Running Made Easy - Susie Whalley

...you've ever fancied taking up running - whether to lose weight, get fitter, get out into the fresh air, or with a specific aim (such as competing in a race) in mind - this book is the perfect companion. There's one caveat only - it does assume that you are starting from scratch, from a not-very-fit-at-all baseline. If you're already fit and hoping to get fitter, this may not be the ideal resource for you - although it still does contain much useful ...
...and future physical state! Running appealed for various reasons. It can be done whenever and wherever suits you, you don't need expensive equipment or gym membership (decent footwear is the only necessary expense), and it's a really excellent method of improving your fitness

Running Made Easy is Britain's top-selling running book, and it's not hard to see why. The book, produced in association with health and fitness magazine Zest, ... more

If you've ever fancied taking up running - whether to lose weight, get fitter, get out into the fresh air, or with a specific aim (such as competing in a race) in mind - this book is the perfect companion. There's one caveat only - it does assume that you are starting from scratch, from a not-very-fit-at-all baseline. If you're already fit and hoping to get fitter, this may not be the ideal resource for you - although it still does contain much useful information.

I haven't, to be perfectly honest, done a great deal of exercise since the birth of my baby 18 months ago. I'm not overweight (breastfeeding took care of that) but I definitely need to get fitter and tone up. And there's something about hitting 40 that tends to concentrate the mind on one's present and future physical state! Running appealed for various reasons. It can be done whenever and wherever suits you, you don't need expensive equipment or gym membership (decent footwear is the only necessary expense), and it's a really excellent method of improving your fitness

Running Made Easy is Britain's top-selling running book, and it's not hard to see why. The book, produced in association with health and fitness magazine Zest, uses simple motivational techniques and plenty of inspiration to get you started and keep you going. The friendly tone and magazine-style format - bright colours, graphics, lots of information presented in a user-friendly way, lots of opportunities to write in your own bits and pieces - draw you in and the book is very easy and tempting both to sit down and read and to dip in and out of.

Authors Lisa Jackson and Susie Whalley begin by recounting their own stories - how they got into running, what they've done since and what it means to them. Both are or have been health and fitness journalists - Lisa is also a qualified clinical hypnotherapist specialising in fertility and childbirth, smoking cessation, weight control, phobias and sports performance. Both have competed in several marathons.

The book features loads of case studies/interviews with people who testify to the effects (good, obviously, there's no space here for any negativity!) running has had on their lives. A lot of the earlier ones seem to relate to weight loss, which I suppose reflects the main reason many people have for taking up exercise. There are some really amazing stories of individual determination and achievement. The likes of the disabled marathon runner and the 90 year old who took up running in her 70s and has since completed several marathons will either inspire or shame you into getting off the sofa and putting on your trainers.

There are two techniques which are central to the book, the first being the so-called "60 second secret". It's really not that secret - the idea is that everyone, no matter how unfit, can run (however slowly) for 60 seconds, so the book's programme is based around this - 60 second bursts of running interspersed with longer (to begin with) periods of walking to recover. (I say "bursts" of running, which may imply speed. Actually, any kind of running is fine, from a speedy canter to a very sedate trot. For beginners, slower is better!) This is then gradually built up over the 10 week programme. What this cleverly avoids is the classic beginner's mistake of belting out of your front door and collapsing in a half-dead heap half way down the road, vowing never to do that again.

The second key idea relates to getting over the feeling that periods of walking in between periods of running represents some kind of shameful failure. I certainly thought this, and it was one factor which really put me off running in public, as I knew I couldn't run for all that long, but feared that slowing to a walk would result in pointing and laughing by passers-by. (I don't care any more. Anyway, most people are too polite to shout "Get a move on!" even if they're thinking it....) In fact, the run/walk technique is a recognised improvement strategy, even for those who are a fair bit fitter than the likes of me.

By way of comparison, I took another running book out of the library. The "beginner's programme" started thus: "Day 1 - run for 20 minutes". Now, I know fitter people will find this pathetic, which it admittedly probably is, but I could no more have run for 20 minutes my first time out than I could have flown to the moon. If I had somehow managed it, I would probably have almost dropped dead at the end and certainly would have been most unlikely to ever repeat the experience. The beauty of "Running Made Easy" is in making it manageable. You get fitter, but you do it gradually.

The core of the book is the 10-week programme, which spells out exactly what you have to do on what days, and includes lots of space for writing in your own stuff - when you plan to run, how you feel before, during and after running, etc. The idea here is both to get you organised (you're far more likely to keep to the programme if you make time at the beginning of each week to schedule in when you plan to run, rather than getting overtaken by events and never getting round to it) and to keep you motivated (even if you don't feel like putting on your trainers and heading out of the door, hopefully the evidence that on previous occasions you've felt a lot better for doing so will encourage you to make the effort). After 10 weeks, you should be well able to complete a 5k (3-mile) race, such as the popular Race for Life which is held at many locations around the UK.

A large section of the book is taken up by 101 useful tips… this covers all those areas like which stretches to do, what gear to buy, the importance of keeping well hydrated, etc.

Another section encourages you to write down your "vital statistics" in various key areas - resting heart rate, weight, body mass index, body fat percentage - and keep a note of how these are changing over time. Again, this is potentially a great motivational tool, assuming that you do in fact see an improvement! But you should, if you're keeping to the programme. Another motivational technique is the idea of rewarding yourself - a small reward for each completed run, a slightly bigger weekly one, and a great big one for finishing the whole 10 weeks! They even suggest ideas for rewards.

The advantages of the book, therefore, are pretty obvious - a motivating, inspiring and best of all, achievable guide to increasing your fitness through running. Are there any disadvantages? Well, not really for me, but I can imagine that fitter people may find the programme far too easy. The book has the feel of being aimed more at women than men - perhaps because both authors are female, and Zest magazine is, I would imagine, read predominantly by women - and also perhaps because fewer men want to admit to being unfit! There is also perhaps a little too much focus on running in races, with the marathon being seen as the ultimate goal (most of the case studies involve people who've run marathons). I can also see, though, the benefit of having something specific to aim for, whether that's a 5k, 10k, half-marathon or marathon, and the book also includes race training programmes for those past the beginner stage.

So… you may well be wondering, how's it going for me? Well, I haven't finished the programme yet - I'm on week 7 - and I suspect my first marathon is still some way off. But I'm definitely getting fitter, and although weight loss wasn't a particular objective, I've even shifted a bit of the excess flab around my middle. Most importantly, I'm really enjoying it. Going out for a run gives me time and space to myself, gets me out into the fresh air on some wonderful summer evenings, and invariably leaves me feeling fantastic afterwards. (Rather tired and achy, yes, but in a good way.)

Publisher's price £9.99; available from Amazon for £5.94. 224pp. 

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