Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Book #41: Runner's World Complete Guide to Women's Running



Title: Runner's World Complete Guide to Women's Running
Author: Dagny Scott

I've already alluded to this book in other posts. It's a great reference book-- one that will stay on my shelves for as long as I'm a runner. I've already thought of several people I'd like to give it to for a gift. I really wish I'd read the chapter on running during pregnancy during my first pregnancy-- then maybe I would have stayed in better shape before realizing during pregnancies 3 & 4 that running isn't a no-no when you're growing a baby.

But there were a few things that bugged about the book. First of all, it's sort of geared towards beginners. That's great for a beginning runner, but that's not me. Secondly, it has this weird combination of memoir and reference book. There's no "about the author" page-- no personal info at all on the back cover. But after reaind the "training log" sections, I know that Dagny Scott was a runner as a kid, almost qualified for the Olympics, had issues with her body image, got divorced, had to have surgery for a medical condition, and got pregnant. But without the bio page, that stuff sort of seems to exist in a vacuum for me. I liked the training logs, but they almost didn't seem to fit with the rest of the book. I'd really like to read some good running memoirs, but this, for all of the disclosures, wasn't it.

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