Restless Reader

Monday, March 3, 2014

The Complete Running & Marathon Book

DK Publishing (2014), trade paperback, 192 pages, $19.95

Who wrote this book?

The title page, a place readers generally check for the name of an author, names none. A masthead on the verso lists the publisher’s staff members, from its senior art editor and senior editor through the jackets team and illustrators.

But at the end of the book, way back, three “authors” appear under Acknowledgements: Glen Thurgood, owner of a British fitness center, Training Shed in Market Harborough (which Google maps reveals is 40 miles east of Birmingham in England); Gareth Sapstead, head personal trainer at Training Shed; and Chris Stankiewicz, head of something called “clinic” at Training Shed.

Those are British people?

They’re in the United Kingdom. For the most part this will not be apparent to an American reading the book, until the reader stumblesover the occasional British variant spelling (“u” where “u” is not usually found) or an illiterate-looking variation of a familiar word - “elasticated,” “vasodilatation.” Knowing these are British folk immediately removes the fear one is reading a book written by illiterates.

Why downplay the writers?

The heavy lifting is done by graphic artists and photographers who have created an impressive collection of highly detailed infographics.

What is an infographic? A chart or diagram whose illustrations convey information.

This book has beautiful infographics. The anatomy lessons are knockouts, with muscles lovingly represented in a striated tomato red and deeper structures represented in tones of cream and gray. And I only spotted two little typos in 18 pages.

Information-resistant readers could complain that runners can be “complete” without knowing where to find items such as the iliocostalis. But would a complete book of running be complete without an anatomy lesson? No.

And the information is presented to bolster helpful, potentially pain-preventing education: Running is not merely conducted using the legs and feet. Injury awaits the runner who doesn’t realize the rest of his body plays a huge role and so must be prepared to endure the rigors of running.

Injury also awaits runners who do realize that.

True. But my point is this book brings a fair amount of tomato-colored ink to bear on some dry physiology and anatomy lessons, creating something fine to behold; and the information is not pointless.

Just be glad they don’t explain the Krebs Cycle.

Do the editors or authors believe in barefoot running or shoes?

They sidestep the argument by presenting both as options.

Does their nutritional instruction make sense?

This section is the weakest in the book, simply because nutrition is far too complicated and controversial a subject to be handled by two two-page spreads. The harder I puzzled over the attempts to explain Glycemic Index and the timing of meals, the more they appeared to be touting bran cereal as an excellent pre-run meal. Not in my experience.

Does the book include training schedules?

Yes, for the 5K, 10K, half-marathon and marathon (only eight weeks long, which seems a tad reckless, but they start with the runner already able to do a 15-mile run). They also include a fundamental off-the-sofa program and post-race schedules.

What do they say about post-marathon recovery?

That marathoners should walk for 60 minutes the day after their race, rest the second day, walk for another 60 minutes on the third day and then do no walking or running workouts for a month, focusing instead on swimming, yoga, cycling, mobility work and rest.

Anything you didn’t already know after reading other complete books on running?

Yes. The authors say jog bras should be replaced after 72 washings. They don’t say how they know that.

Anything else noteworthy?

The spreadsheet of common complaints says 39 percent of runners experience disability during a race due to blisters. They don’t say which race.

Who would really enjoy this book?

People who like magazine-style layouts in which professionally prepared infographics outnumber columns of type.

ActiveStyle, Pages 31 on 03/03/2014