Run Faster from the 5k to the Marathon: How to Be Your Own Best Coach

After several years of running I felt like I had exhausted a lot of the training plan resources on the internet, the majority of which direct you to guides to running your first 5k or first 10k rather than improving on your existing times for an established runner.This book helps you towards personal bests and boy has it worked for me. 9 weeks ago I took to following the most 'beginner' level (don't be fooled by the name) 5k plan and I have set course and distance PBs in 10 races during that period including reducing my 5k time from 19:22 to 18:52 in my first attempt. Those who have been running for a while will know that knocking 30 seconds off a 5k PB that you've been chipping away at for 7 or 8 years is quite a big chunk!The book contains several training guides which I would say are slightly beyond an absolute beginner in that they don't coach you from sofa to 5k, so don't expect that. The reader can easily skip all the brilliant background chapters and delve straight into the training guides which I did the first time round. I subsequently spent some time going back to the earlier chapters and understanding just what is meant by some of the sessions and what the benefits are. For example, you may read in a training plan that you have to run X miles with Y number of hill sprints and for me I wasn't sure whether I had to do them during the mileage or all of them as reps at the end. After having gone back to the background info chapters I then started again with a training plan and the training has been absolute quality.Given that it's a running faster guide, it's not as hard work as you might imagine, in fact in many ways I have found my training to be a bit easier. I don't have to go out running full pelt every day, far from it. Although I have upped my training frequency from 3 runs a week to 5 runs a week, there is a general theme in the shorter distance guides of running gently for 70-90% of the runs (which is an absolute joy!) with some sporadic hard efforts and it totally makes sense why that works for the shorter distance training. There is no prescription of pace at any point in this book because the author doesn't know the reader. Instead the plans will say run at 'tempo' pace or 'easy' pace and there are plenty of resources on the internet where you can plug in your target race time and it will advise you of what your tempo/steady/race/easy paces are.I will add that I am a coach at a running club, albeit only at the lowest level of coaching qualification, and I have recommended this book to anyone who will listen. In particular if anyone says to me "My times just aren't come down any more" they usually have a link to this book in their inbox within a day! I know a lot of my friends have bought it and their first impressions have been that it seems a bit wordy but I have encouraged them to follow the book in the way I have and I hope they'll have as much success with it as I have.

I've read a lot of running books on coaching and I found this by far the most valuable. For those who want an off-the-shelf training plan then this book is probably not the best choice (although there is still loads of good info there that will be of use). But for the 'nerdy' runner (like me) who wants to design their own training plans then this book is pure gold!It's not easy reading - I've read it about 3 times so far - and almost every page is covered in notes, scribbles, etc. But I now understand how to develop a structured training plan that is tailored to me (my current fitness, training capacity, race goal, etc). And I will know how to adjust it if things change during the training period (which they almost always do).The result - consistent injury free training that is targeted towards my goal race and enables me to 'Run Faster'!

I have several running books, and this is a good one, but perhaps too abstract for people wanting very concrete advice. Sure, the book does include various sample training schedules, but they are not to be taken too literally. The overall message of the book, in fact, is that you have to constantly tailor your training to feedback from your own body. The book encourages you to listen to you body, and monitor carefully your progress, then adjust your training schedule accordingly. In a sense, then, it is advising you to be your own coach, armed with metaphorical clipboard with which to interrogate, monitor, and adjust.If that is what you are looking for then this book will be perfect for you. If you are just looking for pre-designed training schedules, you will be disappointed.

When I wanted to run my first marathon, i got a suitable book: "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer." That book got me through the training and the run extremely well."Run faster" got me me doing just that: running a faster marathon and much faster half-marathons. It provided me with a much clearer idea of how to train in a smarter, more efficient way than I been doing. In fact, reading the book led to me training less often and, perhaps most importantly, helped to keep me injury-free.I'm still looking to improve on my personal best times and still applying the techniques I learned here.

Really in depth analysis of training techniques and styles. It can leans toward the semi-pro/elite athlete but anyone that takes running seriously would definitely benefit from reading this book.

This was recommended to me by a friend. I followed one of the plans and it worked, making my time for 5k much quicker - by 6 mins! Am now going to follow the half marathon plan! A must buy

I liked this book, loads of information and useful tips, I recommend it without hesitation

This is the amazing book I have ever read.