Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas

Dundee.Runner
Reviewed: 09 November 2009

FOR MORE EXPERIENCED RUNNERS

Great training plans, that explain why you are doing each session

Not for beginners, you need a strong running base before you attempt one of these

I knocked 20 minutes off my marathon time after following one of their schedules, but even the shortest schedule requires a serious mileage

Purdey
Reviewed: 16 October 2008

THE BIBLE.

The "how to" chapter which explains the workouts. Concise. Pithy. Awesome.

Some repetition as mentioned before. I think his schedules are a little light on the speed work.... and there is absolutely no hill work. That said, any "advanced" marathoner can take an awful lot from this and adapt to their own preferences.

Beats the competition into a cocked hat.

26.2, I love it
Reviewed: 28 October 2007

ADVANCED AND SERIOUS MARATHON TRAINING

This book is intended to anyone taking marathoning seriously. It explains in details what you need to be a successful marathoner, how to train to improve the physiological attributes needed to run a faster marathon. It helps you with nutrition, hydration, balancing running/training with regular life (family, career etc). In summary, the focus is on how to train intelligently and effectively to meet the demands of a marathon. The training schedules presented with the specific goal for each day are great. You can adapt it easily. I'm using the over 70 miles a week to prepare for London 2008.

Pete is not coaching me personally.

Excellent book for serious marathoners. It helps you understand thoroughly the "whys" of every work-out.

Lieutenant Lucerne
Reviewed: 17 May 2007

HIGHLY EFFECTIVE MARATHON TRAINING ADVICE

Recommended for anyone who wants to take their marathon running a stage further. The advice is easy to follow, as are the training schedules.
Clear explanations of what the key elements of a marathon training programme are and why.

Not for beginners, but that is made clear by the title.
Some repetition in the text accompanying the training schedules.

I bought this book to help me prepare for my second marathon. It was easy to read and I followed the training plan with the lower mileage, very closely. On a hillier course than the first, I improved my time by a factor of 4%. Following the advice given in this book certainly helped in achieving that.
For my third marathon I will be sticking with the same approach.

Man In Black
Reviewed: 26 January 2007

EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR PREPARATION COVERED

Good background information on every aspect of the build up. Plenty of detail, but yet well-written enough to be accessible.
Access to a wide range of schedules.

Nothing

If marathons are your focus - this book is the one to get