Books, Articles, and Publications

Over the past few years, I've amassed a good bit of lengthy blog posts, but I've also produced some more traditional self-contained articles and publications.  Many of my readers are particularly interested in these, as they are a bit more self-contained and accessible.  They also come in print-friendly formats, so you can easily read or distribute hard copies if you wish.  I've tentatively grouped these things under the "RW Collections" brand, for lack of a more accurate name.




Books

Basic Training Principles for Middle and Long-Distance Running

Basic Training is a 16-page booklet that's written for the up-and-coming young runner.  It covers the very basic elements of training: What kind of training you should do, why you need to do it, and how it makes you a better runner.  The backdrop of the booklet is the question that the entire world of athletics pondered in 1960 after the resounding success of Arthur Lydiard's athletes at the Rome Olympics—why does high-volume aerobic training make you faster at all race distances? This booklet will set a young runner on the right track for long-term improvement in high school, college, and beyond.  Basic Training is now available in e-book format for Kindle!  It was also featured on Down the Backstretch, the go-to place for Minnesota running news.

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Modern Training and Physiology for Middle and Long-Distance Runners

Modern Training is a longer (~96 pages), more detailed successor to Basic Training.  As the title implies, it describes the physiology principles behind the various components of a proper training system.  Indeed, our understanding of the body and the training we use has evolved significantly since the days of old-school Lydiard-style training, and a lot of runners don't fully understand some of the training ideas that they are trying to use. For example, how long and how fast should a tempo run be? Ask a group of runners this question and you'll get a wide range of answers! The core of Modern Training is putting theory into practice: How does an understanding of modern exercise physiology allow us to tailor our training to improve our strengths, bolster our weaknesses, and ultimately become a better runner?  Modern Training is CURRENTLY AVAILABLE at Amazon.com, so order your copy today!

Articles and Publications


 Something New in Training: The Methods of Renato Canova

Renato Canova (right) in Kenya

A 9-page article that summarizes the coaching philosophy and training methods of Renato Canova, the Italian coach of many Olympic and World Championship medalists in events from 800m to the marathon.  Renato Canova is arguably the greatest coach in the world, and my posts on his training are some of the most popular on my blog. Renato Canova takes a revolutionary approach to coaching: he views racing as a problem of mathematics, not of physiology.  Renato Canova himself even provided a quick review of my article on LetsRun.com's message board!

                                        Click Here to Download

The Updated Training Wisdom of John Kellogg

Since my early college years, I've been fascinated by the writings and training philosophy of John Kellogg, the elusive coach and online personality that posted prolifically in the early days of LetsRun.com and coached founding brothers Robert and Weldon Johnson to a 2:23 marathon and 28:06 10k, respectively.  His writings inform a lot of what I believe about training, and since Kellogg hasn't done much in the way of formal writing, I took it upon myself to assemble as much of his work as I could.  The result was a 293-page compilation, titled "The Updated Training Wisdom of John Kellogg," in homage to the original compilation that inspired my own training.

                                               Click Here to Download

Columns and Injury Guides for RunnersConnect.net

I also write a weekly article on science and running for RunnersConnect.net, a great website for online coaching founded by former Brooks-Hansons runner Jeff Gaudette.  The writing and coaching staff at RunnersConnect boasts an impressive collection of famous faces in the running world, and my writing there has been a great experience.  In addition to my weekly articles, I have also compiled some summaries of many common running injuries.  Check it out!