Daniels' Running Formula

I'm an old, but fairly serious competitive runner. Book was great set of routines to get faster without getting injured. Not as encyclopedic as Noakes', Lore of Running, but this is the book I will use to set my training schedule.

Every now and again I get back in the running habit. And what with it being so long since I've done any formal training and not being able to afford an actual coach, I usually call on my Brooklyn Road Runners Club buddies to recommend a decent training book.

Turns out Jack Daniels, the author of the book they recommended, lives less than an hour from where I spent my summer in 2006, in upstate New York. Not that it did me any good, as he's almost 80 years old and not taking in new athletes. Too busy taking in new wives, I guess - the newest one is as young as I am and has borne him a child that probably can't remember when her father wasn't farting dust.

But I digress. Geriatric standing aside, he's written the running book I've always wanted to find - very little of the confessional, running-as-spiritual-quest crap or Runner's World-style product mongering of the newest insoles or energy gels - just distance-specific training plans, time conversation tables, and scientific (as far as I know) reasoning for all of his advice.

There is some padding throughout - the "Training Essentials" unit is kind of general and not very useful, he puts runner's profiles at the end of each section that are uniformly dry and uninspiring ("Sara's ability to graciously accept both success and disappointment, her resolve to take one day at a time, and the faith we both share make me a fan of hers," "It's amazing how favorably his lab tests results compare to those of Jim Ryun"), and the "Training for Fitness" seems to have been added after the rest of the book was written just to get people who've never run before started. Come to think of it, some people may get something out of that section; I didn't even read it.

Overall though, a great textbook - easy to read, what's useful is easy to pick out, and the inevitable padding is easy to page through. So, like all good textbooks, the key word is "easy."

Comprehensive, clearly written explanation of the physiology and psychology of training and competing at all levels. For all serious, even if not elite, runners. Encouraging and inspiring.

This is a great book. It addresses the basic problem that most runners have when looking for workouts. All runners are different and have varied abilities. Strength of the book is learning how to target your workouts so that you can get the most out of them. The science is a bit wordy, but the concepts are great.

I previously owned this book and my dog literally ate it, but it was so good that I am buying it again. I competed in corss country and track all four years in college and I was tremendously successful for the mileage that I ran. My coach's approach was based on the Jack Daniels' approach. In my opinion, this book is a good written summary of an intuitive system. It is also a system that let's you get the most out of every mile run - without running hard every mile. Finally, the tables in back that help you figure out the various paces at which you should train are invaluable. They would also be tremendously helpful for anyone coaching an athlete.