Running to the Top [Paperback]

Arthur Lydiard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

This title presnets dedicated mailing and e-mail campaign to targeted running interest media and organisations.In "Running to the Top", Arthur Lydiard - one of the most successful trainers of middle - and long-distance running - reveals the secrets and techniques that have taken him and his athletes to the top of their game.Based on a clearly defined concept of fitness, he presents readers with a detailed and systematic training program for runners of all levels.Expert advice and information on choosing the right equipment, nutrition and healthy eating, injury prevention, therapy and the relationship between the coach and the athlete is also included, as well as a test-system that allows athletes to determine the absorption of oxygen through the fatless body mass.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Arthur Lydiard is considered by many to be one of the greatest running middle- and long-distance running coaches ever. During the 1950s and 1960s his techniques revolutionized the sport of distance running.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Meyer & Meyer Sport (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3891244401
• ISBN-13: 978-3891244401
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to use as a guideline for running and racing, June 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Running to the Top (Paperback)

Arthur Lydiard, the legendary coach of the New Zealand track teams, knows running. Want proof? He has coached many Olympic Gold medal winners and many coaches today base their training philosophies on Lydiard. This book is easy to understand and provides clear, realistic work-outs for all levels. Whether you are training for a marathon, 10K, 5K or 800m, this book will get you started. Many of his training ideas from 40 years ago are still used today. This amazing book put his brain on paper. Get this book if you are serious about running or coaching.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book from the best coach, December 8, 2004

By 

hillrunr - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running to the Top (Paperback)

To those who say his theories are outdated, show me the results where Americans pounding the intervals or following a Daniels type plan are beating those like the Kenyans and the Japanese marathoners and Paula Radcliffe who train much more like Lydiard suggests. It's not a coincidence that Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi became the first two Americans to win Olympic marathon medals in 20 years. They are also two of the few Americans who follow a Lydiard-based training philosophy. The Kenyans do not train at LT pace all the time. Anyone who knows how they train knows that they train much like Lydiard suggests.

Yes, his writings are hard to read. He has a great mind when it comes to running technique but not quite so great when it comes to writing style. However, the wealth of wisdom in his writings is worth working yourself through the less than spectacular writing style if you are interested in racing performance.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quaint, November 5, 2004

By 

M. Eichenlaub - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Running to the Top (Paperback)

My first thoughts were - "This is a book?" This is the most unprofessional job I have ever seen. The forward is one the most laughable English translations I have ever seen printed. As for the body of the text, it is clearly a compilation of various things Lydiard wrote over the years. The editors took all this different stuff, threw it together, and called it a book. The end has some charts sitting around with absolutely no explanation. The book repeats itself a lot, and there is a long section written exclusively about rugby. Apparently Lydiard once adapted his training ideas to rugby, and the resulting article was thrown into the book as a "bonus" or something.

That aside, it is fun to read some old Lydiard stuff. This book takes me way back to the glory days of the running boom, to Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers running in their heydays, which is funny since I was born in 1984. Always nice to hear that the reason "the negroid" is beating me is that he can lift his knees while leaning forward. Thousands of people have been trying for years to find out why the East Africans are so dominant, and here Lydiard had it all figured out years ago!

Joking aside, this is a decent book about training. Lydiard is not a proponent of Long Slow Distance. He supports Long Steady Distance. His focus on high mileage and basic speed is key. Many well-informed people believe that if Americans would spend more time developing their aerobic bases and less time on the track doing hard intervals, they would run much faster. I have found this to be true in my own running.

One thing I would have liked is a better description of the hill-bounding exercises. Lydiard mentions that you should do bounding exercises up a hill, but he doesn't go into the detail of exactly what this bounding should look like. That's my only true complaint.