Kara Goucher's Running For Women: From First Steps To Marathons (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
This is the perfect guide for someone just starting to run or planning for their first long-distance race. Goucher uses just the right mix of training information and personal anecdotes. I really enjoyed the different lists and tips throughout the book. The only thing I was not a fan of was the "ask Kara" sections throughout the book. They made me feel like I was reading a teeny-bopper magazine; but some of the advice she gave was really helpful!I recommend this for anyone training for a marathon or half. Honestly, guys, did you really expect me to talk about book books again? Like...YA and romance and fantasy and all that stuff I always promise and never stick to?Oh, don't worry. I did read a bit. YA, I mean. Real, honest, funny, funky YA. And it's coming your way, I promise!But, today, we're a bit off topic again.Today's review is on Kara Goucher's book Running for Women which I never planned on reviewing but then did anyway, because the book is so helpful and she seems to be such a genuine, honest, fun and nice person.I'm a fan now, sure thing!If you're not a runner, my guess is you haven't heard of her much. And if you are a runner but anything like me, you've never heard of her before, because you're ignorant to everyone else hitting the pavements (or, you know, elite athlete stadiums) of the world.I did, however, stumble upon her book and thought that reading plus running is an equation even I can't get wrong.So I went for it. And loved it.There were exactly two aspects that made this book amazing.The knowledge. And the personality.Whenever the chapters were about running advice and information, giving tips to every kind of runner you could imagine, Goucher was incredibly professional.She didn't just go through every topic (Training, Nutrition, Injury Prevention, etc.) in great detail. She structured her advice in a way that made it easy to both, read and understand what she meant.Even though I'm sort of a geek and follow Runner's World like it is my job, there were so many (smaller and greater) details I didn't know before.That alone made the book worth a lot more money than I paid for it!A good example was the chapter on starting to run which I thought about skipping first. I can only suggest one thing: DON'T!Don't skip any sentence! I went as far as devouring the chapter about running while pregnant (I'm eighteen, boyfriend-less and not planning on having kids in the next 15 years, so that is saying something!).So, when you're looking for advice on running, no matter if you're just starting out, or have been doing it for years or aren't running at all, Kara Goucher's book really is the way to go! I promise there will be a million things you haven't heard of before!I mentioned personality before. That's because Goucher has lots of it and it's all included in her book! She shares personal details about every stage of her life as a highschool runner, a daughter, a wife and a mother and it is too interesting reading about all that and seeing not only how she mastered that great career she has, but also how she felt during those low moments everyone experiences.She even got surprisingly raw and private at some points which made the book even more relatable!All in all, I can only recommend Goucher's book to every runner out there. I mean, I would say non-runners should totally read it, too (it's done in a very autobiographical style), but I know part of that suggestion is only my desperate cry for even more runners out there :)
What do You think about Kara Goucher's Running For Women: From First Steps To Marathons (2011)?
A very encouraging book for runners, a group I'm not part of as yet.
—trierchick
're-read. info still fresh and valid for any distance.
—alz1946
