Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon

by Pete Pfitzinger, Philip Latter

Renowned running authority, coach, and best-selling author Pete Pfitzinger teams with Philip Latter, senior writer for Running Times , in this must-have training guide for the most popular race distances, including the 5K, 10K, and half marathon. Faster Road 5K to Half Marathon presents easy-to-follow programs proven to give you an edge in your next race. You’ll discover detailed plans for race-specific distances as well as expert advice on balancing training and recovery, cross-training, nutrition, tapering, and training over age 40. And for serious runners who compete in numerous races throughout the year, Pfitzinger’s multi-race, multi-distance training plans are invaluable. Faster Road Racing is your all-inclusive resource on running your fastest at distances of 5K, 8K to 10K, 15K to 10 miles, and the half marathon.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Fitness, Health, Science, Reference

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2014

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fast read

[Andréas Dieryck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faster Road Running is a very informative, exhaustive guide to short and mid distance road training (5K to the Half). As such, its strengths and its weaknesses are inevitably entangled.
On the one hand, it is a great guide to training, with great details on physiology, nutrition, recovery or specific training. The first chapter "Elements of trainings" highlights the physiological demands of running and how to build basic trainings around these needs. On the other hand, it is a highly detailed book with sections that you will want to skip because (1) they are either too obvious for the public it addresses (e.g. "Supplementary training") and (2) they may not be very relevant for everyone (e.g. "Considerations for master runners"). Needless to say that this book is not suited for amateur runners, though some may gain very valuable advices from the two first chapters

I find this balance between great technical details and exhaustivity manageable in the sense that the authors and very concise and straight to the point. The training plans are generally very well-designed and worth considering adopting, with some personal tweaks. It's a book that you will want to own, design your training plans with and return to in case of injury, overtraining or other unforeseen issues.

[Will Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time to zoom

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

It might be premature to review this since I haven't done any of the training plans yet (the speedwork is a bit above my level). But the first half of the book is filled with important, clear advice for any level, and the tables in the appendix are handy. Apparently I run 80% of my miles too fast. But some of the later chapters are a bit repetitive.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Took me a while to actually finish it since it was more of a manual. I definitely wanted to read it through fully once so now I can just pick it up and turn to certain pages. A lot of basic facts and information I already knew but also tons of very enlightening advice.

6 weeks into one of the HM plans as I write this, so maybe I’ll come back to update my rating to a 5 if I perform well in my race. Must read for anyone wanting to be serious with running.

Edit: Now 5 stars because I hit my goal!

[JP Thomas]

Good book! Nice insights on training. And the training plans are really helpful.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comprehensible book on updating and optimizing training schedules toward 5k-HM races. It is well-written, and contains several options of training plans along with enough background on the workouts to allow the reader to adjust the plans as wished.
FRR includes both the scientific background for several relevant points (training, nutrition etc.), and enough personality to be both credible and interesting.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Advanced Marathon running, and this one is just as good. Updated and for the other distances. I would recommend it over Jack Daniels's book if you were only going to buy one.

[connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

originally just wanted a training plan to follow but ended up finding a concise yet exhaustive description of the science behind training for certain distances, the physiological impacts of different exercises and how to use this information to your advantage when working towards a goal race. highly recommend.

[Eugene Venger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few interesting blurbs on running efficiency and recovery.

[bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never finished as too advanced but seemed good for people with mileage >40kms a week

[tiana wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

very fast read (haha); i found the half marathon training schedule super helpful, though i will adapt it to my own little plan! feeling ready to crush the oxford half marathon this fall >:)

[Benjamin Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

exactly what you want from a book like this. as credible as it gets. gaining fluency.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book about structuring running more efficiently. Will update stars/review later if my body lets me apply the substance of this book! 👀

[Josh Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lotta overlap from Advanced Marathoning, which is the reason for a lower star rating. But happy to read more about speed work + get some new plans in the process. 7/10

[Vidya Tiru · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is intended for runners, and I picked it up with a goal to really start on running so maybe not the book for me.
But it does contain lots of useful information - like exercises and food requirements for runners that anyone can use (and the people depicted in the photos for the exercises look like real runners, not just posing for the book!!).It also includes info about runners (old and young/famous and the not so famous) that inspires - totally!

Thank you to Edelweiss for a digital arc of the book.

[Raphael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. I would say that it's slightly better than Daniel's Running Formula. Both books have very similar information, but Faster Road Racing often references Daniel's book, which is great.

Both books are worth a read, but if you only had to choose one, it would be Faster Road Facing.

[James Brisbourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it up until the point it repeats the same 5 pages in 5 consecutive chapters, it could have easily been reformatted to avoid this and save 20 pages of paper.

The first half of the book does a great job of running the reader through all the most common important aspects of training and the second half applies these principles in base building and race training plans.

[Amanda K]

Faster Road Racing is a comprehensive resource for runners looking to better understand and optimize their training schedules. The book begins by breaking down the various aspects of training such as running physiology, load vs. recovery, nutrition, and tapering. It also provides an entire chapter for runners in the master category, or those over 40 years old. The second part of the book explains each of the prescribed workouts and priorities for each race distance before including sample schedules to follow.

I got my start running through a wonderful community training group and was happily able to finish a few races. After a time, I realized I was blindly following the group's advice without understanding the science for myself. After reading Advanced Marathoning by Pfitzinger and Douglas, I thought I'd also read Faster Road Racing to learn how training might change based on my goal distance. The books are similar, but I didn't mind reviewing the running science again. It was very useful for me to compare the training schedules for the 5K, 10K, 15K, and half marathon to understand how to best prepare for each race. I was surprised to find that the training schedules aren't all that different (one would think the recommended mileage for a 5K would be vastly lower than a halfie!) Overall, a great resource that I keep finding myself consulting as I train.

*I might not recommend this book for brand new runners as even week 1 of the base-training schedule assumes you can run comfortably over ~45 minutes.

[Alec L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first tried to read this book a year ago when I started running, and couldn't make heads or tails of it. Even at the moment, my weekly mileage hovers at 15-20mi, notably below what is necessary for any of the training programs in the back half of the book, and just enough to start the base training program to built up weekly mileage. That said, having tried and experienced a variety of different running workout types, the detailed physiological explanations now became super helpful (for example, discussing how with interval training to improve VO2MAX, it takes some time for the heart rate to get into the necessary range to stimulate improvement, hence there being benefits to running longer intervals and to jogging, rather than stopping, in-between intervals). Indeed, coming back with some basic physical sense of e.g. what an "recovery run" pace vs a "threshold pace" vs "VO2MAX pace" would feel like, the core information of the book became very informative for understanding the purpose of different workouts (and in particular, by understanding what different training plans were trying to accomplish, it has made me much more confident in figuring out how to productively adjust my own workout schedule). In addition, information on things like stretching and diet round off the comprehensiveness of the book. Overall then, this book is packed with information and is definitely a source I will regularly come back to.

[Andy Parkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive is probably the best way to describe this!

I've ready lots of books about running but never one on running theory itself. My own knowledge has come from various sources, mostly experimentation and speaking to other people so as I'd seen this recommended in various places I thought I'd check it out

The first half covers everything you need to train for a running event up to a half marathon with practical actionable advice as well as delving into the science behind it all. As well as different types of runs, when to do them and why it also looks at other areas such as nutrition, rest and recovery

The second half is actual training plans for 5k, 10k and half marathon at a beginner, intermediate and advanced level.
The second half is written in such a way that you can jump straight to the specific training plan without reading the rest of the book. It does mean there is a little bit of repetition but it also gives the reader who has read the whole thing fair warning of this. It does mean the book is useful for a variety of purposes

In terms of my own experience it looks like i've been doing some things right purely by accident but there are plenty of areas to improve on. Recovery runs in particular.

I'll find out how well the advice actually works over the coming months!

[Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faster Road Racing is a very good book if you are serious about running and want a good overall view of race preparation at anything from 5k to half marathon distances. I emphasize this is a book for serious people, as the training schedules assume one is spending 1+ hours per day, every day, in some way pursuing a racing goal.

Given its point in time c.a. 2013, the research behind types of training, diet, recovery and supplemental training are all given good treatment. It would be really great for the authors to update this book with the last decade of knowledge and research, particularly around the new cult of Zone 2 (and little else) runners.

[Leivo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olles üsna põhjalikult tudeerinud selle autori varasemat raamatut “Advanced Marathoning”, võib täheldada sarnast ülesehitust.
Suurepärane raamat, et aru saada kuidas meie lihased ja nende areng toimub ning millele kõik on tarvis tähelepanu pöörata 5-21km distantsidel võistlemiseks.
Raamatust leiab väga praktilised treeningplaani erinevate tasemete jaoks ning juhised kuidas nendega opereerida ja vajadusel muuta täiendada.
Niisama Harku metsas jooksjale on selles raamatus nii mõndagi üleliigset.

Täitsa soovitan seda raamatut inimesele, kellel plaanis 5-21 km distantsidel võistelda.

[Christopher Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great foundational book about getting faster. I've been stagnant for too long though I like to lie to myself and say that I'm building my aerobic base. I'm more interested in the marathon distance but this keyed in on the primary workouts that need to be incorporated into a proper running routine. Excited to up the mileage and get serious this summer!! BQ in the future?? Sike, I'm too slow for that.

[Finn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rock solid training info, most of which I had learned from other training resources. Still holds up! Using mostly for the plans, but some great tips. The two big omissions are the advances in endurance racing nutrition and the revolution in running shoe technology in the last decade or so. It’d be nice to see a second edition commenting on the latest studies about the effects of carbon plated shoes on injury, training etc.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of similarities to his "advanced marathoning" book in terms of advice and structure, but I love his approach and find it so helpful! Used this to map out some training for the next three months or so and will store away plenty of nuggets of wisdom around nutrition, correct paces, rest, and much more!

[Tim McCutcheon · Rating 4 out of 5]

In its time it would have been the Bible of running, obviously now with Google/chatgpt, this information is very easy to access and tailor specifically to what you want. Fast read great at explaining the type of training sessions. It also has snippets of stories on great runners which break it up. Strangely I read this after running my first marathon lol

[Kevin Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading a book like this about running. I've been working through some of the base building and woof - it seems like a real meat grinder. Easily understood and clearly communicated, though. If you're looking for something beyond the first steps of running, I'd recommend it. I could have done without the lil' runner's bios interspersed throughout the book.

[Trang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the break down of motivation/purpose for each type of run, or in general why he put what workout in which week. Another thing I really liked was the hill-specific workouts (LT hills, VOmax hills), which I haven't come across in other training plans.

[Peter Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book to both teach the principles of many standard running training plans and to have practical application through the plans themselves. I’m looking forward to starting 2020’s running season.