I’m a runner. Sort of. I’ve run five half marathons and one full marathon. None of them fast (3:46 marathon.) I also ran cross country in high school, but that was really to avoid playing football. (Hey, I like WATCHING football, but it hurts to play.)
My wife, on the other hand, is a real runner. She’s a Boston Marathon finisher and a multi-time All-American in track and cross country. So I’ve spent a lot of time around split times, GU packets, and people who use the phrase “easy 10-miler” unironically.
That’s why I love books about running — especially ones that dive into the minds of athletes who are way more intense, inspiring (and slightly unhinged) than I’ll ever be. These running books are written by and about athletes who win Olympic medals, run 100-mile races for fun, or blow the whistle on broken systems. They’re intense, fascinating, funny, and usually kind of bonkers. But in the most inspiring way.
Whether you’re a hardcore marathoner or someone who owns running shoes just in case, I think you’ll enjoy my list of the best running books I’ve ever read (so far.)
Best Running Books Table of Contents
The Best Running Books (at least that I’ve read so far…)
| Title | Author | Year Published | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choosing to Run | Des Linden | 2023 | Olympian Des Linden recounts her gritty path to winning the Boston Marathon, blending race-day suspense with personal stories of perseverance, coffee, bourbon, and stubbornness. |
| Born to Run | Christopher McDougall | 2009 | A journalist dives into the secrets of the Tarahumara people and ultrarunning culture, uncovering how humans might just be literally born to run (antelope-hunting endurance and all.) |
| The Longest Race | Kara Goucher | 2023 | Olympian Kara Goucher exposes the dark underbelly of elite running. Abuse, doping scandals, and a bold and honest memoir about reclaiming her power. |
| Good for a Girl | Lauren Fleshman | 2023 | A fierce takedown of the systemic failures in women’s sports. Lauren Fleshman weaves her personal journey as a pro runner with calls for real change in how female athletes are coached and treated. |
| The Incomplete Book of Running | Peter Sagal | 2018 | The NPR host mixes midlife crises with marathon splits in this self-deprecating memoir about running, depression, divorce, and finding meaning through miles. |
| 26 Marathons | Meb Keflezighi | 2019 | Each of Meb’s 26 career marathons gets its own short chapter in this motivational breakdown of lessons learned, from winning Boston to DNFing with grace. |
| Eat and Run | Scott Jurek | 2012 | Ultrarunning legend Scott Jurek shares his transformation from meat-and-potatoes Midwesterner to plant-powered endurance machine — with vegan recipes and wild race stories included. |
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Choosing to Run by Des Linden
- Full Title: Choosing to Run: A Memoir
- Author: Des Linden with Bonnie D. Ford
- Year Published: 2023
- Author Background: Des Linden is a two-time Olympian and the 2018 Boston Marathon winner.
- Co-Author Background: Bonnie D. Ford is a veteran sports journalist who’s covered the Olympics, cycling, and track and field for outlets like ESPN.
- Type of Book: Elite runner memoir
- Race Distance Focus: Marathons
- Appeal To: Boston Marathon fans, goal-chasers, runners who want a peek inside the mind of an elite
- Summary: Linden recounts her gritty rise through the running world, including her iconic 2018 Boston Marathon win, and how she kept showing up—even when motivation faltered.
- My Thoughts: I became a fan of Dez the year AFTER her Boston Marathon win, when I cheered on my wife in her first (and only) Boston Marathon (2019.)
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
- Full Title: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
- Author: Christopher McDougall
- Year Published: 2009
- Author Background: Journalist and former war correspondent who took a detour into long-distance running obsession.
- Type of Book: Investigative narrative nonfiction
- Race Distance Focus: Ultramarathons
- Appeal To: Non-runners curious about human endurance, barefoot running evangelists, fans of wild stories
- Summary: A quest to understand why his foot kept hurting leads McDougall to Mexico’s Copper Canyons and the reclusive Tarahumara, a tribe of superhuman runners who may hold the secrets to endurance itself.
- My Thoughts: Ultra running is crazy. But so fascinating. A must read for pretty much all runners.
The Longest Race by Kara Goucher
- Full Title: The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team
- Author: Kara Goucher with Mary Pilon
- Year Published: 2023
- Author Background: Kara Goucher is a two-time Olympian and World Championship medalist in distance running.
- Co-Author Background: Mary Pilon is an award-winning journalist and author who’s written for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, often focusing on sports and money.
- Type of Book: Memoir + exposé on systemic abuse in elite running
- Race Distance Focus: Track, marathons
- Appeal To: Runners interested in the realities of elite competition, those concerned with athlete advocacy and clean sport
- Summary: Goucher pulls back the curtain on her time with Nike’s Oregon Project, revealing a culture of pressure, abuse, and silence—and how she found her voice.
- My Thoughts: Doesn’t paint Nike in a very kind light! Listened to this book via audio. Appreciated Goucher’s voice in compelling story.
Good for a Girl by Lauren Fleshman
- Full Title: Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World
- Author: Lauren Fleshman
- Year Published: 2023
- Author Background: Champion distance runner, coach, and outspoken advocate for female athletes; 5-time NCAA All-American and national champion.
- Type of Book: Memoir + manifesto
- Race Distance Focus: Track and cross country
- Appeal To: Athletes, coaches, feminists, and anyone who’s questioned what’s “normal” in sports
- Summary: Fleshman blends her personal story with a powerful critique of how girls and women are failed by the sports system, and how to change it.
- My Thoughts: Listened via audiobook with my lifelong running-obsessed wife. This one resonated with her on so many levels! Highly recommend for any female athletes (and the husbands that support them!)
The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal
- Full Title: The Incomplete Book of Running
- Author: Peter Sagal
- Year Published: 2018
- Author Background: Host of NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and a devoted midlife marathoner
- Type of Book: Humorous personal memoir
- Race Distance Focus: Marathons
- Appeal To: Middle-aged runners, NPR fans, readers who use humor to survive their running
- Summary: Sagal chronicles how running helped him through divorce, depression, and aging—with plenty of wry, self-aware commentary along the way.
- My Thoughts: Found this one during my “funny book” phase. Funny, poigniant and inspirational.
26 Marathons by Meb Keflezighi
- Full Title: 26 Marathons: What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career
- Author: Meb Keflezighi with Scott Douglas
- Year Published: 2019
- Author Background: Olympic silver medalist, NYC Marathon winner, and 2014 Boston Marathon champ—one of the most decorated American distance runners in history.
- Co-Author Background: Scott Douglas is a veteran running journalist and author of several running-related books.
- Type of Book: Motivational career retrospective
- Race Distance Focus: Marathons
- Appeal To: Marathoners, fans of Meb, runners looking for life lessons
- Summary: Each of Meb’s 26 marathons is broken down into a chapter with the wisdom, heartbreak, and triumph that came from each race.
- My Thoughts: Meb is an inspiration.
Read My Full Review (Coming soon!)
Eat and Run by Scott Jurek
- Full Title: Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness
- Author: Scott Jurek with Steve Friedman
- Year Published: 2012
- Author Background: Legendary ultramarathoner and multiple-time winner of Western States and Badwater; famous for combining elite racing with a plant-based lifestyle.
- Co-Author Background: Steve Friedman is a longtime magazine writer and ghostwriter with a specialty in personal memoirs and sports.
- Type of Book: Ultrarunner memoir with nutrition tips
- Race Distance Focus: Ultramarathons
- Appeal To: Endurance athletes, vegan lifestyle enthusiasts, fans of minimalist running
- Summary: Jurek shares his transformation into a world-class ultrarunner, detailing both physical and personal endurance—alongside his transition to a plant-based diet.
- My Thoughts: Scott Jurek was one of the runners in Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run. I had to learn more about this crazy ultrarunner.
Read My Full Review (Coming Soon!)
Conclusion: Read These Best Running Books, Then Go Jog (or Just Pretend You Did)
Trust me – I know what I’m talking about. I run AND I know how to read! So, whether you’re chasing a PR or chasing your kids around the block, you can heed my advice on these great books about running. These authors have been through the pain, the joy, the porta-potties, and the mental math at mile 21 and somehow lived to write about it.
Some of them run 100 miles on purpose (WHY??) Others fight for fairness in the sport. A few manage to make us laugh through the blisters and emergency bathroom breaks. But all of them remind us why we lace up in the first place.
Have a favorite running book I missed? Let me know – I’m always looking for another excuse to read instead of run.
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