Running Tough [Paperback]

Michael Sandrock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2000

"

Imagine training with the best distance runners and running coaches of our time, learning their favorite and most effective workouts, and discovering their hard-earned secrets to success. With Running Tough you'll find yourself running side by side with such world-class runners as Bill Rodgers, Libbie Hickman, Frank Shorter, Arthur Lydiard, Ron Clarke, Emil Zatopek, and Adam Goucher, tasting their unwavering dedication and determination, and viewing firsthand their training runs.

Written by prolific running journalist Michael Sandrock, Running Tough organizes the workouts by training goals to create a user-friendly handbook. This allows you to develop a customized training plan using the most appropriate workouts for training and racing. You'll find chapters dedicated to

- long runs, to help develop aerobic endurance
- off-road training, to build and strengthen the legs;
- fartlek training or the ""speedplay,"" to discover variety;
- interval workouts, to increase speed;
- hill workouts, to build strength and stamina;
- tempo runs, to push anaerobic thresholds;
- recovery fun runs, to heal muscles while emphasizing the enjoyment of the sport; and
- building a program, to prepare for competition.

With Running Tough, you'll have the tools to create enhanced training programs, discover new plateaus in your workout regimes, and meet the challenges of world-class competition. You'll find that whether you're looking for increased strength and endurance, improved aerobic or anaerobic capacity, or just a competitive edge, Running Tough will help you train with more efficiency, more enthusiasm, and more variety.

"

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sandrock understands the hard road of distance running because he has run the monsters. What Hemingway was for the bullfight, Rock is for the running race. No one writes about this sport as well."
C. Mark Wetmore
Head track coach
University of Colorado
"Mike Sandrock's Running Tough illustrates beautifully that, when it comes to training, there are many roads to Rome. What shines through the pages of diverse workouts and inspirational stories is each athlete's love of the sport, innovative spirit and capacity for hard work. A training treasure for the running enthusiast."
Lorraine Moller
Four time Olympic Marathoner
1992 Olympic Bronze Medallist
Masters World Records in 5K and 4 mile, 1995

Review

“Sandrock understands the hard road of distance running because he has run the monsters. What Hemingway was for the bullfight, Rock is for the running race. No one writes about this sport as well.”

C. Mark Wetmore
Head track coach
University of Colorado

“Mike Sandrock's Running Tough illustrates beautifully that, when it comes to training, there are many roads to Rome. What shines through the pages of diverse workouts and inspirational stories is each athlete's love of the sport, innovative spirit and capacity for hard work. A training treasure for the running enthusiast.”

Lorraine Moller
Four time Olympic Marathoner
1992 Olympic Bronze Medallist
Masters World Records in 5K and 4 mile, 1995

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics (October 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736027947
• ISBN-13: 978-0736027946
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #290,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Marathons

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good source for the competitive runner, March 9, 2008

By 

Ryan M. Nevin (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Running Tough (Paperback)

If you've ever ran in college, and have forgotten some of the tougher workouts that your coach forced you into, this is probably a great reference text for you. I bought this book after I ran Chicago and qualified for Boston to get myself some new insight on what harder workouts I should try on the indoor track during the winter.

Two of my favorite workouts are Frank Shorter's 800s and Castella's "400s with Fast Float workout," both of which put a new, tougher spin on doing 400s and 800s. I ran the 400m workout a week before a race to get some nice turnover and speed that I could recover by race day. Needless to say, there a great number of workouts in this book that will break up the monotony of regular speed training done on a track.

The edition I purchased had 75 distinct workouts, covering long runs, off-road/cross-country and fartlek training, as well as intervals, hills, and tempo runs. The toughest ones for me were the long run workouts. Can you imagine running 2hrs straight at 10K pace as a workout or 20 miles on hilly terrain, with the second 10 being faster than the first half? For training?! YIKES! Needless to say, some of these are a little excessive for average runners. Still, fun to attempt!

Now, keep in mind these are pro athlete workouts, so EXPECT to have a lot of pro names dropped. The authors spoke with a lot of pro athletes/coaches to get the workouts they used/created; hence the extra background discussion that doesn't necessarily pertain to the workout itself (see Pre's 30-40s 200m workout). I honestly like a little background as to why and how the workout came to be.

For the cost of the book, I think every competitive athlete should purchase this book. If you're thinking about turning into a competitive runner or shooting for a PR without having a coach to give you ideas, I think having a text like this one is a necessity. It has a short section on how to pick your workouts and how to not take the workouts line for line, pace for pace, to avoid overtraining.

Like I've mentioned, this is a good text to have for training ideas, but if you don't run more than 30mi/wk, you might not get much out of it. As it mentions in the text, having a good solid base is crucial before attempting some of these workouts in order to recover and not burnout after a couple weeks of training.

Highly recommended as a hard WORKOUT reference, not a general reference of running.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ready to get serious?, May 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Running Tough (Paperback)

I agree, this book is for serious runners, or runners who are ready to get serious. You are not going to improve that PR by doing the same old thing. I am going to integrate these workout's in to my plan. Sandrock states in his book to build a base first,and be true to your self. None of us is Shorter, or Salazar, adapt it for you.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For serious runners, December 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Running Tough (Paperback)

Mike Sandrock follows up his previous chronicles of stud runners with this well done book. Competitive runners will enjoy the chance to see what others profess to doing for their hard sessions. I thought the book gave me good ideas for new workouts to incorporate in my training (although at a slower pace of course.)