Alberto Salazar's Guide to Running

Many of today's beginning runners are turning to running as part of an overall fitness programme designed to improve health and alleviate stress. Former marathon world-record-holder Alberto Salazar, with longtime runner and author Richard Lovett, offers a sensible, balanced approach for people enlisting in the new "second running boom". It is unique in that it recommends a gradual start-up programme complemented by other exercise regimes. This is the programme that revitalized the hard-running and often- injured Salazar. This gentle approach, from a world-class runner who was once synonymous with overtraining injuries and burnout, should command attention. Salazar, the only runner ever to win the New York and Boston marathons in the same year (he won three New York marathons in a row), was renowned for a gruelling training schedule that had him running as many as 130 miles a week. A fierce competitor who once was given the last rites of the Catholic Church at the finish of a race in which he pushed himself to exhaustion, Salazar had a relatively short time at the top because of a series of debilitating injuries.
Now in his forties, Salazar rarely runs more than 5 miles at a time, and is running injury-free and enjoying it. "Alberto Salazar's Guide to Running" is based on a year-long programme designed to build the beginning runner's weekly distance to 15-20 miles - a relatively low distance. The Salazar programme shows that a 20-minute 2- or 3-mile run can be just as beneficial as a longer, harder run. And it shows that complementing a running programme with other aerobic and strength-building activities such as bicycling, cross-country skiing, rowing, weight-training, or even hiking can improve one's running. "Alberto Salazar's Guide to Running" will feature anecdotal sidebars from the running experiences of Salazar, who set one world and six US records. "Alberto Salazar's Guide to Running" should also attract experienced runners looking to avoid injuries and inject new life into their pastime. For those runners who successfully complete the first year-programme, the book offers advice to expand and enrich their experiences, including discussions on trail running, winter training, cross-training and increasing distances.
But all in the context of keeping the experience enjoyable and free from stress.