About my book reviews

A while back I wrote about potentially writing some book reviews of running books that I thought were useful to me, and I think can be useful to other people who enjoy running. I want to make clear that I am not an expert in running, nor will I ever be, and therefore these book reviews can be viewed in the light of an enthusiastic follower of running; rather than someone who claims to know everything about running. I think it’s also good for me to clarify that I will include books that I think can be beneficial to someone who is running; so that could mean my reviews will be about books that may have nothing to do with running.

What this means in practice is that I will try my very best to stay clear of pretending to have ‘expertise’ in understanding training manuals. Since I have started running- over five years ago now- it has amazed me how many people believe they understand running because of what they have read. Whilst reading in-depth on any topic is laudable, I do not think it qualifies anyone to make judgements on how running works. I think that can only come from participating in the sport for a long-time (to me this can be viewed in decades and participation means being part of the sport not necessarily playing it e.g. supporting your club or running organisation), really experiencing it from a number of different perspectives (including different athletic abilities) and most importantly becoming a coach. I do not consider myself having done those things, so for example I have found Jack Daniels’s book- Daniels’s Running Formula- to be a useful book; however I do not think that my review will add much to anyone’s understanding of why they would want to read the book. In short, I am still learning about running.

So do not expect an in-depth review of each book, unless there is something that has particularly caught my eye and/ or I disagree with strongly. What the review will do is primarily tell you my view about the book I am discussing, and why I think it may or may not be good to read. Running is as varied and as unique as the people who participate in it, so these book reviews are a reflection of my own personal journey into the world of running. So do not expect a comprehensive list of ‘top’ running books on this page. You may or may not agree with my reviews, and it would be great to hear what your views are about the books I have written about.