Not Joe Average Learner – My Complete Running Reading List

Even though I am a very average runner at best I am not an average researcher or reader. My friends and family all know this is my specialty. Here is a list of books I have read in the last 4 years related to running, training and health in general.

Let’s start with running or endurance books I will read over and over again and have already read multiple times, that align with what I believe is the best long-term health before fitness approach.

The Big Book of Health and Fitness – Maffetone
Born to Run – #1 inspirational book to start running
Barefoot Running Step by Step: Barefoot Ken Bob
Slow Burn: Burn Fat Faster By Exercising Slower  – Stu Middleman
The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing – Maffetone

Other books that may not totally align with my training ideas but very good if you want to go deeper into fitness first training, which can be the opposite of health first.

Daniels’ Running Formula, Second Edition
Running Science
The Lore of Running

Some Other Top Quality Books I really liked that I need to read again.
The Summit Seeker: Memoirs of a Trail-Running Nomad
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatments for Athletes
Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age
Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness
Trigger Point Therapy for Foot, Ankle, Knee, and Leg Pain: A..
Running on Empty: An Ultramarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss
Primal Endurance
Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health & Life

My final list of other running books I have read. I tried to put some of what I consider the better ones towards the top.

Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running
1:59 Marathon – Another great book from Maffetone but his books are mostly the same material but still great
Running with Lydiard
The Endurance Handbook: How to Achieve Athletic Potential
The Science of Running: How to find your limit
Meb For Mortals: How to Run, Think, and Eat like a Champion
Never Wipe Your Ass with a Squirrel: A trail running
Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally
Healthy Intelligent Training, 2nd Ed
Running To The Top
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner
Build Your Running Body: A Total-Body Fitness Plan for All
Running with the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training
Elite Minds: Creating the Competitive Advantage
Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance
Hansons Marathon Method: A Renegade Path to Your Fastest
Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon: How to Be Your Own
Running & Being: The Total Experience
DEVELOPING ENDURANCE (Sport Performance)
Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building
Power Speed ENDURANCE: A Skill-Based Approach to Endurance
The Ultimate Runner’s Diet: How to Fuel Your Body for Peak
Mastering the Marathon: Time-Efficient Training Secrets
The Long Run
The Marathon Method: The 16-Week Training Program
Once a Runner: A Novel
Total Heart Rate Training
Advanced Marathoning
The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Barefoot Running
RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel
The Ultimate Beginners Running Guide: The Key To Running..
80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster By Training..
The Art of Running Faster
The Runner’s Edge
Out There: A Story of Ultra Recovery
Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster: Become a Faster

Coming up Next

Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered
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