I've been a competitive runner in the past (not to any extent where I win medals, but considering how non-athletic I grew up, practically an Olympian). Several years ago I broke my ankle while figure skating and also in the middle of training for a half. Since then, every time I've started training in earnest again something bad has happened (getting hospitalized for a few days for a severe illness, suffering horrible insomnia, bad back spasms, and now a freaking pandemic). What I was looking for was a book on how to build a base, and then start competitive training again. Just like every other running book I've read, or training website I've perused, this book will not help you build a base. It will just give you a race training plan.

I've run races, I know what a fartlek is, so this book was not terribly useful. It probably won't be terribly useful to you if you are or have been well-established as a runner. It's also 20 years old (at least, the second edition is), so not all of the advice or "elite" times are terribly up-to-date. That said, I don't dislike the book, I just don't find it relevant to my needs. ( )

Sitting in the sun reading the chapters on 'injury' and 'cross training during injury'. Excellent book to dip in and out of. ( )

An excellent book for 'everything you ever wanted to know about running'. As a runner who is a novice and wants to build speed, Glover manages to motivate without causing me too much despair over things I can't control (ie. those pesky things called genetics). At a minimum you get a great technical description of tempo runs, stride and intervals and can then talk the lingo like a pro. I see that this will be a classic handbook and can never go out of fashion. ( )

This book is essential in the collection of any competitive runner. The information here is what you need to know, and what you can't live without. You can't pass up this book. ( )