate Ultra Running Handbook.The ...

The Frontrunner, by Brad Fawley

15 Feb 2025

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Send us a textThe Frontrunner is a fictional coming of age story about a boy named Russ who grows up without a mother, and loses his father to cancer ...

To The Limit, by Michael Crawley

01 Feb 2025

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Send us a textTo the Limit sets out to explore why we voluntarily do exhausting things, like running ultra distances in the mountains and climbing mou...

There Is No Finish, by Stephen Parker

15 Jan 2025

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Send us a textIn this episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with author Stephen Parker about his new book There Is No Finish; The Backyard Ultra S...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 91-100

01 Jan 2025

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Send us a textHere we are again! ...and AGAIN it's been more than 10 books since the last recap episode! Here are the books we chat about in thi...

The Ultimate Guide to Parkrun, by Lucy Waterlow

15 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Send us a textThis book is everything you’d want to know about parkrun. How it started, what countries it spread to, how it benefits mental and phys...

BONUS TRACK: Alan and Liz's Fall Marathon Recap

07 Dec 2024

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Send us a textFor those who wanted to hear about it, we decided to tell you about our most recent sub-3-hour marathon attempt in this bonus episode. F...

Built To Run, by Matthew Silver

01 Dec 2024

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Send us a textBuilt to Run is a book to help runners improve form, mobility and strength so that they can run injury free more often… because we all...

Running Through the Dark, by Jen Scotney

15 Nov 2024

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Send us a textUltrarunner Jen Scotney has achieved podium finishes in some of the UK’s toughest races and now has her sights firmly set on the Penni...

Running From Tragedy by Michael Salsbury

01 Nov 2024

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Send us a textRunning From Tragedy is Michael Salsbury’s family story and how running, in the end, helped lessen the burden of three life changing e...

Good for a Girl, by Lauren Fleshman

15 Oct 2024

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Send us a textGood For A Girl by Lauren Fleshman is the story of Lauren's life and experience in professional running. Running seemed straight fo...

Running Challenges, by Keri Wallace

01 Oct 2024

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Send us a textRunning Challenges, by Keri Wallace, is like a tour guide for Trail running in the UK. It features 100 of the best trail, fell and mount...

Trails and Tribulations, by Susie Chan

15 Sep 2024

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Send us a textTrails and Tribulations is Susie Chan's memoire. She tells us a little about her life before running, including some pretty big lif...

How to Run the Perfect Race, by Matt Fitzgerald

01 Sep 2024

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Send us a textHow To Run The Perfect Race is a book all about pacing. The book is divided into two sections:Section 1: All about how to master pacingS...

LOST: The Work That Goes Unseen, published by Ciele

15 Aug 2024

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Send us a textIn this episode of Running Book Reviews, we had the pleasure of chatting with Tim Rossi, founder of The Lost Boys running club in New Yo...

Running Rewired 2nd Edition, by Jay Dicharry

01 Aug 2024

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Send us a textIf you're thinking that you've heard us talk about Running Rewired, it's because we read the original version which came ...

BONUS TRACK: Alan and Liz's Summer Training Plans

15 Jul 2024

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Send us a textSo we know it's a bonus episode and not our usual book dedicated episode, but we need more time to line up our guests and didn&apos...

Smart Running, by Jen and Sim Benson

01 Jul 2024

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Send us a textJoin us for this wonderful conversation with Jen and Sim about all things running! Their fantastic book, Smart Running,  is packed with...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on the Last 10 Books

15 Jun 2024

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Send us a textHere we are again! We can't believe we've read another 10 books already... and actually it's been more than 10 books... T...

The Examined Run, by Sabrina Little

01 Jun 2024

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Send us a textWe have a fantastic conversation with author Sabrina Little, about her new book, The Examined Run. In this chat we talk about ethics and...

The Race To Be Myself, by Caster Semenya

15 May 2024

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Send us a textThe Race to Be Myself is a 4 part memoire where Caster talks about:The beginning: how she grew up, how she liked to hang out with boys a...

Run Through, by SB Stone

01 May 2024

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Send us a textRunning Through; my journey through moments of flight, is Steven’s journey into Running via a series of tiny moments of flight. This b...

BONUS TRACK: Boston Marathon Experience

28 Apr 2024

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Send us a textIf you've been following our social media accounts (mainly FB and Instagram... we're not as good about posting to X or Threads...

All In Stride, by Johanna Garton

15 Apr 2024

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Send us a textAll In Stride is the story of two Kenyan born athletes who have competed at the highest levels in running, and one US athlete and Olympi...

The Boston Marathon Handbook, by Marc W. Pollina

01 Apr 2024

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Send us a textThe Boston Marathon Handbook is part of the Falcon Guides series, which cover the entire spectrum of outdoor activities. This book cover...

In The Spell Of The Barkley, by Michiel Panhuysen

15 Mar 2024

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Send us a textIn The Spell Of The Barkley tells the story of the Barkley race in Tennessee with its history and traditions, how the author discovered ...

There Is No Wall, by Allie Bailey

01 Mar 2024

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Send us a textThere Is No Wall is ultrarunner Allie Bailey’s brutally honest and sometimes shocking account of alcoholism, depression and severe men...

Becoming A Sustainable Runner, by Tina Muir and Zoe Rom

15 Feb 2024

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Send us a textBecoming a Sustainable Runner is a guide written by two environmental advocates, Tina Muir and Zoe Rom, who love running. This book teac...

Pain and Performance, by Ryan Whited and Matt Fitzgerald

01 Feb 2024

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Send us a textIn this episode we get to chat with author, Ryan Whited, about his book (co-authored with Matt Fitzgerald) Pain + Performance. Pain + Pe...

The Psychology of Running, by Noel Brick and Stuart Holliday

17 Jan 2024

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Send us a textThe Psychology of Running is part of The Psychology of Everything series which also includes:The Psychology of ArtThe Psychology of Well...

BONUS TRACK: Alan Runs A 3000m On The Track?

10 Jan 2024

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Send us a textIn this bonus episode, Liz interviews Alan about his recent attempt at a Quebec age group record on the indoor track. Alan has never wo...

Running Away from Cancer by Greg Schnoor

01 Jan 2024

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Send us a textRunning Away from Cancer is the story of the author, Greg Schnoor's, journey to becoming an ultramarathoner after he was diagnosed ...

BONUS TRACK: Alan and Liz Behind The Scenes of 8020 Endurance Coaching

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Send us a textThis bonus was recorded after we just finished chatting with Matt Fitzgerald and Layla Porteous about 80/20 Endurance High Performance C...

80/20 Endurance Book + High Performance Coaching Course, by Matt Fitzgerald and Leyla Porteous

15 Dec 2023

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Send us a textThis episode is a little different because Matt Fitzgerald's book, 80/20 Eandurance, is a companion to a new coaching course create...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on the Last 10 Books

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Send us a textWe love these episodes because it means we get to reminisce about the books we've read over the last 5-6 months. Since we're o...

The Ultimate Trail Running Handbook, by Claire Maxted

15 Nov 2023

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Send us a textIn this episode we had the pleasure of chatting with Claire Maxted (a.k.a. Wild Ginger Runner) about her book, The Ultimate Trail Runnin...

BONUS TRACK: 2023 Marathon Race Recap - What Happened and What's Next

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Send us a textFor those of you who have been following the podcast, you know that we were gearing up to run a sub-3 hour marathon at the Petit Train d...

Just Finish! by Sean Kachmarski

01 Nov 2023

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Send us a textJust Finish is author Sean Kachmarski’s story of going from watching The Great North Run on TV every year and telling his wife “I’...

BONUS TRACK: Mini-Nutrition Chat with Andrew Snow

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Send us a textWe had a great chat with Andrew Snow about his book, Run Elite. It was so great in fact, that it ended up being one of our longest episo...

Run Elite, by Andrew Snow

15 Oct 2023

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Send us a textIn this episode we chat with author Andrew Snow about his book Run Elite. Andrew is very passionate about helping runners improve their ...

Run Healthy, by Emmi Aguillard, Jonathan Cane and Allison Goldstein

01 Oct 2023

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Send us a textRun Healthy is a book dedicated to injuries. The authors tell runners about the different tissues in the body and how they respond to st...

On The Run, published by Gestalten

15 Sep 2023

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Send us a textOn The Run is a hard cover coffee table style book featuring a collection of runs and stories about running from around the world. Each ...

Get to the Line in the Best Shape Possible, by Eoin Everard

01 Sep 2023

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Send us a textGet to the Line in the Best Shape Possible is a collection of articles written by the author and assembled into a book under one of 4 ca...

Personal Best Running, by Mark Coogan and Scott Douglas

15 Aug 2023

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Send us a textPersonal Best Running is a two-part training manual outlining Coach Coogan’s coaching practice and training plans. Part 1 includes 5 c...

Born to Run 2, by Christopher McDougall and Eric Orton

01 Aug 2023

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Send us a textWith a name like Born to Run 2 you might be expecting that this is part 2 of Chris McDougall’s story from 2009; there's a little ...

Do Hard Things, by Steve Magness

15 Jul 2023

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Send us a textIn this episode Alan and Liz chat about Steve Magness' book, Do Hard Things. This book talks about toughness and how we all probabl...

You (Only Faster), by Greg McMillan

01 Jul 2023

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Send us a textYou (Only Faster) puts a new spin on the training book. In this book you get some good training principles but Greg uses them to guide y...

The Humiliation Tour, by Jeffrey Recker

15 Jun 2023

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Send us a textThe Humiliation Tour is a running themed fiction novel that could’ve probably been 2 novels. There are 2 separate stories, one startin...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 61 to 70

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Send us a textAlready 10 books since the last recap episode and also another marathon under our belts. This marathon didn’t go well for either of us...

The Longest Race, by Kara Goucher and Mary Pilon

16 May 2023

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Send us a textIn this episode, Alan and Liz chat about Kara Goucher’s recently released book, The Longest Race. They’ll tell you what they learned...

A Beautiful Work In Progress, by Mirna Valerio

01 May 2023

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Send us a textA Beautiful Work in Progress is Mirna’s memoir and the story of how she got into ultrarunning and subsequently finishing her first 100...

Run Faster Marathons, by Chris Knighton

15 Apr 2023

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Send us a text Run Faster Marathons is dedicated to providing advice that you can incorporate onto your marathon training, to make you faster. The in...

Run Your Best Marathon, by Sam Murphy

01 Apr 2023

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Send us a textRun Your Best Marathon is a guide to training and racing the marathon distance. The marathon has many challenges if you are trying to ru...

The Villanova Track Story, by Jerry Bouma

15 Mar 2023

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Send us a textThe Villanova Track Story is the story of Villanova University’s dominance in the DMR, distance medley relay, at the Penn Relays from ...

Taking Life in Stride, by Harvey Mitro

01 Mar 2023

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Send us a textTaking Life in Stride is Harvey’s memoire divided into short stories. The stories are divided into themes, and each theme section has ...

A Runner’s High, by Dean Karnazes

15 Feb 2023

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Send us a textA Runner’s High; My Life in Motion is the story of Dean Karnazes’ return to Western States 100 in his 50’s, at a time when he is a...

Out And Back, by Hillary Allen

02 Feb 2023

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Send us a textOut and Back; A Runner’s Story of Survival Against All Odds is about Hillary Allen’s miraculous survival and recovery after she fell...

Fast 5k, by Pete Magill

19 Jan 2023

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Send us a textFast 5k; 25 Crucial Keys and 4 Training Plans is about two-thirds reading and one-third training plans. The reading consists of 25 short...

The Mock Olympian, by Michael Long

01 Jan 2023

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Send us a textThe Mock Olympian is the story of author Michael Long’s journey to run in every Olympic city, 23 in total, between the 2012 and 2016 O...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 51 to 60

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Send us a textWhat do you mean we have read another 10 books? Already?! Well then we are due for another reflection on the things we remember, and how...

How She Did It, by Molly Huddle and Sara Slattery

01 Dec 2022

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Send us a textHow She Did It is a compilation of stories from 50 legendary female distance runners spanning 6 decades! The book starts with a short in...

Running With The Kenyans, by Adharanand Finn

15 Nov 2022

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Send us a textRunning With The Kenyans is the story of how Adharanand moved his family to Kenya for 6 months so that he could explore why Kenyan runne...

Catch Me If You Can, by Filbert Bayi

01 Nov 2022

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Send us a textCatch me if you can is the story of 1970’s running legend, Filbert Bayi’s, life. The book is divided into 3 parts: In the shadow of...

Endure, by Alex Hutchinson

15 Oct 2022

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Send us a textEndure; Mind, body, and the curiously elastic limits of Human Performance explores all the science that has been done to find out what l...

On Pace, by Matt Fitzgerald

01 Oct 2022

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Send us a textOn Pace is Matt Fitzgerald’s most recent book where he delves into pacing.  He talks about the importance of pacing to get the most o...

Depression Hates A Moving Target, by Nita Sweeney

18 Sep 2022

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Send us a textDepression Hates A Moving Target is about author Nita Sweeney’s experience with crippling anxiety and depression and how she got into ...

Chase That Smile, by Harold Cabrera

01 Sep 2022

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Send us a textChase That Smile is Harold Cabrera’s autobiography and account of how he managed to train for 3 big endurance events in the year he tu...

Running Throughout Time, by Roger Robinson

15 Aug 2022

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Send us a textRunning Through Time aims to tell key stories about the history and evolution of running. A comprehensive book of every story that makes...

Running the Orient, by Gavin Boyter

01 Aug 2022

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Send us a textRunning the Orient is the story of Gavin Boyter’s 2300 mile run across Europe with his girlfriend Aradhna who follows him in their cam...

Alan and Liz's Running Chatter and Rundown on Books 41 to 50

15 Jul 2022

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Send us a textIn this episode we start with some general run chatter before reflecting on everything we learned and thought about related to books 41 ...

Breakthrough Women's Running

01 Jul 2022

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Send us a textBreakthrough Women’s Running is a guide written by Neely Spence Gracey and Cindy Kuzma to help get female runners to their next breakt...

Running With Purpose, by Jim Weber

15 Jun 2022

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Send us a textRunning with Purpose is Jim Weber’s story of how he developed his leadership qualities and was able to elevate Brooks to the power hou...

Finding Gobi, by Dion Leonard

01 Jun 2022

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Send us a textFinding Gobi is both Dion’s memoire and the story of how a little dog from the Gobi desert ended up finding his way to a family in the...

26.2 Miles to Happiness, by Paul Tonkinson

15 May 2022

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Send us a text26.2 Miles to Happiness is Paul Tonkinson’s memoire and an account of his sub-3 hour marathon. Paul lost his mother when he was very y...