I read a lot of running books. Reading is one of my great loves, as is running and reading about running, well, that’s on another level.
There are TONS of running books out there. It’s a real minefield of running books, especially those books that promise to help you run better. I’ve read most of them, I’m sure there’s a few I’ve missed. A handful are terrific, most are pretty good and a few are not so great.
Koop’s book Training Essentials for Ultrarunning stands above most of them. It is a comprehensive guide to all things ultra.
It covers everything about ultrarunning. And I mean everything. At 518 pages, I don’t think there is any part of ultrarunning it doesn’t at least mention. There are 18 chapters that cover subjects such as The Physiology of a Better Engine, The Four Disciplines of Ultrarunning and Mental Skills of Ultrarunning.
I highly recommend getting this book and on your rest day, curling up in a comfortable chair and reading this text. There is a bit of technical jargon, not at much as The Lore of Running, which I covered in a part podcast episode, but there is some and that’s OK, it’s good for us to know a bit how our bodies work when we run.
One of my favorite chapters, Chapter 4 – Failure Points and How to Fix Them, talks about blisters and foot care. It’s very useful and breaks through some of the ways we used to take care of our feet. I use Koop’s way now and it works great.
If you plan on spending any time on the trail, this book will be helpful to you. I highly recommend it!