Books and Book Reviews


"Born to Run" By Christopher McDougall.




This book really came at the right time for me.  I was trying to run farther than 3miles without hurting myself and I  had never been able to.  Chris seemed to have gone down the same path as me and with equal running results.  Chris and I went to running stores and Orthopedic surgeons asking why we can't run well - and we were both told "running is hard, and not for everybody" - and "take up cycling".  I'd always noted that when it came to running, I have always been injury-limited (NOT limited by my cardio or muscular fitness!


See my review here




"Barefoot Running Step By Step" By Barefoot KenBob Saxton

I advocate getting as close to running barefoot as you can as a means to help heal your brain. Barefoot Ken Bob’s book is a fantastic way to learn barefoot running style.




"Why We Run: A Natural History" By Bernd Heinrich


The author takes us through biological processes of birds, bugs, mammals. We are brought up to a biological understanding of energy pathways and explore endurance animals - form migrating birds, to singing frogs, and desert-crossing camels. Humans fall into this group of endurance animals - and after reading this we now know why! Bernd's running training, is smart and based on biology. His sights were set on breaking the world record for the 100km distance!  Running consumed him, like living in the woods to train, running through the college campus where he worked(including running to the bathroom or lunch). See my review here

"Running For My Life" By Ray Zahab





Anyone who has watched this movie knows Ray Zahab, part of the trio of runners who in 2008 ran across the entire Sahara desert.Running for My Life is Ray's autobiography, carrying his story from birth to 2007--just prior to his legendary Sahara run.* Ray chronicles his childhood, his early adult years of drinking, smoking, partying and general aimlessness, and then his subsequent fitness and running epiphany, which has led to his career as a successful and inspirational ultramarathoner. He has either won or placed very near the front in some of the great adventure races on earth: the Yukon Arctic Electra, the Marathon des Sables, the sea2summit adventure race, and the Gobi March. Along the way he has met with adversity--at Badwater, in particular--and serious challenges, but has met all with remarkable aplomb and an infectious enthusiasm.  See my review here



"Running On Empty" by Marshall Ulrich


I had just finished Ray Zahab's book and he'd mentioned Marshall in such high regards i thought I'd better find out if he'd written anything. After finishing this book a couple days after buying it, I met Marshall at the Nashville Marathon race expo! A very down to Earth guy, we talked for 20 minutes, it was an honor.
The appendices are also fascinating - training plans, food plans, and more. There is a lot here that I think many Paleo Runners would enjoy, highly recommended.


See my review here














"The Long Run" by Matt Long and Charles Butler
The Long Run

This book wasn’t as much about running as it was about life. It was about what a person can do when faced with adversity. In this case, the word “adversity” does not even begin to describe what Matt Long went through. On the morning of December 22, 2005, this New York City firefighter was cycling to work (due to the illegal transit strike) when he was struck by and sucked under a charter bus making an illegal turn (chartered by a large well-known financial institution).
See my review here








"Brain Training for Runners" by Matt Fitzgerald


Personally, this was my first running book - so I had a novice’s perspective.  I felt this book did a fantastic job explaining the cellular and metabolic pathways we use for exercise. I gained an appreciation for the complexities and efficiencies (and deficiencies) of muscle hypertrophy, bone mineral density, energy pathways, and the like.
I recommend this book to friends that are new or injury prone runners.I do not think the author is ‘into’ the power of ‘natural running forms’, this does not take away from the book - but for this reason, I would supplement it with Pose or Chi or barefoot running drills and skills.  Because of the illustrations and training plans, I recommend non-ebook formats, trees are renewable so it’s ok just this once :). See my review here.











Robb Wolf interviewed Dr Davis in episode 95.  I learned so much and immediately bought his book, Wheat Belly.  He could have named it 'Wheat Brain' since there's a protein in wheat that breaches the blood/brain barrier.  This makes things like schizophrenia, autism and other brain disorders symptomatic.  Wheat acts as an opiate, you're never satisfied eating wheat products.  The Visceral Fat deposits around your belly and organs release estrogen which causes breast cancer in women and man-tits on men!  It's not our fault, the wheat we're served now has changed in my lifetime.  The latest dwarf wheat is to blame.  I'm absolutely convinced that we are poisoning ourselves.

Coming soon, my reviews of:




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