If you've read another book on getting in to marathon running then this one isn't going to give you much, if anything, more. Loaded with autobiographical anecdotes from mostly elite marathon runners I found it largely irrelevent for somebody contemplating their first attempt at 42.2km. Nerurkar makes up for some of his more indulgent choices however by providing some very interesting charts and tables on training plans and his writing style is largely clear and concise, only straying in to enexplained terminology on the rare occasion. There's a lot of options out there for the marathon trainee to choose from and this book should never be first choice, especially not as the first book they pick up.
Very useful guide. Lots of information for runners of all levels. A book I will definitely be referring to regularly when training for long distances runs.
Not very good. It's full of irrelevant anecdotes about how elite athletes train for marathons, the layout is cluttered and the advice is poor. Too often you see references to parts of the book you haven't got to yet.