“You don’t stop running because you get old, you get old because you stop running.”
Whether you’re a seasoned marathoner, a casual jogger, or just beginning your running journey, there’s just something magical about books that capture the spirit of running. From inspiring memoirs to practical guides, running books can motivate you, teach new techniques, and immerse you in the culture of endurance sports. The best running books don’t just cover training plans – they explore the mental strength, discipline, and passion that make running such a transformative experience. Today at What We Reading, we’re rounding up the best books on running, featuring stories from elite athletes, motivational running memoirs, and guides perfect for beginners and seasoned runners alike. Whether you’re looking for books about marathon training, trail running, or simply a dose of running inspiration, these selections will fuel your love for the sport and keep you turning pages as eagerly as lacing up your running shoes.
Born To Run – Christopher McDougall
Kicking off our list of the best running books is Christopher McDougall’s incredible adventure, Born to Run. Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic chronicle that starts with a simple question: Why does my foot hurt? Determined to find the answer, McDougall sets out to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and uncover their secrets, showing that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong in the process.
With a sharp wit and exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit. Born to Run is a rare book that engages not only the body but also the mind, showing that all of us were born to run.
The Runner’s Guide To The Meaning Of Life – Amby Burfoot
From its opening pages, The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life is not only about running. It’s about living to the fullest potential. Amby Burfoot, one of running’s wisest voices, presents fifteen essential life lessons about passion, courage, materialism, failure, and more, all curated through fifteen years of running.
Amby discusses the essential traits of a runner – traits that are also essential for all people looking to hit their long-term goals. He discusses the writings, music, and quotes that have inspired him throughout his career. Most importantly, he explains that winners aren’t those who cross the finish line first, but rather those who are able to discover more about themselves with every step.
Daniels’ Running Formula – Jack Daniels
Looking to get in the best shape for your running career? In one of the most acclaimed running training books in the world, premier running coach Jack Daniels provides readers with his proven VDOT formula to guide them through training at precisely the right intensity to become a faster, stronger runner.
Each program inside Daniels’ Running Formula incorporates the right blend of the five training intensities to help readers build strength, endurance, and speed, and Daniels’ intensity point system makes it easy to track the time a reader spends on each level. Customisable, it provides the perfect solution for short training sessions and is sure to help any new runners find their footing.
North – Scott Jurek
Scott Jurel is one of the world’s best-known ultrarunners. Renowned for his remarkable speed and endurance, accomplished on a vegan diet; however, after two decades of training, speaking, and touring, Jurek set out on a wholly unique challenge: to break the speed record for the Appalachian Trail.
North is the incredible story of the 2,189-mile journey that nearly shattered him. When he set out in the spring of 2015, Jurek anticipated punishing terrain, forbidding weather, and inevitable injuries. He would need to run nearly fifty miles each day for almost seven weeks. A stunning narrative of perseverance and personal transformation, North is a portrait of a man stripped bare on the most demanding and transcendent effort of his life, making it one of the most inspiring books about running available.
Running With The Kenyans – Adharanand Finn
As a boy, Adharanand was a natural runner, imagining himself as one of his heroes: the Kenyan long-distance runners as Olympic and world champions. But those childhood dreams slowly slipped away – until suddenly, in his mid-thirties, Finn saw and seized an opportunity: to learn the secrets of the fastest runners on earth. Uprooting his family, Finn travelled to a small, chaotic town in the Rift Valley province of Kenya – a mecca for long-distance runners.
There, Finn would run side-by-side with Olympic champions, young hopefuls, and barefoot schoolchildren, and meet a cast of unforgettable characters. Amid the daily challenges of training and raising a family overseas, Finn would learn invaluable lessons about running – and about life. Running with the Kenyans is a running book about a man following his lifelong dream, and a fascinating portrait of a magical country.
The Perfect Mile – Neal Bascomb
There was a time when running a mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed, and in all of sport, it was the elusive holy grail. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier.
Spanning three continents and defying the odds, their collective quest captivated the world and stole headlines from the Korean War, the atomic race, and such legendary figures as Edmund Hilary, Willie Mays, Native Dancer, and Ben Hogan. Neal Bascomb delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.
Run Fast. Eat Slow. – Shalane Flanagan & Elyse Kopecky
From world-class marathoner and four-time Olympian Shalane Flanagan and chef Elyse Kopecky comes a whole foods, flavour-forward cookbook that proves food can be indulgent and nourishing at the same time. Finally, here’s a cookbook for runners that shows fat is essential for flavour and performance and that counting calories, obsessing over protein, and restrictive dieting do more harm than good.
Packed with over one hundred recipes for every part of your day, mind-blowing nutritional wisdom, and inspiring stories from two fitness-crazed women who became best friends, Run Fast Eat Slow has all your bases covered.
The Long Run – Matt Long
On the morning of December 22, 2005, Matt Long was cycling to work when he was struck by and sucked under a twenty-ton bus. The injuries he sustained pushed him within inches of his life. Miraculously, forty operations and months later, Matt was able to begin his recovery. In the eighteen months before the accident, he had competed in twenty events, including the Boston Marathon. After the accident, his doctor told him he’d be lucky to be able to walk without a cane.
The Long Run is one of the most poignant and inspiring books about running that charts Matt’s determination to fight through fear, despair, loneliness, and intense physical and psychological pain to regain the life he once had. From learning how to walk again to running in the 2008 New York City Marathon, Matt’s journey has inspired many and turned him into a symbol of hope and recovery for untold numbers of others.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
