Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz

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In this episode, Alan and Liz welcome back frequent-flyer guest Matt Fitzgerald to talk about his rawest and most personal book yet: Dying to Run: An Athlete's Quest for One More Finish. This is Matt like you've never read him. After long COVID took away not just running but his ability to move, work, and feel like himself, he made the reckless, wonderful decision to attempt a 100-kilometer ultramarathon in record-breaking desert heat. We dig into what long COVID actually is and why it can turn exercise into something close to poison, the brutal post-exertional malaise scale Matt created for a medical case study, and why he signed up for the Javelina Jundred giving himself just a 10 percent chance of even reaching the start line. We also get into the Stoic mindset that carried him through, the art of controlling the controllables when the desert hits 99 degrees, the surprising power of simply having something to anticipate again, one very relatable wardrobe malfunction five minutes before the gun, and why he believes it does not really matter how the story ends. It is a conversation about endurance in the truest sense of the word, and about what it means to keep going when your body betrays you.
About the Book Dying to Run is Matt Fitzgerald's most personal book to date, part memoir and part meditation on survival and self-acceptance. When long COVID struck, running became a distant memory, doctors had no answers, and every day blurred into fatigue and mental fog. With no promise of recovery, Matt set his sights on an audacious gamble: finishing the Javelina Jundred, a 100-kilometer ultramarathon across Arizona's Sonoran Desert, during a record-breaking heat wave.
The Gamble: With his body refusing to cooperate and no medical fix in sight, Matt bets everything on one more finish, chasing closure and, just maybe, redemption in the scorching desert.
The Mindset: Drawing on Stoic philosophy, modern psychology, and hard-won experience, he learns to separate what he can control from what he cannot, and to be as wise as he is tough.
The Bigger Question: More than a race report, this is an honest reckoning with how we find meaning, and keep moving, when our bodies fail us.
Dying to Run is published by 80/20 Publishing and distributed by Simon & Schuster, arriving in print, digital, and audio in September.
About the Author Matt Fitzgerald is an acclaimed endurance sports journalist, certified sports nutritionist, and bestselling author of nearly 40 books on running, nutrition, and mental toughness. Titles we have covered on the podcast include Running the Dream, 80/20 Coaching, The Comeback Quotient, How to Run Your Perfect Race, and Run Like a Pro (Even If You're Slow). He is the co-founder of 80/20 Endurance and head coach of Dream Run Camp in Flagstaff, Arizona, which he opened during his illness as a way to pivot into serving fellow runners.
A lifelong runner who has raced since age 11, Matt faced his hardest challenge yet when long COVID upended his life, the story he tells in Dying to Run. He lives in Flagstaff with his wife, Nataki, and their dog, Clementine.
Have you read Dying to Run, or fought your own way back from illness or injury? We would love to hear what kept you going. Reach out and let us know!
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In the running boom of the 80s the small town of Bernardsville New Jersey emerged as a magical place for the sport, producing champions at all levels of distance running. The young, passionate experimental coach of the junior program feeding a lot of the success was Mark Wetmore; before he became of the worlds best collegiate coaches. Blood Sweat and Spikes is a story of one of the runners in that town (Lyle Smith) and the people that made it unique in the history of the sport.
Lyle Smith has been a reporter,, a caddie, a grave digger, a marketing professional and a runner since he discovered the sport as a youngster growing up in Bernardsville , New Jersey. He now lives in Colorado with his wife Heather and son Aiden. You might hear him podcasting or see him running the trails of Boulder with his golden retriever Elsa.
Lyle's site, lylesmith.net, is where he can be reached, where you can learn more about him.
Lyle's IG: @nymblegram
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Any feedback or suggestions on this review or any of our other podcast episodes would be greatly welcomed. Leave us a review using your favorite podcast player or contact us on social media.

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Here we are again with a recap of 10 running books. This time is a first with Shayan added to the usual Alan and Liz mix
Here's a list of all 10 books and and a link to the full podcast episodes in which they are featured.
Chasing the Grid by  Ken Posner
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/17934193
Fuel for Thought by Renee McGregor
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/17951831
Ultra Women by Lily canter and Emma Wilkinson
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/18088365
Road to Redemption by Tom Fitzgerald
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/18196515
Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes by Kylee van Horn
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/18398279
Running the World by Robyn Godfrey
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/18445395
Move Rest Recover by Erin Taylor
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/18559534
Advanced Marathoning (4th Edn.) by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/18560759
Still Running after all these Tears by Lisa jackson
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/18723464
What I Talk About when I talk about Running by Haruki Murakami
https://www.buzzsprout.com/976876/episodes/19076029

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Any feedback or suggestions on this review or any of our other podcast episodes would be greatly welcomed. Leave us a review using your favorite podcast player or contact us on social media.

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Podcast webpage: https://runningbookreviews.buzzsprout.com  

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In One Step Forward , we follow Gene from his initial unhealthy lifestyle as he  transforms from sedentary starter to 11x Ironman finisher—with a 10-year Boston Marathon streak
During this journey Gene extracts over 100 life lessons from his running but applicable to all kinds of situations. They fall into 5 major categories
Perseverance and Resilience
Mental Strength and Self Talk 
Community and Support
Personal Growth and Transformation
Service and Giving Back
 
Gene Jochen is an endurance athlete who has completed over 100 marathons including his 11th Boston in 2022 and all six Abbott World Marathons—plus 11 Ironmans. A corporate leader, sales expert and entrepreneur, he sharpened his mindset testing limits on roads trails and triathlons . He shares hard -earned insights to help others conquer doubt, build resilience and break personal barriers. He's also a songwriter and jazz/rock drummer. 

Gene's site, https://genejochen.com/, is where he can be reached, where you can learn more about his next book, and where you can find access to locations to purchase this book:
Gene's IG: https://www.instagram.com/grjochen/
Gene's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-jochen-bsmartinc330/

Link for 20% discount on Caffeine Bullet https://caffeinebullet.com/RUNNINGBOOK
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Any feedback or suggestions on this review or any of our other podcast episodes would be greatly welcomed. Leave us a review using your favorite podcast player or contact us on social media.

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Podcast webpage: https://runningbookreviews.buzzsprout.com  

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Marathon Excellence for Everyone is a bible about marathon training and racing. It has 50 chapters divided into 8 sections (not counting the appendix):
First steps
The phases of marathon training
Training plans
Race day and beyond
The science of marathon performance
The science of fueling
Overcoming illness, injury, and other setbacks
Advanced training techniques
 
John Davis is a scientist, writer, and coach. His work uses modern machine learning and biostatistics to understand biomechanics, physiology, and human health. Recently, he’s focused on using these same tools to tackle problems in AI alignment and AI interpretability. 
His site, https://johnjdavis.io/, is where he puts his technical write-ups and explainers on topics like AI, ML, and biomechanics. He can also be found at https://runningwritings.com/  where you can:
Get copies of the book: https://marathonexcellence.com/
Join John's newsletter to get links to all his new content: https://runningwritings.com/news
Follow him on Instagram (or FB): https://www.instagram.com/runningwritings/
Listen to his longer form content on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RunningWritings
Link for 20% discount on Caffeine Bullet https://caffeinebullet.com/RUNNINGBOOK
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Support the show
Any feedback or suggestions on this review or any of our other podcast episodes would be greatly welcomed. Leave us a review using your favorite podcast player or contact us on social media.

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/reviews_running
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Podcast webpage: https://runningbookreviews.buzzsprout.com  

If you have been enjoying the podcast and want more, you can find some extras on our By Me a Coffee site! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/runningbookreviews