A few weeks ago I volunteered to review “The Ultimate Beginners Running Guide – The Key to Running Inspired” by Ryan Robert and provided was access to a Kindle version of the book free of charge by the author, which will be deleted after the review is published. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Here is the link to The Ultimate Beginner’s Running Guide on Amazon.com.

After reading the book, I found it a no-frills guide to running with a lot of common sense views and suggestions about running, that many intermediate runners could use, not just beginners. It almost seemed like I was having a conversation with a veteran runner who was talking about his opinions on how and what it takes to be a runner.

Who is the Author?

There was no author bio in the book or website/blog to find out  more about who he is. The Bio on Amazon.com didn’t give me a lot of information either. Ryan Robert is not a known nor a famous runner who has decided to write a book and honestly I was wondering about his background and experience as a runner.

Being the old curmudgeon that I am, I like to know a bit about who is handing out their advice and what they are basing it on. So I sent an email to Mr. Robert requesting to know more of his background.

He sounds like a veteran runner who enjoys running and helping other runners, but is not personally big on racing or participating in other running activities and is someone who values his privacy as well. This doesn’t diminish the wisdom of his words, recommendations or advice, but it does give me a better idea of the experiences he has had in running. It also means to me, that he is like more than a few other runners I have known. Those veteran runners who have been around the block a time or two and yet want to share their experience and insights about running with newer runners and he has written a book to do this.

In today’s online and connected (some say) “Flat” world, if you are an author and do not have a website and/or a blog to help promote yourself or your book, it results in missed opportunities to either sell more books or have contact with their readers. This is especially true, for new authors or ones that do not have a “name” in their selected niche. It is something that I believe that Mr. Robert needs to carefully consider, dependent upon his goals as a writer.

Easy Read

The book itself is a very straight forward read and can read in a couple of hours or less. There are some parts where it is a little choppy or didn’t flow quite right for me. I had to go back and re-read to make sure I followed what the author was presenting. Overall, the information in the book was appropriate for both beginning and many intermediate runners.

Here are the chapters in the book:

• Introduction: Why Run?
• Chapter 1: Getting Ready to Run
• Chapter 2: Raising the Bar and Staying Motivated to Run
• Chapter 3: Nutrition, Hydration, Running in Adverse Conditions and Common Injuries
• Chapter 4: Running Inspired
• Chapter 5: Training Schedules

The book was written almost as if you are standing around in a running store or at a running club event and listening to a wizened veteran runner giving his opinions and ideas on how to get started or improve as a runner.

Most of the information in the book is common sense running recommendations that are pretty straight forward, which will help beginning runners understand what running is about and intermediate runners to improve their running. At times a more experienced runner might not agree completely with some things the author says or how he presents the information. The information given is accurate from the author’s perspective or experience, but even he would agree that there are several perspectives on many topics in running.

One area that I would disagree with Mr. Robert is whether “heel striking” is the proper way to run or not. However, this is a disagreement that many experts throughout running are having today, about what is proper running form and that question will not be resolved here .

I do particularly like the visualizations at the end of the chapters. I believe that running has mental aspects to it, that are often overlooked and that visualization has a positive place in any runner’s tool box.

Quote

The one quote that stuck with me from this book was:

“At the point where we have confidence and pride in our own running program we discover that we stop running for results, or running because we need to, or have to, but because we want to. Because we know we’ll feel better after a good run, because it’s good for us physically and mentally, and because we’re better able to help others when we take care of ourselves. Whatever your size, shape, countenance or demeanor, no matter how much or how little fat jiggles as you jog, there is a running program that’s just right for you. All you have to do to find that perfect program is have faith, keep it simple, trust your own intuition, and keep running. When you do these things consistently, you will undoubtedly run inspired.

And once you’ve become inspired, only you can set the limits of what you’ll accomplish.” - Ryan Robert. The Ultimate Beginners Running Guide (Kindle Locations 1616-1623).

Some cons

At times, in the book the author made some statements or observations about running and I wondered where did he get that information, which studies or what sources he was using to base his writing? There were no citations, references or bibliography to refer to if someone wanted to delve a little deeper into a subject that he had discussed. No this is not an academic work, but as a published book, I and others would like access to this information.

It felt like something was missing for me throughout the book and finally I figured it out. I think that a book that states part of its purpose is to inspire, would have stories about people, who have started running, the difference running has made in their lives and have those stories be an inspiration to those who read the book.

Recommendation

“The Ultimate Beginners Running Guide” is a solid book for beginning to intermediate runners to learn more about the craft of running. Mr. Robert has provided a quick read on essential knowledge that beginning and intermediate runners need. This information comes from someone who is a runner and is sharing what he has learned from his own experiences with running.

Originally written by Harold Shaw published at “A Veteran Runnah” © 2011 – All Rights Reserved

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