aw basics

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This week AW Basics recommends a definitive distance manual

DISTANCE running icon Alberto Salazar is currently recovering from a heart attack in the United States. Due to his legendary status in the sport there is widespread concern over his health and it is perhaps an appropriate time to recognise not only his athletics achievements during the Eighties but also the book he has since brought out to inspire the next generation of athletes.

Alberto Salazar’s Guide to Road Racing – Championship Advice for Faster Times from 5k to Marathon is one of the best advice manuals available for distance running. It is written by a bone fide expert too as Salazar won the New York Marathon three times from 1980-82, he set US records for 5000m and 10,000m with 13:11.93 and 27:25.61 respectively, and he also won the 1982 Boston Marathon after a famous battle with fellow American Dick Beardsley.

His 1981 New York win was especially notable as he set an apparent world record of 2:08:13, beating Australian Derek Clayton’s 2:08:33, but the course was remeasured and found to be about 148 metres short.

Later, in 1994, he won the Comrades ultra-marathon in South Africa and in recent years has worked as a coach and consultant for Nike.

Whereas the title of his book sounds very elitist, the content is something that newcomers to the sport will easily understand. In fact, this is an ideal beginners’ manual as it rumbles through all the basic elements of distance running in a simple, logical format. It is also impressively definitive, covering almost every single subject you can imagine – from stretching and speedwork, to cross-training and tactics, to nutrition and injuries.

In addition to the impressive “been here, done it” nature of the author, there is also a humble “learn from my mistakes” approach. After being renowned for his hard work ethic, where 120-mile training weeks were the norm, Salazar eventually broke down and began to suffer from breathing problems – a direct consequence, he feels, of overtraining and trying to combat declining performances with even harder training.

He has since said, “if only I knew then what I know now”.
But the beauty of this book is that these thoughts are laid out in huge detail over 286 pages of well-written and clearly designed advice.

► Alberto Salazar’s Guide to Road Racing – Championship Advice for Faster Times from 5k to Marathon, by Alberto Salazar, is published by McGraw-Hill in the UK

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