BOOK REVIEW: Broken by Ally Beaven: Why Were Run Records Tumbling in 2020?

In 2020, a topic of conversation that repeatedly came up between me and my training friends was the widening training gap. 

Those who have worked throughout and those that have been furloughed. Those who have treadmills and indoor turbo trainer and those that don’t. Those that are shielding and those that aren’t. Gaps have widened, events have been cancelled and our bubbles have grown smaller. 

When Lorna from Vertebrate Publishing asked if she could send me a copy of Broken by Ally Beaven in return for a review, I gratefully accepted. Hopefully it would answer the questions, I had been asking all year. As usual, I didn't get paid or pay for the book and reviewed it honestly.

In Broken, Ally Beaven takes a look at why 2020 was so unusual for running. Beaven immerses himself in the UK 2020 long distance running scene and the book details his hours in the hills and on the trails speaking to, feeding and following the attempts and adventures of a multitude of long distance runners on the roads and trails of the UK … and how 2020 has changed ultrarunning.

With normal events cancelled, Beaven looked at how Pan Shancu, a Chinese marathon runner made the news by running 50km in his living room and 30km on the spot in his bathroom.  This then started balcony marathons, garden marathons, Everests on staircases and 100 year olds doing 100s of laps of their garden and raising millions of pounds for the NHS.

Virtual races became more common. These are events without a specific course which runners can do the race distance on the roads and trails – or treadmills - close to their home.  Most ultrarunners are familiar with the Centurion events such as Autumn 100, North Downs Way 100 and their 50 miles series. After having to cancel the usual Centurion races in the first half of 2020, the race director, James Elson opened up a Centurion Running One Community virtual event on the 25th May 2020 which allowed entrants to run any distance from 5k to 100 miles. The Centurion events have a strong following and a good reputation in the running community, but even so, James Elson didn’t expect that 3 weeks after launching the event, they would have 3980 people signed up including 550 kids under 18.  Elson said of the event “It brought the community together, it strengthened our brand because people realised the community was more important than the commercial side of things, it helped us with the online shop when that was tanking and we raised over £10,000 for charity.”

Different people reacted in different ways to empty calendars and different circumstances. Some had to shield, had to protect vulnerable relatives or home-school children. Others finally had the opportunity to work from home and lose the commute time and that opened up some time for training that they’d never had before. 

This book is very read-able and the author is interesting and likeable as you follow his exploits. He speaks to a range of runners doing trails and routes the length and breadth of the UK and Beaven has his own attempt at a FKT (Fastest Known Time) on a well known trail. If you have an interest in ultrarunning or trail running, then this book will be very enjoyable. If you have an interest in your own FKT … then it's essential.

Take a look here: Vertebrate Publishing 

Book Review: Fast Fuel: Food For Running Success & Fast Fuel: Food For Triathlon Success

Fast Fuel: Food For Running Success - Recipes and Nutrition Plans to Help You Achieve Your Goals by Renee McGregor

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Fast Fuel: Food For Triathlon Success - Recipes and Nutrition Plans to Help You Achieve Your Goals by Renee McGregor

Overview

Each Fast Fuel book is tailored towards a particular sport - running or triathlon but as the requirements of each sport can be fairly similar there are a lot of similarities between each book. The contents pages of each are identical covering ‘Fuelling Basics’, ‘Training - The Road to Victory’, ‘Fine-Tuning Your Body’ and meal plans and recipes but the differences are mainly in Chapter 2 covering the training days and training intensities. Each book is plainly laid out and easy to read and understand with logical chapters and sub-headings. 

What do the publishers say?

Food For Running Success:

"No matter if you're running a 5k or a marathon, getting your training diet right is essential to maximise your performance. In Fast Fuel: Food for Running Success Renee McGregor, one of the UK's top sports nutritionists, explains the dietary plans required to hit your goals as a runner. The science of what to eat and why is clearly and practically laid out for whatever kind of running you do. Meal plans are tailored to your running goals and cover what to eat on rest, easy, moderate and high intensity training days. This includes how to get to grips with eating before, during and after running in the most efficient way for your body to fuel and restore itself as well as marathon meal plans and the top race day foods."

What do the publishers say?

Food For Triathlon Success:

"Swim, bike, run and repeat. Simple, right? Wrong. What you eat while you train is just as important as how you're training. If you're going to perform at your best on race day, acclaimed sports nutritionist Renee McGregor has the dietary plans required to hit your goals as a triathlete. What to eat, when and why are clearly explained and backed up by years of experience and expertise. Renee's eat plans and the science behind them are tailored to the multi-disciplinary training of a triathlete. She clearly lays out how to fuel yourself for success by eating right before, during and after training and advises on how to shift your plan to match the intensity of your training days."

What do I think?

The books are easy reading which is what I want in a book about nutrition. I KNOW I have to eat better to perform better and I want to know HOW in as few words as possible. The sections are short and easy to understand and you get examples of how to calculate your carbs per kg of bodyweight, examples of nutrient dense carbs and overviews of performance enhancers and supplements such as gels, bars and real food alternatives. 

The books cover gluten free diet & coeliacs, vegan and vegetarian and alternative protein sources and there’s a section on body composition, racing weight and metabolism. Each section receives quite brief coverage - you get the basics, the bits you need to know and how it all fits together. This works for me as I don’t want a lot of detail - if I want to know more about a particular section I’ll research it, but in a cover-all book I want to know how it all fits together.  

You get meal plans for low, moderate and high intensity and recovery training which is good. Gives me an idea of what I should be eating without making me work out each macronutrient to the Nth degree and with the recipes at the end of the book there are options to swap in and out meals that don’t appeal.

Fine tuning is an interesting section covering topics such as ‘Troubleshooting’ and ‘Common Complaints’, ‘Injury Prevention’, ‘Nutrition for Injury’ and ‘Lost Your Running Mojo’ - which is something that tends to hit me about this time of year. Also useful for this time of year are the following sections ‘Boosting Immune System’ and ‘Pain in the Guts’ - very relevant for me after the sheer amount of mince pies and cheese I eat at this time of year. This chapter also touches briefly on hormones and the menstrual cycle and how different types of foods can help as women use a higher percentage of fat for energy at certain cycle points. 

Approximately half of each book are meal suggestions and recipes. Most of these sound delicious to me (I’m a foodie, ok?) and follow a similar pattern to my usual eating - covering whole foods and being fairly low in sugars and carbs although there are variations. There are a lot of suggestions for each and suggestions range from smoothies to egg fried rice with toasted cashews to coriander lamb with quinoa and cheesecake. See - yum!

What's the difference in the books?

The main differences between the Fuelling for Triathlon and Fuelling for Running books are in Chapter 2 in the ‘Training to Perform’ section. This is where the books look at different training intensities and sessions. There are multiple differences (and similarities!) between triathlon and running but one of the main differences is that triathlon often requires double-days. This is where 2 different activity types might be scheduled for the same day such as a morning swim and an afternoon run. The FastFuel books take this into account in ‘Training to Perform’ chapter, but the rest of the books follow a very similar layout and include identical elements such as injury prevention, tummy troubles and lost enthusiasm as all of these can trouble athletes in both sports. 

About the Author

Renee McGregor is a leading sports and eating disorder specialist dietitian with over 15 years experience working in nutrition and with elite athletes coaches and sports teams.  She is accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council, the Sports and Exercise Nutrition Register, and is a member of the BDA’s Sports Nutrition Specialist Group.

Worth Buying?

I enjoyed these books. They’re both very easy-to-read and laid out in a logical way without giving too much extraneous detail. I’d certainly recommend these if you’re interested in finding out more about how nutrition can help your performance but if you’ve already got a more advanced understanding of sports nutrition then these may be too basic for you. I’d also say you probably wouldn’t need both books as there are many similarities in them. They’d be a perfect buy for someone who is getting more serious about their chosen sport and looking at ways to become faster and more efficient by training smarter.  


Price:         £9.99 (paperback)
Available:  Amazon 
Nourish Books Website  Twitter @Nourish  Facebook page

I was sent a copy of each book to read and review but as usual I didn't accept payment and wrote exactly what I thought. 

Stuck for Holiday Inspiration? 5 Running Books to Read

I’ve got a countdown timer on my phone and for once it’s not counting down to a race, an event or something energetic. In fact it’s completely the opposite, I’m counting down the time until I have a cocktail in each hand, a floppy hat on my head and a bikini becomes my daywear of choice. Instead of a white GPS watch mark where the sun can’t reach my skin, I’m planning a white cocktail mark on the palm of each hand. And possibly a cocktail umbrella shadow on my wrist. 

While I appreciate that pina coladas aren’t always the most accepted form of hydration available to triathletes, I think it’s important that I check to see what I’m missing the rest of the year so I know how dreadful it is. (You can get poked in the eye REALLY hard by those mini cocktail umbrellas)

However I’m not entirely planning on becoming a puddle of flesh on a sunbed. Not ALL day anyway. I’ll have to become a morning runner for a couple of weeks as it will be too hot and humid for midday or early evening runs. I’ve already checked out the local bike hire available and will be getting a few miles in and packing my bike kit. And I will of course be in the sea and pool floating on lilos and drinking cocktails. No no. I mean practising swimming and sighting. And lilos. 

However, I find it really hard to keep motivation when I’m away, especially when I’m off-plan and don’t know my local bike or run routes. But there is a way I can inspire myself while I’ve actually got the time ... A holiday is one of the few times a year, I get the time to work my way through several books in a couple of weeks and what better time to catch up with some of my heroes?  

Here are some running books I’ve been reading recently:

50 Races to Run Before You Die
by Tobias Mews
Aurum Press £16.99

Think of all the petrol you’re saving on your daily commute while you’re lying around on a sunbed. Why not use that petrol and coffee money on something you’ll remember like an entry to an AWESOME race? '50 Races To Run Before You Die' has some great suggestions for races and it’s also quite good for ‘Smug Points’ – when you see how many you’ve already ticked off.

With suggested races ranging from parkrun to Marathon des Sables I have several to add to my To Do and I’m slightly ashamed to admit I’ve only ticked off 6 of the races in this book. These lists are of course very personal - everyone has their own reasons for choosing a race, but this book pulls together a collection great races at least several of which should appeal to any runner. It also adds in some interesting facts such as the finishing time of the author, the finishing rate and gives an overview of the author's personal experience. This is a great coffee-table book and a good gift for any runner!

Amazon Link

Runner: A Short Story About a Long Run
by Lizzy Hawker
Aurum Press £12.99

Make sure you’ve packed your trainers and kit if you take this book with you as you’ll be leaping up from the sunbed and looking for mountains. What an inspiring read – the book takes you along with Lizzy Hawker as she goes on her adventures and you’ll feel as though you’ll running the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc with her.  Be warned though, if this race isn’t already on your bucket list, it will be after reading this book. 

Inspiring and a compelling read, this book is a memoir that takes you on an amazing journey. 

Amazon Link

Build Your Running Body: A Total-Body Fitness Plan for All Distance Runners, from Milers to Ultramarathoners
by Pete Magill, Thomas Schwartz & Melissa Breyer
Souvenir Press £15

Everything from nutrition plans, to interesting little facts and tidbits to marathon training plans. This book really does appear to have it all. Great whether you’re beginning to run or a seasoned club runner, there really does appear to be something for everyone in this book. Most importantly it’s written in an interesting and compelling way. Whether you want to use it as a textbook or a ‘read’, it works for both. 

A great handbook for any runner from ultra marathoners to parkrunners.

Amazon Link 

How Bad Do You Want It? 
Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle
by Matt Fitzgerald
Aurum Press £14.99

What gives up first? Your head or your legs? A compelling book from Matt Fitzgerald which describes a new psychological model of endurance connecting the mind, body and brain. 

This book uses some inspiring examples from sports showing us examples of when endurance athletes  shouldn't have been able to produce the amazing results they did on race day. Not only an interesting and readable book, How Bad Do You Want It provides tactics and habits we can use to build our own mental strength.

An enthralling book, especially if you're interested in mind-training or have a race or rival you REALLY want to beat!

Amazon Link


How to Run Your Best Marathon: 7 Steps to Your Best Marathon Yet
by Angela Isherwood
Kindle £6.63

This e-book breaks down running a marathon into 7 easy steps and teaches the reader how to break down each step into manageable chunks. It's aimed at any marathoner from a first timer to a multiple marathoner aiming for a PB and gives tips from nutrition to failing at races to ensuring you're doing the proper training. 

The good thing about this book is the simplicity. It's easy to follow and gives clear simple guidelines - great if you're training for an Autumn marathon.  

Amazon Link

**Right I'm off. These sunbeds won't lie on themselves you know ...