The Secret of Running

by Hans van Dijk

Meyer & Meyer Premium the next level of instructional sports literature with high-quality, full-color books. How much power does your human engine have? How much power do you need for running in different conditions? How can you optimize your training and racing performance? How can you use power meters to improve your results? What are the ultimate limits of human performance? The Secret of Running answers all of these questions. All factors determining the performance in running (from 800meter race to marathon) are explained step by training, nutrition, body weight, running form, wind, hills, temperature, running gear, power meters and much more. Written in a crystal-clear and lively style, this book is a wealth of information for every ambitious runner. This title also contains brand new insights on how the balance of the power of your human engine and the power requirement for running in different conditions determines your performance. It shows how power meters can be used to optimize your training, running economy and race result. This book is lavishly illustrated and packed with useful data. Being already a bestseller in the Netherlands and Belgium, The Secret of Running can be considered the ultimate textbook for all serious runners and their coaches

Genres: Sports

565 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2017

Reviews

[Martin Tengelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for running and analytics geeks like myself

[Tommy Niittula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mycket bra bok om man vill nörda ner sig i siffror och formler kring löpning.

[CherylR · Rating 3 out of 5]

intense

This book is very intense with so many formulas and equations. I felt like I needed a PhD in physics to really understand.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously niche - this is basically a series of data and model-driven analyses of the impact of different factors on running performance at different distances.

Even within the subset of running literature which concerns itself with data and analytics, this is on a whole different plane of geekiness, but for the interested and engaged reader, there's an astonishing amount here with many sacred cows and received wisdoms called into question with data to back it up.

The translation from Dutch to English is fairly direct - I'll write this off as striving for precision rather than idiom - but it can be a little painful sometimes.

This isn't for everyone (even within the running community this is a relatively niche area), but if you're interested in the intersection of running and data then this is highly recommended.

[Emil Niclas Hofseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to running and endurance from a scientific point of view. Everything you need to know to get started or take your training to another level. Especially a great read if you have recently picked up a power meter and want to learn more about the science behind it.