Publisher Description

Trail running, winter training, cross training, and increasing distance are some of the topics covered in this guide book by a former marathon world-record-holder. Salazar presents a complete, low-stress running program and shares the hard-won lessons he's learned. 15 photos. 20 illustrations.

This volume offers a sensible, balanced approach for people enlisting in the new second running boom. It recommends a gradual start-up programme complemented by other exercise regimes.

The 1982 Boston Marathon was great theater: Two American runners, Alberto Salazar, a celebrated champion, and Dick Beardsley, a gutsy underdog, going at each other for just under 2 hours and 9 minutes. Neither man broke. The race merely came to a thrilling, shattering end, exacting such an enormous toll that neither man ever ran as well again. Beardsley, the most innocent of men, descended into felony drug addiction, and Salazar, the toughest of men, fell prey to depression. Exquisitely written and rich with human drama, John Brant's Duel in the Sun brilliantly captures the mythic character of the most thrilling American marathon ever run—and the powerful forces of fate that drove these two athletes in the years afterward.

In 2007, after collapsing on a practice field at the Nike campus, champion marathoner Alberto Salazar's heart stopped beating for 14 minutes. Over the crucial moments that followed, rescuers administered CPR to feed oxygen to his brain and EMTs shocked his heart eight times with defibrillator paddles. He was clinically dead. But miraculously, Salazar was back at the Nike campus coaching his runners just nine days later. Salazar had faced death before, but he survived that and numerous other harrowing episodes thanks to his raw physical talent, maniacal training habits, and sheer will, as well as—he strongly believes—divine grace. In 14 Minutes, Salazar chronicles in spellbinding detail how a shy, skinny Cuban-American kid from the suburbs of Boston was transformed into the greatest marathon runner of his era. For the first time, he reveals his tempestuous relationship with his father, a former ally of Fidel Castro; his early running life in high school with the Greater Boston Track Club; his unhealthy obsession to train through pain; the dramatic wins in New York, Boston, and South Africa; and how surviving 14 minutes of death taught him to live again.

Renowned running authority, coach, and best-selling author Pete Pfitzinger teams with Philip Latter, senior writer for Running Times, in this must-have training guide for the most popular race distances, including the 5K, 10K, and half marathon. Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon presents easy-to-follow programs proven to give you an edge in your next race. You’ll discover detailed plans for race-specific distances as well as expert advice on balancing training and recovery, cross-training, nutrition, tapering, and training over age 40. And for serious runners who compete in numerous races throughout the year, Pfitzinger’s multi-race, multi-distance training plans are invaluable. Faster Road Racing is your all-inclusive resource on running your fastest at distances of 5K, 8K to 10K, 15K to 10 miles, and the half marathon.

The controversial career of marathon runner Dick Beardsley is featured in this look inside the head of a distance runner as it describes his difficult life, what life is like as a celebrated athlete, and many struggles to overcome obtacles ranging from an