Kara Gouchers Running for Women: From First Steps to Marathons by Kara Goucher

Kara Gouchers Running for Women: From First Steps to Marathons Reviews

• 
  Leah Hortin

  I consider myself a newbie runner with only a few months (and under 20 miles a week) under my belt and am training for my first half marathon so I thought this would be helpful. In general, I found that it was not. There were a few nuggets of useful information but overall, it seemed like common sense stuff, or maybe I have just done more research already than the average woman starting running would/has?
  
  Right from the beginning, I found myself unable to relate to her - she's a natural runner, highly competitve (duh), and very fast. Yes, I knew getting into this that she was probably all of those things but as someone who is not a natural runner, just does it for fun and fitness, and is slow, I found myself resenting her a bit, especially since that was pretty much all the first chapter was about.
  
  I did like that her training plans only featured 3x a week running - that's what I do already and it made me confident that it would be sufficient to successfully complete my 1/2. A lot of other training plans out there have you running 5-6x a week which is just too much for me. She also puts a strong emphasis on strength training (yay!) and I really enjoyed the nutrition chapter as well - eat natural, non-processed foods and well balanced meals including healthy fats (yay!).
  
  The "I Love This Quote" sections were annoying. There seemed to be a lot of ideas repeated throughout the book. I disregarded the chapter on pregnancy running entirely because it does not (and never will) pertain to me.
  
  This book is definitely more of a sort of motivational book more than a technical know-how book which I guess was what I was looking for. I want to read a book by her coach! I would be interested in reading an autobiography from her as I very much enjoyed her story segments.
• 
  Stephanie

  I am just getting back into running after a few years off. I have read/tried to read other books on running before, but this has been my favorite. I actually read it cover to cover.
  
  Even with her Olympian status, Kara Goucher remains very relatable to people just starting out with running. Yes, when she talks about running a 5k in just a few minutes more than I can run a MILE, I realize she is far out of my league.
  
  However, reading about how she spent much of her first three years in college battling injury after injury was very encouraging. It gives me courage to stick with running even though I've dealt with some over-training issues over the past few years. Reading about an injury that sidelined her so thoroughly that she gained 30lbs and how she overcame that after a few missteps made me excited to get back into running even though I know I have to be super careful with my knees and hips.
  
  She makes running sound incredible, but unlike some other books about running, she also makes running sound like a challenge. She doesn't sugar coat the fact that not EVERY run is going to leave you feeling exhilarated. She made me excited to make running a part of my life.
  
  I borrowed this book from the library, but I believe I'll buy it to have as encouragement when the going gets tough.
• 
  Colleen

  Is it wrong of me to have expected more from a talented young marathoner's first training book? This was SUCH a disappointment. There is no cohesiveness to the book whatsoever...yes, she divides up the chapters so that there's some semblance of order to the way she doles her advice, but the information therein was just kind of thrown out there in what I'm guessing is a stream-of-consciousness form. Barring the narratives on her life that she gives at the beginning of each chapter, this book consists entirely of brief tidbits of information. Blurbs and asides are okay as enhancements, but I don't want to read an entire book of that (the lack of distinction between the main content of the book and the "I Love This Quote" sections were particularly irksome). Some of the information was interesting and pertinent, but I just couldn't concentrate long enough to read it cover to cover. That, and she seems rather...how can I say this nicely...self-aware. A vanity project is all this is. You'll find much better training plans and running memoirs elsewhere.
• 
  Jennifer

  I'm torn about this book. I think the
  The Complete Book Of Running For Women had better information for training and the like, but Goucher clearly loves running and wants you to be excited about it too. I found some of the "Ask Kara" questions a bit silly. This book was more about motivation than training.
• 
  Teri-K

  This may be the best running book for beginners that I've read so far. I really liked her attitude - she states up front that the best thing about running is the joy it brings her - which resonates with me much more than the runners who go on and on about embracing the pain. I also like that she clearly loves to race but doesn't consider racing the highlight of her sport. And though she makes - or made, I don't know what she's doing now - her living as a runner she emphasizes the need to have other things in your life that matter more. Joy, balance, priorities, injury prevention. All things I can get behind.
  
  There are interesting bits about the author's life as a runner interspersed with wisdom on getting started, training, etc. The usual stuff there. I'd never heard of her before, as I don't really follow running or runners, but I enjoyed reading this and will probably pick it up again at some point for a reread when I need some inspiration, motivation or advice.
• 
  Molly

  If you are already a runner, you will find some of the advice in this book fairly self-explanatory; I found myself congratulating myself for already doing some of the things she suggested and feeling guilty because I know that I SHOULD be following some of her other suggestions but am not (for example, I am not good at maintaining a steady pace throughout a race). One thing I really enjoyed about this, though, was learning that a professional runner struggles with many of the same issues that any runner does. She discusses gaining weight while injured and temporarily unable to run, along with, first, her decision to postpone motherhood until completing certain running goals and, second, her mixed feelings about how her running and fitness routine were forced to change during pregnancy (she emphasizes that you *should* continue to run during pregnancy, though you should certainly take it slow and be prepared to stop depending on the circumstances of your own individual pregnancy). I also really enjoyed her discussion of completing her first marathon and how she was actually vomiting during the race; I suppose that is an odd thing to say I enjoyed, but I threw up following my first half-marathon and was comforted to know that this is something that happens even to elite runners. Finally, I liked the "I love this quote" sections in each chapter, in which Goucher shared some of her favorite inspirpational running quotes. I think this is worth a read for both current and aspiring runners, though, as previously noted, not all of her advice will be new if you are already running and racing regularly. I will definitely be rooting for both Goucher and Shalene Flanagan in the upcoming Olympics!
• 
  Sarah

  This book had a lot of info, but little was new or helpful to me. I have read a lot of running books, so someone who is just getting into running would probably like it much more.
  
  One thing I both liked and disliked was that the majority of the book was in basically a bullet point format. This was nice for when I just had a few minutes to kill, but was kind of distracting when I wanted to sit down and ready for a while.
  
  I liked Goucher's personable writing style. She was very accessible for an elite runner, even for a slowpoke like me. Perhaps a few too many comments about meeting cute guys when you're running, but I guess since her husband is also an elite runner, that's probably how they met. ;)
  
  The layout was pretty awful. The entire first page of a new chapter was in a larger and different font than the rest, so it was a bit jarring. There were also quotes scattered throughout, which were formatted differently, but then her commentary about the quote was the same as the rest of the text. It was just odd.
  
  Some of the "Ask Kara" questions were rather ridiculous. "Is it okay to train and race when I'm having my period?" I imagine your average 12-year-old girl would know the answer to that. "Do you ever feel too masculine when you're out running and sweating and all that?" What?!
  
  Complaints aside, I think this would be a good choice for a woman who's just starting to run, although I would recommend
  Run Like a Mother first.
• 
  Kirsten

  I didn't find this book quite as helpful as I had hoped. As a beginning runner who just picked it up as a 32-year-old, I found Goucher's approach a little off-putting. She is writing from the perspective of someone who's always been a runner since she was a child and has been running professionally since college. So the chapters on beginning running really leave something to be desired. The information on food and nutrition is quite good, and I really appreciated the way that Goucher discussed her own struggles with body image. The chapters on competitive racing are also really useful, and if I ever decide to run competitively, I'll be reviewing her suggestions. The chapter on running and pregnancy/childbirth is also at least a good jumping-off point. Overall, though, I was pretty underwhelmed. I particularly disliked the "Dear Kara" sections interspersed throughout the text; a lot of her answers to questions like "I'm in my sixties, should I be worried about osteoporosis?" or "My boyfriend is dismissive of my running" struck me as facile and not really very helpful. How to put this? Goucher doesn't seem like a very deep thinker, and she seems very tied to her view of the world, which isn't particularly nuanced.
• 
  Alissa

  REALLY enjoyed this book! Thought it would be mostly basics that I already knew and while in some ways it was, it is also chalk full of interesting training tips and running lessons learned from a POV of someone I really respect. Kara is so down to earth, she made it feel like running is a club we can all be in... not something set aside for only the elite that can run 5 minute miles. Both beginners and pros should take a look at this one. Even though I'm a middle of the packer, I really enjoyed the chapters on getting ready for races (I may not be a pro, but I do enjoy racing against myself!). I also really liked how she emphasizes keeping running in perspective. It's interesting to see how someone who runs 120 mile weeks could keep it in perspective! On a side note, do ALL pro runners list "cooking" as one of their interests besides running? Seems like I've read that more than once! Runners like to EAT!
  
  Its written mostly in bullet point format which didn't really bother me. I got it from the library, but will probably invest in my own copy. Would be a great bathroom reader.
• 
  C

  Love this - wish I'd had it on hand ages ago. Definitely worth a library check-out. Each chapter is a compilation of observations/tips. It's not an orderly "do this" then "do that" step by step guide (though it progresses in a reasonable manner), but more of a "this is what I have to share from my experience" (running, coaching, observing). Really great for picking up and reading a bit here and there.
  
  There were quite a few pieces of advice and information in there I could really appreciate. Wished I had it on Kindle so I could highlight them and share.
  
  This would make a great companion to Running Like a Girl & a great gift idea for someone starting out or a few years in and bumping into frustrating roadblocks here and there. I really liked her laid back, low key, common sense approach to the sport. She's an elite runner and a badass, but not a snob.
  
  Good stuff.
• 
  Thea Fransen

  She's a runner, not a writer is what I would say to some of the negative reviewers. I found this book helpful, well-organized, funny, surprisingly humble, and inspiring. Something for a runner at any level.
• 
  Robin Ames

  This book came out over a decade ago, but I bought a used copy to see if it anything in it could motivate me. I'm old enough to be Kara's mother, but still felt that parts of the book pertained to me as a female runner. I'm not as fast as I used to be, and I may never run a marathon, but I enjoyed Kara's insights and point of view as an elite runner. She shows that she is human and obsesses over the same stuff that the rest of us runners do. Some topics, like running while pregnant, didn't do it for me-- Kara ran lots of miles right up until the end of her pregnancy. Not me. I couldn't get on board with that. Then again, I'm not a world class athlete. Running just wasn't a priority for me. And I was queasy all the time!
  
  This book is a quick read. Easy to pick back up where you left off because it's basically just a lot of common sense, insider tips and quotes.
  
  I don't think I learned a lot about running (I've been doing it for many years), but the book was enjoyable and, in the end, it did inspire me!
• 
  Hope Mullins

  Over the years I have grown my running book collection. I just really enjoy books by runners, about running, or stories of a runner’s life.
  I liked Kara’s book because she wrote like she was talking to all of us regular runners. She wrote like we were athletes or were going to be as soon as we laced up our shoes and start running!
  I’ve ran and crossed the finish line of five marathons and countless half marathons. I know what it feels like to be a winner —which is what I am every time I finish! I know the feeling of loving the way running makes you feel. It’s so addicting. If you start, and you keep going when things get though, you will feel it too. Then nothing will keep you from running!
• 
  Amelia

  I picked this up at the library yesterday and have been skimming and reading it since then. I'm not a runner, I'm toying with the idea of running. This book helped me get a good picture of what it takes to be a successful runner. Kara is very peppy! She also talks about her setbacks, and importance of the non-running side of her life.
  
  My main complaint about it was that the formatting wasn't well done. There were lots of mostly blank pages and pointless changes of font. That contributed to the feeling that the narrative was sometimes a bit scattered. On the whole, though, I do not feel that I wasted my time reading this book and I learned a few new and interesting things.
  
• 
  Claire

  Great book, but a few major problems:
  Very gendered, and some of her language is problematic.
  If you have body image issues, do not read this book. It will not help anyone with body image issues.
  Her story of her own pregnancy and how she could basically not enjoy it for obsessing over her weight and speed is very alarming. Do not read if you are pregnant.
  I do not have these issues so I ignored the problematic parts. But I feel like this book should have some disclaimers despite having tons of great tips!
• 
  Meredith

  Good tips and pointers. My only thing was that this book is obviously geared toward women who already run... and run a LOT. I'm practically just a beginner and a lot of her advice about running doesn't apply (i.e. marathons, 100 miles a week, 6 minutes a mile...). However, I understand not every running book needs to be a "couch to 5k" book :) So it was interesting to read about running from the perspective of a pro.
• 
  Abigail G

  Definitely written by a person who runs professionally. There were many good tips and practical applications for everyday life, but there were many other things that are impossible to accomplish without money. I appreciated the technical side of this book and accepted part of the way through that it is good material for someone who wants to run professionally. But for me and my level of jogging it does not have a feasible plan to follow.
• 
  Holly

  Although she had some good tips, I just didn't like the tone of it. I felt like it was really aimed toward young women. She was 33 when this was published but it felt like it was for a 20-year-old with a 20-year-old body and few responsibilities.
  I may give her book, "Strong" a try, just to see if she's become a bit wiser as she's aged.
• 
  Stephanie

  I enjoyed Kara’s personal stories and advice. She had many relevant tips, I ear-marked a few pages for later reference. I followed one of her speed drills from the marathon training plan and had a really good run! I’m now making it a weekly thing!
• 
  Monica

  Good timing, as I'm nursing a slight running injury today. Very practical am encouraging advice.
• 
  Jennifer McCracken

  OK. I'd prefer more of her stories and quotes, less of the Dear Kara section. Some of them were ridiculous.
• 
  Stephanie

  I just started back running and I really enjoyed this book. It shows that she loves running and it was helpful.
• 
  Monica

  Definitely for beginners, so I didn't get much from it. Still, I enjoyed the anecdotes and the book is organized in such a way that makes it easy for scanning.
• 
  D

  kara goucher is the literal best, but her book was sort of a mess. it was an amalgam of all-over-the-place advice and inspirational quotations thrown together without much thought or order. she explicitly says she was wrapping up the manuscript right after the birth of her son, so i'm pretty sure further editing was simply impossible. it's too bad, as kara is one of the best out there and a more systematic approach to mining the depths of her knowledge and experience could have been Next Level. as it is, this mishmash won't really be useful to many. it's ostensibly geared toward the novice runner, but it's put together in so haphazard a manner that the new athlete would frankly be better served reading John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield or maybe Hal Higdon or Jeff Galloway.
  
  interestingly, in the years since writing this book, kara broke with her famous coach and mentor, alberto salazar (over allegations that he was doping his athletes in the Nike Oregon Project), who is a strong presence in this book. i can see why she might not be interested in revising a second edition, since editing him from the pages might be more cumbersome and painful than it's worth. but given how thoughtful and experienced an athlete she is, and the highs and lows in her career, this woman has multiple books' worth of material left in her, and i'm for sure here for it should she ever decide to publish again.
• 
  Antof9

  This book was both interesting and forgettable. I don't know another way to say it!
  
  Kara clearly has an interest in and a passion for getting more women (and men) interested in running, which I appreciated (and is frankly why I wanted to check this book out from the library. But this isn't the smoothest, most well-written book she could have published. I felt like there were many parts where she missed the opportunity to elaborate, say more, educate further, and expand upon something she said. There were also places where it seemed it would have been appropriate for her to add a "check with your doctor" caveat. Basically, it felt like a self-published book with a lot of good information and something that could have been much better and become a best-seller had she had a good editor.
  
  But that didn't necessarily detract from the things I learned from this book, and that I found it motivational. She has a lot of good information in here. Lots of suggestions for things to try, how to stay motivated, etc. However, my POV at the time of reading it was that I have been walking for a little over a year, with small forays into running attempts. I have lost 70 lbs and have another 30 or so, and am sort of contemplating running. So it's possible I was interested enough in the topic to be invested, and someone with a lower interest level might give up sooner. I should also mention that I really am invested, as I owe the library quite a bit of money on this book :) That also is a little telling as to how "interesting" it was -- that is, I didn't whip through it and finish it immediately after starting, like I do with most books. So there's that.
  
  I appreciated that she has some very specific women-centric things in this book, and I think other women would, too. She also has a refreshing perspective on things that I hear a lot of people obsessing about. For example, when you first start running, just eat the same things you've been eating for walking. You're not a marathoner (yet). Worrying about carb-loading, etc. is probably not critical when you first start. And she's right; it hasn't been a problem for me :) Speaking of what to eat, she has a great quote at the end of Chapter 6: Avoid any diet that discourages the use of hot fudge. - Don Kardong, marathoner and 1976 U.S. Olympian Her comment that follows it is equally brilliant: "I love this quote because it reminds us as runners not to get too caught up in our diets. A little hot fudge every now and then isn't going to kill you. It might make you happier!"
  
  Among other things she touches on -- she gives good tips for things like how to go through a water stop in a race. You might think it's a small thing, but I found it interesting!
  
  She has quotes from other runners throughout the book. Another one I like: Running is a lot like life. Only 10 percent of it is exciting; 90 percent of it is slog and drudge. -Dave Bedord, English distance runner who occasionally puts 200 miles a week in training.
  
  I did like this, but I should also admit that I skimmed a LOT by the time I got to the last quarter.
• 
  Laura

  Honestly, guys, did you really expect me to talk about book books again? Like...YA and romance and fantasy and all that stuff I always promise and never stick to?
  Oh, don't worry. I did read a bit. YA, I mean. Real, honest, funny, funky YA. And it's coming your way, I promise!
  But, today, we're a bit off topic again.
  Today's review is on Kara Goucher's book Running for Women which I never planned on reviewing but then did anyway, because the book is so helpful and she seems to be such a genuine, honest, fun and nice person.
  I'm a fan now, sure thing!
  
  If you're not a runner, my guess is you haven't heard of her much. And if you are a runner but anything like me, you've never heard of her before, because you're ignorant to everyone else hitting the pavements (or, you know, elite athlete stadiums) of the world.
  
  I did, however, stumble upon her book and thought that reading plus running is an equation even I can't get wrong.
  So I went for it. And loved it.
  There were exactly two aspects that made this book amazing.
  The knowledge. And the personality.
  Whenever the chapters were about running advice and information, giving tips to every kind of runner you could imagine, Goucher was incredibly professional.
  She didn't just go through every topic (Training, Nutrition, Injury Prevention, etc.) in great detail. She structured her advice in a way that made it easy to both, read and understand what she meant.
  Even though I'm sort of a geek and follow Runner's World like it is my job, there were so many (smaller and greater) details I didn't know before.
  That alone made the book worth a lot more money than I paid for it!
  A good example was the chapter on starting to run which I thought about skipping first. I can only suggest one thing: DON'T!
  Don't skip any sentence! I went as far as devouring the chapter about running while pregnant (I'm eighteen, boyfriend-less and not planning on having kids in the next 15 years, so that is saying something!).
  So, when you're looking for advice on running, no matter if you're just starting out, or have been doing it for years or aren't running at all, Kara Goucher's book really is the way to go! I promise there will be a million things you haven't heard of before!
  
  I mentioned personality before. That's because Goucher has lots of it and it's all included in her book! She shares personal details about every stage of her life as a highschool runner, a daughter, a wife and a mother and it is too interesting reading about all that and seeing not only how she mastered that great career she has, but also how she felt during those low moments everyone experiences.
  She even got surprisingly raw and private at some points which made the book even more relatable!
  
  All in all, I can only recommend Goucher's book to every runner out there. I mean, I would say non-runners should totally read it, too (it's done in a very autobiographical style), but I know part of that suggestion is only my desperate cry for even more runners out there :)