Just Finished Reading Master the Marathon by Ali Nolan

Ali Nolan is a runner and writer who provides a woman’s perspective and advice about running, especially for distances like marathons.  She is who I would regard as an elite runner, having qualified without difficulty for the Boston Marathon, something that has never been in my grasp at my more intermediate level.  I just finished reading her 2021 book Master the Marathon (subtitled The Ultimate Training Guide for Women) in which she makes it plain from the start that she has targeted this book specifically for women.  I, naturally, decided to read it anyway and concluded that while some minuscule sections may have specifically addressed special biologically-based issues not pertinent to me as a man, the book as a whole was very instructive and applicable to anyone regardless of gender, age, or running ability who wants to get themselves in proper physical and mental shape to conquer the grueling 26.2 distance that constitutes a marathon running event.  Nolan reminded us that prior to 1966 women were banned from running marathon races, ostensibly for their own good because the prevailing idea in the male-dominated sports establishment was that women’s bodies were too fragile to handle the stress of such a distance…what nonsense in hindsight!  She made quite a few constructive points in the book to help runners in their preparation for marathons, the most significant one for me being that it’s necessary to taper down the training in the couple of weeks prior to the race.  Also, there is a tendency for runners, just before a big race, to experience phantom pains, especially in the legs. Having read it just a couple of days before I was to run in a local half-marathon race, I didn’t have that much time to taper myself, but I did relent on my training intensity and I think it paid off with my performance and recovery…and, yes, I got phantom pain as well.  She also related that once she wanted to take it easy during a marathon, walking much of it and planning to go over six hours with it.  She expressed gratitude, for that event capped the race at six and a half hours…I wonder what she would have thought about the marathon distance race at my recent event: just FIVE hours capped!  Master the Marathon isn’t long and is a good read…I heartily recommend it, whoever you happen to be…