Book Review: Runner's World: Performance Nutrition for Runners

Runner's World: Performance Nutrition for Runners: How To Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever by Matt Fitzgerald ($ 8.79 Kindle Edition) is a resource that every rookie runner needs. Less than 250 pages in paperback at $ 8.79--you are getting a steal! (I paid double the Kindle price but I do not feel cheated at all).

I refer to it as a resource because I have referred to it numerous times since reading it a few weeks back. I underline (and some would say ruin) every book I read, so that I can return and review the parts that I found most useful. Be sure to use the "highlight" feature in your digital reader to avoid being unable to refer others when asked, because you will be telling others to read it!

I have full confidence in saying this because RW:PNFR was written from a fact based perspective--not by a salesman, unless you count being "sold" on running. Most runners are, and when it's more painful to lie on the couch than it is to run, you won't mind his assumption. We runners know, that it is not a matter if I will run, but how can I sustain my running? RW: PNFR will teach you how. The only drawback in the book for me being a "young earth" Christian were the numerous explanations for why humans are the way they are from an "old earth" macro-evolutionary perspective with which I disagree. Other than that (and it is only for the first chapter or so) this book is very hard to put down.

Some of the reasons are: Excellent tables and useful comparisons throughout the book. For instance, the author compares the top sports drinks and explains what they contain and/or do not contain based on the scientific information in the book. He also compares the top recovery drink mixes and explains why some of them are better than others. Some products are simply more useful than others, and he explains the reasons why. I have found that "difference in cost" is really not the factor used by the author. If you are a label reader, like me, then you appreciate all the information you can get in order to notice these nutrients, or lack thereof, anywhere you go and on whatever you buy.

The book is only 10 chapters and they are "the answers" to every runner's questions. Do you still have to make subjective judgments based on your own needs? Sure, but the book is comprehensive enough to give you the information you need to make that decision, and by the way it is very readable. The 10 chapters are:

What is Performance Nutrition?

The Four Principles of Healthy Eating

Balancing Your Energy Sources

Optimizing Your Body Composition

Hydration and Nutrition During Running

Pre-Race Nutrition

Recovery Nutrition

Eating Right Now

Choosing the Right Supplements

Runners with Special Nutrition Needs

When I began running in the spring of 2011, I had a membership at the local Wellness Center and downloaded a copy of Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide off the Internet. I ran on the treadmill (under a ceiling fan if I could) and took a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade with me. I ran my first half marathon on a treadmill! Yep, 13.1 miles for 2 1/2 hours. The point I came to, however, is what do I do now concerning nutrition and hydration, since my goal was to run a full marathon at the end of the year? Do I time my runs to conveniently be at a Mexican restaurant 3 hours into my run? I just did not know what to do; therefore, I did not have the confidence I needed.

Well, luckily my local Fleet Feet of Huntsville had a training program for the annual marathon here, so running among a group of high achievers and experienced coaches gave me the confidence and information I needed to conquer "the other half" (second 13.1). This book will give you all that information and more! It will be at hand and the Index will take you to your highlighted sections immediately. You will know what to eat and drink and when to do it--on and off the road. There are excellent tables showing how to carbo-load daily and the last 3 days before the race. There is also a 12-week table detailing how to get started losing weight with running. There is also a section for what to eat and not eat when your busy schedule forces you to eat out.

You will not be disappointed if you are serious about running and serious about doing what it takes to remain in shape to do so. RW: PNFR is a valuable investment toward this end.