The Non Runners Marathon Guide For Women: book review!

The cover of The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women: Get Off Your Butt and On with Your Trainingspeaks volumes: a big, squashy chair with the imprint of someone's butt still in it. Beneath the chair it says:

'Get off your butt and on with your training'.

This book screams: 'Don't worry, you can do this, even if you're a couch potato!'

It all started with a postcard

It's written by Dawn Dais, who one day got a postcard from the American Stroke Association inviting her into marathon training. Dawn's grandfather had had a stroke, and she felt as if the postcard was a sign.

Dawn makes no bones about it: she hates to move, other than to reach for the remote control and the bowl of chips. And yet this unlikely person manages to train and finish a marathon.

The Non Runners Marathon Guide: Part manual, part diary

The book is part instruction, part personal diary, but all is written with irony and sometimes even sarcasm. That makes it a fun read. You don't have to want to run a marathon to enjoy Dawn's journey.

I suppose what I liked most of the book, is that Dawn barely manages to complete the marathon. She doesn't run the final miles, she has to walk them. So even though her story is a success, it's a succes in a humble, very humanizing, way.

It actually made me think: 'If she can do it, than so can I.'

Dawn Dais: little movie

Watch Dawn Dais in this short video:

The Non Runners Marathon Guide: summing up

The Non Runners Marathon Guide for Women is all that the title says it is! It's a good read thanks to the humorous tone, and it's also got training schedules and everything.

A tiny critical note

But I do think Dawn's training schedule was too hard for a person with her lifestyle. For example: in week 5, she already has to run eleven miles! That's an awful lot for someone who's lived a sedentary life. I think she'ld probably would have had a better experience, if she'd taken more time to prepare.

Practical info about The Non Runners Marathon Guide

You can buy this book at Amazon.com for 9 USD.