John Stanton

I am not impressed with this book. It is poorly written and even more poorly edited. I can understand the occasional printing error, but this book was so full of typos I'm not sure it even went through an editing process. In many places the information is repetitive (multiple times, I counted the exact same sentence being repeated within a paragraph or two) and in many others it seems preachy.
On the bright side, the actual data in the book seems solid, so following John's advice and training tips won't do you harm as a runner.
This book's one redeeming quality is the collection of training programs that are included. There are pre-made programs for 5k, 10k, half-marathon and marathon distances, which allow you you to set a time and distance goal and then prepare to actually meet them. These pages will be helpful. As far as I'm concerned the rest of the book is garbage.… (more)

This is not a very well-written book, but for the first three quarters I was really enjoying it anyway. Maybe I just had low expectations for a how-to guide to running, but I was willing to forgive the many awkward sentences and the occasional bit of advertising. For example, the description of the duffel bag in a "what you should bring to a race" picture: "Keep all your workout essentials organized in 3 separate compartments, shoes, dry clothes, and wet clothes. Features a side pocket with a detachable key chain and waterproof pocket, adjustable strap and sidereflectivity. 45L Capacity." Apparently the writer fell asleep here and accidentally copied the description from a flyer, without thinking about what he was actually trying to say. I found this hilarious and it didn't really detract from my reading experience, though the fact that the book was written by the founder of a running store did occasionally make me doubt its advice. We read on one page that it can be a good thing to have a special lighter pair of shoes for race day, but elsewhere it says that that's not really necessary because our regular running shoes should be pretty good these days. Besides the obvious problem of seemingly contradictory advice, I found myself wondering whether the mention of extra shoes was at all influenced by the fact that the Running Room sells shoes. Maybe I'm just suspicious by nature.

Anyway, I was enjoying the book despite these shortcomings because I did find some useful information in it and because it did make me want to go out and run. I'm not really a runner--I'm planning to do my first 5k in a couple of weeks--so anything that talks about running in a positive way has some value to me. Reading about running makes me think about how good running is, and ideally also gives me a push to get out there and do it. I appreciated Stanton's positive attitude, his emphasis that anyone can be a runner, and his focus on being careful and avoiding injury. These things were helping me overlook the mediocre writing.

Then I got to a part where two pages were repeated word-for-word from an earlier section, and I suddenly couldn't deal with it anymore. I found myself wondering why the writer, publisher, etc. hadn't bothered taking the time to produce a proper book. Maybe this was designed for flipping through rather than reading from cover to cover? Maybe they figured the Running Room brand would sell the book anyway, so effort wasn't required? Either way, I found myself pretty irritated.

And yet I think the book was still worthwhile overall. Even just as an advertisement, it was apparently successful; I've started suggesting to my father that he participate in a Running Room program. And I can see myself wanting to refer back to some parts in the future, though not quite enough to buy my own copy of this library book. So I guess my reaction on the whole is pretty mixed: there's some worthwhile content here, but it's just too bad that no one wanted to put in the time to create a really good book.… (more)