Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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146 of 147 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Comprehensive and Current Work, April 13, 2004
By A Customer
I think it is important that readers understand precisely what this 931-page books IS, and what it is not. Dr Noakes is a trained physician, a professor of exercise science, and a highly published researcher in the field of exercise physiology. His meticulously researched book (the online references occupy over 100 pages) offers an authoritative compilation of the latest and best research to guide the intelligent coach or self-coached runner in the structuring of productive and safe training regimens. For those who lack a PhD in physiology but still want to understand WHY they should perform specific types of training, based on current research, this book is simply unsurpassed. If all you want is a "table" of training prescriptions with no grounding in research or explanation of validity, then look elsewhere: this book is not for you.In my opinion, Dr Noakes has done an excellent job of extracting results from current research and translating them from the highly specialized language of sports physiology into language that the intelligent layperson can understand. Indeed, I found the book pitched at a slightly less technical level than the popular competitor by Martin and Coe---a book I hve also found to be invaluable. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Fourth Edition is Noakes' unapologetic challenge of THE prevailing paradigm in distance running; he questions the widely accepted belief that an individual's VO(2) max, or maximal oxygen uptake figure, is the key limiting factor in distance running performance. In a carefully argued Chapter 2, complete with dozens of references to research of the past decade to support his claims, Dr Noakes argues for an alternative "Central Governor Model" in which exercise capacity is primarily limited by coronary blood flow to supply oxygen to the heart. I cannot even present an outline of this fascinating alternative model in the brief space allocated here, but suffice it to say that Chapter 2 of his book, in which this theory is developed in detail, is alone worth the price of the book.
In addition to the physiology of training, there are entire chapters devoted to temperature regulation, ergogencic aids, injury prevention and treatment, apparel (emphasis on shoes), etc: all of the usual topics with which self-coached runners must eventually cope. If I were to offer criticisms of the book for the sake of balance, there would be only two, both relatively minor. (1) Chapter 6, entitled "Learning from the Experts" offers training programs from a number of famous past champions who raced over distances from 1 mile to the ultramarathon. However, as Dr Noakes points out clearly and often, many of these runners, almost inhumanly gifted with natural ability, became champions IN SPITE OF their obsessive, unbalanced training programs, and not because of them. For the person of average gifts, emulating the training programs of, say, Dave Bedford (who occasionally logged as many as 160--200 miles per week!)is a certain prescription for injury (as it ultimately was for Bedford). I would therefore suggest changing the title of this chapter to "Learning from the Champions." The accomplishments of these highly gifted people all too often had very little to do with "Expertise" in rationale training, as the current title suggests, and far more to do with natural endowment. (2) Since Dr Noakes is willing to challenge the VO(2) max paradigm so openly, I think it is necessary that he offer some guidance on precisely what differences to the training program his alternative Central Governor Model implies. It is not easy for the non-specialist to see what amendments to training are implied by this alternative model; perhaps an addition to be incorporated into the Fifth Edition? In summary, if you are a self-coached runner looking for an intelligent basis on which to construct a training program, then this 931-page book is comprehensive and has no real rival. If, on the other hand, you would prefer a 5-page pamphlet offering some training tables for the beginner, then I advise you to look elsewhere.
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83 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Running Bible, February 17, 2001
If you have a top notch personal coach who tends all your needs, you don't need any book to improve your running. If you are like me who have the passion for serious running, enjoy reading and analytical thinking while having a full-time job + other professional activities, this book is a must-have. I got one for me and two as presents to my friends. Using this book as the major reference to coach and heal myself, I qualified for the Boston Marathon at my marathon debut after about one year's training, took 10 minutes off in another year and I am on my way to beat NYC marathon qualification time for guaranteed number. Running programs are everywhere. "Individualizing" has become a cliché. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms and principles behind body and training is essential to derive a healthy and effective training program that adapts to the body's response. Lore of Running distinguishes itself from other running books by offering a large volume of solid evidence to support the principles concluded by the author. The readers have the freedom of utilizing these materials, often presented in interesting ways such as stories about famous runners, to make their own conclusions. I feel like having a very pleasant academic discussion with the author who is convincing, but not dictating while reading the book. The background of the author - ultra-marathon athlete, researcher and practicing sports MD is perfect for writing such comprehensive running book.This book is certainly not a quick recipe. It takes time to digest the material. If you enjoy reading, it is a plus. I have read some section multiple times. Another very good running book that takes much less time to read is Daniels' Running Formula by Jack Daniels that is geared more toward elite runners, but still very helpful for midpack runners like me.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal book on running, best I've come across., August 12, 2007
I have been reading about running for the past couple of years--probably more than I ought to. I came upon this book recently in the library (most of my reading is online!) and upon poring through its pages have realized that a lot of what I've read either came from this book, or this book has a lot of what I've read in it. Noakes has written this tome relying upon the best science we have for running with all of its available studies. He bases his conclusions and statements on journal articles where possible and where not does not go overboard in conjecture.
He is an accomplished marathoner and ultra marathoner and in his practice has treated a lot of runners.
Go ahead and buy any book on running. It will have a section on nutrition with the basics that we all know. Contrast with the nutrition section in this and it's actually worth reading; he spends many pages on such details as the proper sodium levels in a beverage, the amount of liquid we need to drink while exercising (not the vague catch-all of "drink as much as you sweat"). His guides on injury and footware are the best researched I've found anywhere.
This is not just the best book on running I've seen, it's the best book _by far_.
I slight this book in two areas:
1) Injury treatment seems to be really slanted substantially toward footwear and orthotics. Now, there may be a reason for that I'm not aware of, and he does give time to exercises and "holistic" approches for injury prevention, including training the hips for, say, a knee problem and not just the feet, but I would have just preferred a bit more.
2) Running technique. He describes in detail the typical heel-strike of most runners but doesn't spend much time that I have found on particulars of technique, such as possibly forefooting or midfooting. Bits and pieces are throughout the book in this, but a subsection on what is now in vogue (pose technique, chirunning, etc.) would have been nice. I don't know that it's reasonable to dismiss these simply because he feels they're useless; I feel like he missed out.
That said, I really can't stress enough how much solid, quality stuff is in this book. He's not simply taking what "everyone knows" about running and making a thousand pages out of it; he does go into meaningful detail.
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