Customer Reviews

Psychodynamic Running: The Complete, Definitive, Madman's Guide to Distance Running And the Marathon

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Dr. Ethan Gologor, Psychology Professor, Psychotherapist and amateur tennis player, trained for and successfully completed the New York Marathon in 2005 as he approached his 65th year. This book weaves together Gologor's psychological insights and personal experiences about running and living. He draws upon his work as a Psychology teacher & scholar, psychotherapist and even as a parent. The book while primarily a serious analysis of running is also funny, thoughtful and in a subtle way provides an understanding of life in the early 21st century.

I seriously do not recommend this book for runners. He starts off by explaining how much he hates running and is not a runner. Then the next 50 pages or 1/4 of the book I've read is a ramble of his thoughts on sports and pyschology in general. I keep wondering if he will ever address distance and marathon running at all, so I skim ahead and even the most relevant chapter, toward the end is so disappointing and pessimistic that I feel he sorely needs a lesson from someone like me who is one of the most optimistic runners you will ever meet. Clearly, I need to find a book written by a coach, not a psychologist who gets too caught up in his esoteric, tangential thoughts on what it means to be writing this book, rather than actually presenting any material worth reading. If you're interested in the development of sports pyschology, you may find this book interesting, otherwise prepare to be disappointed, sorry.