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Dr. Sheehan on Running
America's expert shows the way to total fitness and joy.
207 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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75 people want to read
About the author
George Sheehan
29 books46 followersDr. George A. Sheehan is best known for his books and writings about the sport of running. His book, Running & Being: The Total Experience, became a New York Times best seller. He was a track star in college, and later became a cardiologist like his father. He served as a doctor in the United States Navy in the South Pacific during World War II on the destroyer USS Daly (DD-519). He married Mary Jane Fleming and they raised twelve children. He continued to write while struggling with prostate cancer. His last book, Going the Distance, was published shortly after his death.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 16, 2009
i read this at 16 i read it at 21 im reading it now at 24 i realize each time i am understanding it with a different mind and even as i continue to run i develop my own personal 'philosophies' if you can even call them that. its actually helping right now to address this john-henryism that ive heard over and over is a characteristic of mine--a desire to tackle obstacles with that attitude of im going at this mountain with a claw hammer and im going to tunnel my ass through even if it kills me in the process. everything i do thats important to me i say the same thing im going to do it even if it kills me. and according to george sheehan that apparently is just 'the runner' in me. for some folks pushing themselves to their physical limit, to thresholds of pain or discomfort or nausea or whatever the idea of something like that is torture. for me there is victory and satisfaction in overcoming that--you can come in dead last in any race but the most rewarding part is JUST when you feel like you just cant move another muscle and if you do youre just going to die..you dont die. in fact you take another 2, 3 more steps and still dont die. and 3 becomes 7 becomes 77 becomes a mile.
he talks about the runner as a solitary person--not a misanthrope, just solitary, if it were a matter of option choosing to be alone more often than not. which is me. when im running and when im in the shower seems to be the only time i can be alone i love and need that time
BUT im discovering, something about this 'runner' in me has to change. no man is an island
he talks about the runner as a solitary person--not a misanthrope, just solitary, if it were a matter of option choosing to be alone more often than not. which is me. when im running and when im in the shower seems to be the only time i can be alone i love and need that time
BUT im discovering, something about this 'runner' in me has to change. no man is an island
June 10, 2013
I've thought about this book many times since I started running. It was the late seventies, about the time Jim Fixx's Complete Book of Running came out. The idea of recreational running was still considered pretty odd. The first 10K I signed up for was in conjunction with the St. Louis Marathon. There were only a handful of women in the sea of young male runners. I was behind all of them, with my dad patiently waiting on various corners along the course to cheer my on.
When I ran, I wore cotton t-shirts and cut-off jean shorts. My roommates made me leave my blue-with-yellow-swoosh running shoes outside because I didn't wear socks. The cut-off jeans were brutal on my thighs and the shoes far too narrow for my feet, but, thanks to Dr. Sheehan, I was a runner!
Sheehan was deeply philosophical about running. He often referred to William James's book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, to explain the sense of conversion he felt when he started running at forty-five. His prose now sounds a bit excessive, such as, "Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." But it was stirring for me at twenty. I suppose some kernel of that enthusiasm still gets me out there today.
When I ran, I wore cotton t-shirts and cut-off jean shorts. My roommates made me leave my blue-with-yellow-swoosh running shoes outside because I didn't wear socks. The cut-off jeans were brutal on my thighs and the shoes far too narrow for my feet, but, thanks to Dr. Sheehan, I was a runner!
Sheehan was deeply philosophical about running. He often referred to William James's book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, to explain the sense of conversion he felt when he started running at forty-five. His prose now sounds a bit excessive, such as, "Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." But it was stirring for me at twenty. I suppose some kernel of that enthusiasm still gets me out there today.
December 31, 2019
One of those books that defined the movement.
I was rather late in reading this book. I read it again it was serialized in Marathon and Beyond. A decade after that reading it I still recall some of the concepts that he outlined.
"Man's fourth unalienable right is time-out. This pause, this breather, this break in the action is what makes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness possible. Without the time-out, I would not know what life to lead, how to use my liberty or what happiness to pursue. At the moment I forget whence I came, why I am here and where I am going, it is the right to call "Time" that saves me."
"I find this truth to be self-evident. I see it every weekend on television. When winning and losing hangs in the balance, when the play gets ragged and the players fatigued, when the game plan has been forgotten and the athletes demoralized, the time-out works wonders. I've seen courage replace fear and purpose take the place of indecision. I've seen teams come back relaxed and composed and confident, all because of the time-out."
"And so when I am losing my head and all about me are keeping theirs, when I am filled with the frustrations and anxieties of my daily routine, when I am no longer living my own life but simply reacting to others, I look for a time-out, whether it is 60 minutes or 60 seconds."
"That time-out, that hour a day that belongs to me, just remain inviolate. No excuse, no friend, no cause, no duty, can come between me and that hour and whatever I might want to do with it. Mostly I take that hour and run with it, and thereby revive and restore and replenish the man I am."
"The 60-second time-outs, on the other hand, cannot be programmed. I take them where I find them. At a stop-light, I could fume and sputter about getting there instead of being here. but it is much better to read a book. Or do isometric exercises for my stomach muscles. Or take the opportunity to recharge my senses with colors and odors and sounds, or to see the geometry of the buildings, the pattern of the trees, the movement of the people, or to see familiar objects as if for the first time. And soon my red lights become too short."
"Too soon I am being whistled back into the game. Too soon I begin to forget once again I am animal, artist, mystic, clown, that I am really concerned with quite simple things with things that only come when I finally loose the reigns and become calm and relaxed and cease my tense activity, when I stop counting and measuring and comparing and weighing."
I was rather late in reading this book. I read it again it was serialized in Marathon and Beyond. A decade after that reading it I still recall some of the concepts that he outlined.
"Man's fourth unalienable right is time-out. This pause, this breather, this break in the action is what makes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness possible. Without the time-out, I would not know what life to lead, how to use my liberty or what happiness to pursue. At the moment I forget whence I came, why I am here and where I am going, it is the right to call "Time" that saves me."
"I find this truth to be self-evident. I see it every weekend on television. When winning and losing hangs in the balance, when the play gets ragged and the players fatigued, when the game plan has been forgotten and the athletes demoralized, the time-out works wonders. I've seen courage replace fear and purpose take the place of indecision. I've seen teams come back relaxed and composed and confident, all because of the time-out."
"And so when I am losing my head and all about me are keeping theirs, when I am filled with the frustrations and anxieties of my daily routine, when I am no longer living my own life but simply reacting to others, I look for a time-out, whether it is 60 minutes or 60 seconds."
"That time-out, that hour a day that belongs to me, just remain inviolate. No excuse, no friend, no cause, no duty, can come between me and that hour and whatever I might want to do with it. Mostly I take that hour and run with it, and thereby revive and restore and replenish the man I am."
"The 60-second time-outs, on the other hand, cannot be programmed. I take them where I find them. At a stop-light, I could fume and sputter about getting there instead of being here. but it is much better to read a book. Or do isometric exercises for my stomach muscles. Or take the opportunity to recharge my senses with colors and odors and sounds, or to see the geometry of the buildings, the pattern of the trees, the movement of the people, or to see familiar objects as if for the first time. And soon my red lights become too short."
"Too soon I am being whistled back into the game. Too soon I begin to forget once again I am animal, artist, mystic, clown, that I am really concerned with quite simple things with things that only come when I finally loose the reigns and become calm and relaxed and cease my tense activity, when I stop counting and measuring and comparing and weighing."
February 4, 2016
This is a fascinating book. Some of it, it seems, is out-of-date. However, much of it, particularly the philosophical stuff and the content that speaks to the "why" of running is absolutely wonderful! Sheehan strikes me as a supremely thoughtful person, someone I would have enjoyed taking a long run, or several, with. Along with some sections that might be a little dated, there are also some sections that strike me as ahead-of-their time, speaking to a sensibility that is just now gaining more widespread hold. Sheehan's view of running long, and training at a sub-aerobic (although he does not call it that) are straight out of the MAF methodology. Same for his view of treating the running year as if it had peaks and valleys, as opposed to trying to be "on" all the time. I recommend this book to anyone who seeks to understand both the why of running, and obtain a well-grounded philosophical approach to life in general.
October 29, 2011
not new information running-wise, but some interesting thoughts on running - I put this in my mental box with Haruki Murakami's narratively meditative What I Talk About When I Talk about Running rather than the purely informational Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Runninge. Reading it in very short bits in amongst my other reading
March 27, 2016
This book is helpful. There is simple, concise and valuable insight about running, jogging, eating, doctors and other things. It reads almost philosophical and almost as though you are just having a conversation with Dr. Sheehan but he speaks authoritatively. I enjoyed his comments on supporting a diet that's essentially just loyalty to the simple main food groups. I also appreciated his word on just the value of running and walking as something meditative.
If you're curious, I don't think you'll be disappointed for having read it.
If you're curious, I don't think you'll be disappointed for having read it.
March 8, 2009
Set in the 70s - this book is relevant to true runners, although all references to runners are male! The last few chapters are more about life in general and have good lessons - my favorite: how being 9 years old is the best age
July 17, 2014
Excellent book of personal experience of a cardiologist who has run for many years. I believe that George wrote this book in his sixties and I read this in my forties. Now I am running in my sixties and hope to continue through my seventies. George speaks much to the heart and spirit of running.
Want to read
August 22, 2007this one is a little tough to get into. it has some funny old-time illustrations though.
August 6, 2008
If you run and if you read then you must read Dr. Sheehan. This one is a good place to start. Sheehan is the poet-philosopher of of the running community.
February 17, 2013
A book every runner should have.
November 1, 2013
Somewhat outdated. Nuggets of insight dispersed throughout. For absolute novice runners.
October 23, 2018
Great overview of running for the beginner and expert. There is always something to learn from Dr. Sheehan!
August 25, 2014
classic Dr Sheehan. Some areas are a bit dated but still thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews