Customer Reviews

Marathon!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After repeated bouts with injuries while training using other programs, Jeff's program got me out the door and running a faster marathon.

My initial reaction to his run-walk method was sheer disbelief. After working his plan for a month or so I was converted. I cut 20 minutes off of my personal best with this program. I feel that the Galloway method really teaches you how to work with your body. Most programs try to jam your body into doing a marathon. Galloway's edges you into it and as a result makes it easier for you to complete the training and the marathon.

The book also presents a very realistic attitude about running and running marathons. We all aren't Frank Shorter or Catherine Ndereba. This book helps to turn us everyday runners into marathoners.

This book is the safest, most fun way for you to run a marathon. I used it, along with joining a local Galloway running group, to complete 3 marathons in the last 1 1/2 years.

Make sure you get the second edition, with the word "New" in the middle of the cover. The negative comments on the older reviews, referencing the "story" woven in the book, refer to the first edition. The criticisms were warrented, and this "story" was eliminated from the second edition. As a result, the excellant running advice shines through.

Jeff Galloway is the "Johnny Appleseed of Running", bringing running and marathoning to the masses. This book is a great way to get started off on the right foot.

I only gave it 3 stars because of the silly story that readers must wade through to get to the advice. But following the directions in this book, my marathon times were improved and I set PRs in 10ks and 5ks, too.

A friend recommended this book to me and I am so glad she did. She is training for a marathon and I am not... at least not yet. This book will give you strategies and guidelines to help you train for a race of any length. I currently do 5K runs and have a 10K (my first!) scheduled later this summer. There are tips and advice about all aspects of running including: walk breaks, drinking water, cross training, training in various weather conditions and more. Galloway says that virtually anyone can finish a marathon with his 6 month training program and I believe it. In fact, after reading the book I am motivated to give one a try... maybe next year though!

Galloway does repeat himself a lot. I think this is because readers may chapter-jump when using this book and he wanted to make sure certain things were stressed. It didn't really bother me, but I thought it was worth noting. Also, does Galloway own the company that makes PowerBars or something? He just raves about those things! :-)

I found this book to have useful information for a beginner, but the manner in which it is presented made it hard to access and use. The format Galloway uses includes an ongoing story that tells of a group of runners and their quest to run a marathon, broken up into parts in each chapter. The story was too precious for me, I found it distracted from the information I was looking for, and made it hard to wade through the book.

I would have been much better served by a less cute, more cut and dried manual, using the info Galloway presents, but without the stories. There are some good techniques in here, some interesting points, some valuable tips. But the effort required to extract the good info out of the rest of the mush was too much, and I felt it detracted from the overall value of the book.

I recommend this book more for a beginner marathoner rather than for someone who is more competitive. Galloway gives plenty of valuable information and training tips but I disagree with his approach. Galloway recommends a fairly minimal amount of training and although this approach may help someone finish a first marathon, I don't feel one can improve greatly without significantly more mileage than he recommends. Also, he recommends walk breaks but, if you are well trained and pacing yourself properly, these are not necessary. All in all, I find Bob Glover's Competitve Runner's Handbook to give better advice for marathon training.

This is the best source of information for overall marathon training. The book is well formated and an easy read.
The recommendation of taking a walking break while doing the long runs and the marathon seem difficult to accept, when for years you were not considered a real marathon runner if you walked any part of the run. I tried the approach and ran a PR on a difficult course.

Excellent training manual, encompasses all aspects of marathon training. Lends inspiration and motivation to begining runners. Highly recommended!

From dirty tricks on your mind to magic words to keep you going, this is the best low mileage marathon book I have ever followed. I have used his strategies on all 5 marathons I have run.

If you're planning for your first marathon, this book is for you. Galloway tells you everything you need to know to make it to the finish line comfortably and without injury. I used his run/walk method for my first marathon, and was out and about that evening celebrating -- unlike several of my fellow marathoners who spent the rest of the day in bed w/ sore feet and legs. His story telling style may be a bit annoying to some, but the paternalistic nature of the book guides you from start to finish simply and effortlessly. At least as much so as training for a marathon can be!