Hal Higdon

I'll be honest - I read this in sporadic fits. I didn't sit down and read huge chapters all at once, but rather only a few pages at a time. Yes, Hal Higdon is a master at the marathon. Yes, he has run hundreds of races all over the world. Yes, he deserves all the accolades showered on him. But, but. But! It's a little off-putting when he's the one tooting his own horn. In the beginning his statistics on how many visitors his website gets, how many people download his marathon plans, and on show more and on got a little wearisome. His stories of besting other runners left a bad taste in my mouth (one incident in particular - a runner passed him during a marathon and was really excited to have "beaten" the great Higdon. Higdon couldn't let the runner bask in this feat and instead assured the man he wasn't racing this marathon but simply running it.) Having said all that, this is not a book that should be ignored. By all means, if you are planning to run a marathon, read this book. I'll say it again, read this book. It's a wealth of important information. Everything from nutrition to cross training is there (all the typical information)...and even some advice you might not expect, like a training plan for women designed to work around that time of the month. Yes ladies, there is a plan for your period. So, hubris aside, this is a great resource for every kind of runner. show less

I wanted to read this the moment I knew it had been written. I grew up in the Boston area and my workplace is just a few blocks from the Boston Marathon finish line. I was working from home on Marathon Monday in 2013, but felt like I was there at the finish line with the runners and spectators the moment I saw the news coverage. Many of my friends were running the race, and I also knew many others who went out to watch it that day. Higdon's book really puts you right there at the finish line show more with the victims and the heroes. The pacing of the narrative is beautiful; you feel like you are running alongside the marathoners and seeing everything happen before your eyes. You feel their excitement as they pound the pavement towards Boylston Street, and you experience their horror as they witness a sight many of them couldn't comprehend at the time. Very beautifully written and a must read for anyone who felt connected to the fateful events that took place that day. show less

Higdon's the man. He's run 111 marathons, including seven in seven months to celebrate his seventieth birthday! In addition to this near superhuman record, he's set up a online training program that's helped thousands of others to run their own marathons. When Hal writes, you're reading a running authority.

This book is as comprehensive a guide you could hope for. Everything from getting off the couch to what to do after you cross the finish line is covered in detail. Frequent inset boxes show more share information he's gleaned over the years from his website.

The book was a little too long. He could have said what he did in 250 pages with some tighter editing. That said, his slow-going conversational style is part of the charm.

Having just finished my first half-marathon (1:37:37) and preparing for a full next fall, I was glued to every page. This Ultimate Training Guide is a motivational gem. show less

This is a solid book. My main complaint is that it could have used another round of editing / copyediting (at one point Hal used an 'I' where he should've used a 'me' and the face of my inner grammar Nazi melted). There was a banged-together feel to the first part of this book, kind of a "take other book on running, replace all '10K' with 'half-marathon', add chapter on history of half-marathons, bake at 450 degrees" feel.

Also, I don't like the "So-and-so's Such-and-such" title scheme for show more books or movies (lookin' at you John Carpenter and Tyler Perry!): yes, we know it is yours - your name is on it ... but that's a personal thing.

Still, that was only the first half of the book and it wasn't bad. The second half of the book, the training programs, are probably why someone would buy this, and rightly so: Hal knows his stuff and you can follow his advice and be confident you are doing the right thing(s). I plan to drop into the program myself somewhere in part 2 of the base training, and go from there. I'll let you know how it goes: I probably won't get to a half marathon by the end of warm weather THIS year, but next year, for sure. show less