I have mixed feelings about this book, first published in 2012. Most runners want to run faster. But how? Julian Goater, 1981 National Cross Country champion, shares his insights in this title. 

With a mixture of anecdote and specific training advice, he expands on six components of fitness: speed, suppleness, strength, stamina, skill and psychology. Some of his advice is uncontentious: do core strength training, for example, and do different types of training sessions including fartleks (short bursts of speed within a run), intervals, long runs and recovery runs. He is a enthusiast for cross country because “it gives you all-over, full-body fitness and resilience that will help you enormously when you run on quicker surfaces.”

All the above makes sense to me, but I am less sure about his advocacy of training twice a day. “To fit in the variety of training sessions you need, run twice a day most days,” he writes. This is not to get in more mileage overall, but more variety of short sessions.

Goater’s overall philosophy seems to me well summarised in a quote he references from Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe: “I’ve always felt that long, slow distance produces long, slow runners.” Goater feels that runners all too often get in plenty of miles but get too comfortable running at a steady pace and do not do enough speed work; and speed work, he says, must be above race pace otherwise it is useless. In fact it must be well above race pace. “To be effective, even your slowest speedwork should be done faster than your best pace for the distance below the one you are aiming for. If you are training for 10K, run your long sustained-speed repetitions at a faster pace than you can sustain for 5K,” he writes.

The author also states that “ideally, at least 80 percent of your running should be done at a comfortable cruising pace – but not just jogging.”  So he is not recommending speedwork above all else.

I did enjoy the book and especially Goater’s recollections of Coe, David Bedford, Steve Cram and other runners of his day. I think it could help me to run faster, if only thanks to his insistence on purposeful training and encouragement to put in more effort.

That said, I note the lack of references to scientific studies of the impact of different types of training. Rather, Goater relies on his own experience as a runner and a coach. 

A good book, but best read alongside other more rigorous training guides.

The Art of Running Faster by Julian Goater an Don Melvin (ISBN 978-0-7360-9550-1)

I like this book and recommend it, perhaps even for those not intending to run a marathon, or not yet.

Murphy is a runner and journalist, and takes the trouble to explain the science and to back up her statements with references to credible research. This is important because there are a surprising (to me) number of unresolved questions for those who want to optimize their running. Stretching, for example, before or after a run. “I’ve yet to find any evidence that stretching – of any kind – actually makes you run faster,” says Murphy. Does it reduce injury? “No clear effect,” she writes; but adds that there is evidence that if you think it helps, it does.

I would still call this matter of stretching unresolved. Julian Goater and Don Melvin, in their 2012 book The Art of Running Faster, have an entire chapter on the subject and say that “You do need to stretch – regularly … in my experience regular stretching is the key to avoiding injury.”

Murphy also has a down-to-earth section on how to choose trainers. “Many of the claims made about how shoes can protect or correct your feet are exaggerated or just plain wrong,” Murphy writes, with reference to research. She does confirm though that those super expensive carbon-fibre plate shoes are faster, but also notes some downsides. Comfort is the most important thing, she feels. I also like this great tip: when buying shoes, take out the insoles and stand on them. “Your whole foot should be within the boundary of the insole,” she says, otherwise you will have cramping which can be a disaster (it was for me).

The book takes the reader through the art and science of training, and then offers a set of training plans. She categorizes the plans as full throttle (training five days a week), steady state (mostly four days a week) and minimalist (mostly three days a week). In each category there are plans for experienced, and first timer. Runs are described as easy, tempo, marathon pace and so on; but you have to work out the exact pacing yourself, for which there is extensive guidance, as this depends on your capabilities and targets. 

These schedules are not as demanding as those in the classic book Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas, nor is Murphy’s book as technical. Experienced runners would likely benefit more from the Pfitzinger and Douglas book; yet having read both, I still found Run your best Marathon useful.

Where this title wins though is in its approachability, down to earth style, and coverage of those small details which experienced runners seem just to know, but rarely explain. This is especially true in the second half of the book, about practicalities, body maintenance, how to choose a race, and nutrition/hydration. There is advice on exactly what to eat and drink, and how much, even down to tips like how to drink while running, without choking or coughing. There is also a complete checklist of what you might need for race day, though I am not sure about the bin liner she suggests for keeping dry before the race!

The book is very approachable and especially suitable for those contemplating their first marathon (as I am). Much of it applies to other distances as well, certainly longer runs of 10 miles or more, and there is so much general running advice that it may be worth a read even for those who have no intention of subjecting their bodies to a gruelling 26.2 mile race.

Run your best Marathon by Sam Murphy (Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-1-4729-8952-9)

I picked up this book, sub-titled “Adventures in late-life running”, because it seemed a good fit for my own situation, having taken up running as I approach retirement age.

It is not quite what I expected. Askwith’s first love is fell running, which he used to do intensively when younger. He recounts in the first chapter how he returned for a reunion fell run, now in his early sixties, and his reflections on the toll of age on his performance and that of his friends. 12 of them came for the reunion but only 4 actually ran, the others declaring themselves unfit for more than walks and socialising.

What we get in the subsequent chapters is a series of portraits of older runners, most much older than their sixties, backed up with interviews: why do they run in old age, how do they train, what is their story?

There are also interviews with experts on the subject of old age and fitness, and the whole book is punctuated with Askwith’s reflections on aging, mortality, and a few of his own recent experiences of running.

Curiously this is a book which I enjoyed less as it went on. Askwith’s constant self-deprecation becomes tiresome, and he seems almost unaware of the frustrating contradictions which he presents. How much should you train? Not too much and focus on HIIT (high intensity interval training) according to an interview with Peter Herbert. – you can read more about his approach here. Yet we also hear from the amazing Tommy Hughes a world record (for age) marathon runner and how he runs 20 miles a day in training. Or by contrast Angela Copson, who according to the book hardly trained at all for the 2007 London Marathon, other than running alongside her husband riding a bike, but achieved under four hours as a sixty year old woman.

It is all fairly confusing if you come to the book looking for advice on how to run well as an older person; and in fact you should look elsewhere for that kind of advice.

On the other hand, Askwith does put in the hard work of going out and interviewing numerous interesting older runners and for that, the book is well worth a read.

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