Books and other Resources for Coaching Runners
Ranked #3,534 in Sports & Recreation, #93,165 overall
You can just go out and run...
Or you can do the workouts necessary to win races. The basic theories of training are somewhat similar, run a lot and practice running race pace with workout faster and slower than race pace. How exactly to go about that is a little more complicated. There are a myriad of resources available and Runner's World or Running Times would be willing to overload you with every nugget of information. My goal of this page is to point you toward some of the resources that I find have been most influential in designing a running season training plan.
It all starts with Lydiard
There are hundreds of books on coaching, dozens of good ones, but only one Arthur Lydiard.
Running With Lydiard
Amazon Price: $14.84 (as of 05/30/2012)
Arthur Lydiard was a New Zealander that became passionate about fitness, and competitive running, when he was middle aged in the late 1940s. From there he proceeded to become one of the best marathoners in New Zealand and coach world record holders and olympic gold medalists such as Peter Snell and Lasse Viren. There have since been other coaches that are better but he really wrote the book on how to train for competitive running. His philosophies are still sound. This is where a runner's coaching education begins.
College and Olympic Coaches Books on Amazon
These two coaches have both coached very successful college runners and Olympians
Physiology at Its Best
Doctors, Cellular Metabolism, Efficiency, and Other Technical Factors
These books are thick! 400+ pages are sure to give you the education you desire about how to run faster.
Marathon Training: A Scientific Approach
By Enrico Arcelli and Renato Canova
Marathon training doesn't get any better than this. When I bought it it was 6 Euros ($8 US) and a scant 70 pages, but it has everything you need to run a good marathon.These Italian Authors manage to explain why you need to run slower than marathon pace as well as faster than marathon pace and at marathon pace to run your best marathon. They explain the physiological factors, in the form of a technical summary, that influence the ability to run a fast marathon. If your goal is to finish a marathon or coach people to finish a marathon this is not for you. On the other hand If you are going to coach regional, national, or really even international marathon runners this book is entirely worth the money and time.
The Best Running Training of the Internet
Not everything good costs money.
Many runners have blogs, which are educational, but so many do not focus on the details that finding a runner or coach that blogs about their training is a little rare.
- Nate Jenkins Blog
- A 2:14 marathoner and 13:50s 5k runner he describes in painful detail everything that he does every week. He has been doing this for at least four years. He also answers blog comments very well. It is the most complete guide on what exactly it takes to be a professional runner.
- Mamoth Lakes Inspired Core Workout
- Working the middle section of your body is critical to preventing injuries.
- Running Times Training
- Running Times is a pretty serious magazine and they have all sorts of good advice about training.
- Lydiard Interpreted
- Lydiard was not the greatest writer or communicator and some explanation can be helpful.
- Renato Canova on Short Distance Training
- This thread is enormous and has dozens of posters, not all of them are world class coaches so take much of the information with a grain of salt. Yet Renato Canova has information on training world class medalists that few coaches will ever obtain first hand.
Other threads on LetsRun offer helpful information as well, however the need to trash talk between mediocre runners anonymously is often overwhelming. - USATF Coaching Education
- The USATF provides a number of coaching education certification programs to educate coaches at all levels about proper training and the state of physiology as we understand it as it applies to track and field. If you are coaching a team or coaching as a profession these courses are highly recommended as a method of certification. There might even be a reduction in the price of insurance.
- FloTrack
- FloTrack has been covering running through videos since 2006 and has access to people and races around the world. The information and videos offers detailed insight about teams and athletes, but often that information comes in the form of one workout or one race. It is unusual that the entire training process is captured. None the less, it is a good resource for stealing workouts from successful teams.
Miscellaneous Coaching Philosophy Books
If an athlete races in the most competitive race in the world, the coach had something to do with it.
by isaiahjanzen
Engineering, running, mountaineering, writing, that's what I do!
- 3 featured lenses
- Winner of 7 trophies!
- Top lens » Choosing a Hangboard for Rock Climbing Training
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
