A collection of classic athletics and running books from over the years
Choosing your favourite athletics or running books is a bit like trying to name your top movies of all time or No.1 sporting moments. There are so many to choose from and, of course, everyone’s taste is different. So, in no particular order, here are 10 recommendations.
The Complete Book of Running by Jim Fixx
This 1970s classic inspired the original running boom although the author famously died from heart failure during a run aged 52. It’s the original ‘how to’ book offering advice on every aspect of running.
Lore of Running by Tim Noakes
Far more comprehensive than Jim Fixx’s Complete Book of Running, it is hard to find a more definitive book on the sport than Tim Noakes’ tome. It covers everything from injuries and physiology to training and diet in authoritative fashion in brilliant detail. A bona fide bible of running.
Sebastian Coe, Born to Run with David Miller
Coe later brought out several other autobiographies but this one remains the original and best as it charts his rise from teenage talent to multiple world record-breaker.
The First Four Minutes by Roger Bannister
The story of the greatest athletics feat in history is told by the very man who did it. As it turns out, Sir Roger can write a bit too and his quest to run the first sub-four-minute mile is beautifully regaled.
Train Hard, Win Easy by Toby Tanser
If you like to read about how top athletes train, this is one of the best. Published in 1997 by a Kenyan-based writer it covers in detail the training programmes of Kenyan world-beaters such as John Ngugi and Paul Tergat.
Official Centenary History of the AAA of England by Peter Lovesey
Lovesey’s splendid hardback printed in 1979 has stood the test of time as it charts the history of the world’s oldest athletics governing body and the athletes associated with it.
All-time Greats of British Athletics by Mel Watman
One of the retirement projects for the former editor of AW as he put together definitive career summaries on top British athletes from Walter George and Alf Shrubb to Denise Lewis and Paula Radcliffe.
The Coe & Ovett Files by AW
A beautiful little book, it is basically a series of reproduced clippings from the magazine relating to Coe and Ovett during their heyday and altogether makes a terrific read.
Photo by Mark Shearman
Running Scared – How Athletics Lost Its Innocence by Duncan Mackay and Steven Downes
If you read this book you will realise that problems such as doping and corruption have always plagued athletics. The authors were among the most prominent athletics writers in the 1990s and turn of the millennium and their book takes a deep, dark look at the seedy underbelly of the No.1 Olympic sport.
The Mechanics of Athletics by Geoff Dyson
Many of the principles of athletics such as jumps, throws or hurdles techniques have remained unchanged for years and Geoff Dyson, the father of coaching in British athletics, covers them all in amazing detail accompanied by superb illustrations in this 1962 book.
READ MORE: Roger Bannister’s life and Mike Fleet’s coaching chronicles
Ultra-Marathon Man by Dean Karnazes
A world-wide best seller and it’s easy to see why as the story of this ultra-marathon runner dances from page to page in entertaining and inspirational fashion.
ATFS annual
Put together by the Association of Track and Field Statisticians, it is meticulously compiled and full of several interesting features every year in addition to the pure stats. After the long-time editor Peter Matthews died, it is now edited by Richard Hymans and Stuart Mazdon and supported by World Athletics.
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
A classic tale of running and the book that inspired the bare-foot running movement. The joy of running jumps out of every page.
READ MORE: The Norwegian Method book review
50 Greatest Marathon Races of All-Time by Will Cockerell
Like many books in this list it is now a little outdated but it nevertheless is still a brilliant read and historical resource. A labour of love by an author who is also a decent marathoner himself, it is a high-quality publication that describes in detail some of the best 26.2-mile races in history.
World History of Track & Field Athletics by Roberto Quercetani
Published in 1964 by the doyen of athletics writers and statisticians, who died in 2019 aged 97. Definitely one of my most treasured books.
Testament of a Runner by WR Loader
This little-known 1960s classic captures the spirit of the sport in beautiful style, describing in detail what it means to run. Or, the author would say: “I mean, really run.”
» Jason Henderson has written for AW since 1997 and wrote the official London 2012 book on training for athletics field events published by Carlton Books and also Collision Course, the Olympic Tragedy of Mary Decker and Zola Budd, published by Birlinn
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