Customer Reviews

Running: The Athlete Within

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Running The Athlete Within by David Costill (John and Janice Fisher Chair in Exercise Science, Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University) and Scott Trappe (Director, Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University) is a straightforward and "user friendly" guide to understanding how men and women can best balance training, rest, and nutrition into a healthy and competitive running/exercise regimen. Firmly grounded in solid scientific backing, Running The Athlete Within covers the effects of aging on one's ability to run and enjoy it, optimizing one's performance, special considerations for female and pregnant runners, and much more. Running The Athlete Within is very highly recommended reading for the long distance runner and the cardiovascular fitness enthusiast.

This book really ought to be called "The Distance Runner" because its focus is entirely on that topic; sprinting is only discussed when it provides an illuminating contrast to the distance sport. Also, there are an annoying amount of typos and grammatical errors in the book. They don't interfere with information transfer, but they brought me up mentally every time I crossed one and they come across as unprofessional. Those nits aside, this is an excellent discussion of past and current research on the effects of running on the human body and methods to maximize training and race performance. Costill and Trappe discuss the physiology of elite runners vs. the untrained, safe and effective training methods, differences between male and female runners, and the effects on aging on performance. An educational resource for runners at all levels.