I've read the book through a few times. You can't digest it all in one sitting. I've followed the 70< MPW week 24 week plan 2x in a row. 2 PR's by a long shot each time. FYI you need to follow the plans and be consistant. On weeks where it calls for a 10K race and there isn't a race around, you have to go out and haul *ss on your own.

If your going to do the 70 MPW plan, it helps to not have a life.

Adding a section on core work and stretching would be nice, but there are plenty of other places to find that info.

I'm setting off on the 24 week plan again, with hopes of closing in on 3 hrs. Not too shabby for 47!!

This book is the finest Marathon Training Guide I've seen. It is written for any level runner from first time Marathoner to experienced veteran. The author explains in an easy to understand format the reasons behind his system. This system works! The better job I did of following the book the faster my times dropped. I've taken over 30 minutes off my marathon time in a 2 1/2 year period. The book has easy to follow running schedules for a wide variety of training circumstances.

I really can't say enough good things about this book. I'll start by saying that having just followed the "below 70 miles per week" training plan pretty faithfully, I just lowered my personal best in the marathon by 19 minutes, breaking 2:50 for the first time. I also actually enjoyed running the marathon, right to the finish, did not hit "The Wall", and sustained my highest weekly mileage ever without sustaining injury. I attribute a lot of this success to this book.

You need to be fairly serious about training to benefit from this book - the training plans are best suited for those who are willing to do 60 miles per week or more. (The 70+ mile per week plan contains a section "When 93 miles per week just aren't enough"). But the book places a strong emphasis on recovery and nutrition, which I think were critical in allowing me to increase mileage without getting hurt, sick, or run-down. And you certainly don't need to be elite - just willing and able to find the time and energy for a fairly large amount of training.

There are a lot of things to get right in a marathon, and almost all of them seem to be addressed here: all the different types and intensities of training, how to make sure you recover on your "easy" days, how to replenish carbohydrate stores after long runs, how to taper, race day strategy, carbo-loading, hydration, and even how to recover intelligently in the month after the race. Impressively, the book manages to cover all these aspects while being readable and quite easy to comprehend and remember.

A lot of ideas in this book are quite similar to Daniel's Running Formula (another good book) but tuned specifically for the marathon and made a bit easier to digest because it only covers that one event.

Nothing new to read here, just the same old marathon training instructions we have all heard.

This program is tailored for the "serious but busy" athlete.
A big plus are the scaled programs from <50 mpw to >70.
The main emphasis is on LONG HARD RUNS. It is no secret that this is the key to aerobic development (Canova, Noakes, Costill etc).
Pfitz puts it into practice w/ a well thought out program.

My only issue would be that there is no "anaerobic threshold" training e.g. 6x2k @ 10k pace. While maybe a bit of overkill, training at this pace worked well for me in the past, and is advocated by others (Vigil, etc).

Definitely worth it - I will be following the 18 week cycle (with a few of my own modifications) for my next race.

This book totally transformed my marathon training. It took me from a middle of the pack runner to a Boston qualifier. It explains the demands placed on your body in training for a marathon and what it needs to recover and how to focus your runs so that each time you hit the pavement, you do it with a purpose (i.e., no more "junk" miles). I use the training guides in the back of the book religiously. If I'm ever away from home more than a few days, this book goes with me!! I've given it to at least 4 other people. In my opinion, no runner should be without this book.

Advanced Marathoning presents a variety of training programs as well as information relevant to marathon training at large. The book is itself well written and comprehensive. It is not a *fun* read like Hal Higdon's Marathon training book, but is more pointed and helpful for a serious runner.
Why to buy this book:
-Valuable information--The research and details are second to no other book I have seen. This book explains why the training plans work, not just what to do.
-Training programs--The training programs have been the most helpful. They are more detailed than most plans which just give you a daily mileage or say "tempo".
Why not to buy this book:
-Redundant information--All of the data in the book can be found on the internet with relative ease. There is no new data presented (even if it was new at the time of initial publication). If you just want the data peruse the internet.

I am a medium level amateur runner and has been running distance for 5 years (and I am 32 years old). From last June to October, I trid to follow training program of this book as faithfully as I could and I made my personal record of 2h48min marathon in the end of October. The book convincingly explain what to do and why during the marathon training. The most useful part for me was the training schedules in the end of the book, which is based on your weekly milage. If you can follow it, you can most likely run descent marathon as an amateur athelete. But, as an amateur athlete, it was also quite tough for me to follow the training program in this book in terms of both time and physical limit. A setback of this book would be that it include races (other than marathon) only toward the end of training programs as "tune up races". The training program is designed almost as if you are running only marathon, but not ohter distances. I believe most of competitive runners would run more races (of shorter distances than marathon) than this book suggests.

It is very good book, full of experience and it is not for the first-time marathoner it's for marathoner who want to improve PB.Follow the schedule and "Adanced marathoning" wouldn't dissapoint you.

I used this book to train for my 7th marathon. I never dreamed that I would even attempt to qualify for Boston, but this year I decided to give it a try. I knew I would I would need to raise my level of training from the RW Intermediate program (max 40 mpw) to have a prayer of achieving the 3:10 qualifying time in Chicago.

I followed the 18-week/55 mpw program pretty much to a "T" with some minor adjustments.

Last week in Chicago, I qualified for Boston on my first genuine attempt, thanks to this book. I took my PR from 3:23:55 down to 3:10:04. SEE YOU IN BOSTON IN APRIL!

I used this book to train for my 7th marathon. I never dreamed that I would even attempt to qualify for Boston, but this year I decided to give it a try. I knew I would I would need to raise my level of training from the RW Intermediate program (max 40 mpw) to have a prayer of achieving the 3:10 qualifying time in Chicago.

I followed the 18-week/55 mpw program pretty much to a "T" with some minor adjustments.

Last week in Chicago, I qualified for Boston on my first genuine attempt, thanks to this book. I took my PR from 3:23:55 down to 3:10:04. SEE YOU IN BOSTON IN APRIL!

This is an excellent book for anyone who has already run a marathon and is looking to improve their time. I'm not the fastest runner out there but this book was instrumental in helping me qualify for my first Boston. I have since run 3 Bostons and am able to consistently run 3:20 or so whereas before this book I was struggling for a 3:40. I am about to run Marathon #8 and I continue to use this book as a reference. The schedules are excellent, easy to follow, and broken down by peak mileage and the number of weeks you wish to commit to training. Whether you are looking for a sub 4 or a sub 2:30, there is helpful advice and a training schedule in here for you. Now all you need to do is RUN!

This book was recommended to me by a training partner, and it is well worth the investment. If you are a seasoned marathoner, its got some great information that will undoubtedly help. Whether you follow the schedule to the letter, or use it as a loose guide, you will benefit. I ran my best marathon in 3 years just by taking one simple piece of advice (start your first mile about 30 seconds off your target pace for warmup)

I bought this book in preparation for my second marathon. I was looking for information that would better my training regimen in comparison with my first marathon. Many runners talk about using a "Pfitz" program in reference to this book. If you've run a maarathon before, this is a solid choice for improving your time and performance.

I bought this book in preparation for my second marathon. I was looking for information that would better my training regimen in comparison with my first marathon. Many runners talk about using a "Pfitz" program in reference to this book. If you've run a maarathon before, this is a solid choice for improving your time and performance.

This one ranks up there with Daniel's Running Formula as one of my top two running books of all time, I would actually reccomend buying both together as they complement each other very well.

This book is heavily research based, but also includes plenty of advice from the "real world setting", of the author who is himself a top level marathoner. It explains all of the science behind the different types of training you are doing and exactly why you should do it, and it's all completely focused only on Marathon Racing, not just road running in general like most running books.

Once again, Daniel's Running Formula is also a great book, and the scientific background to competitive training is explained well. Both books really complement each other in this manner. They explain the physiology in different ways which give the reader a really thorough understanding of why they are doing the training they are doing, which always helps me a lot.

I am a sub 2:50 Marathoner myself, and both of these books have formed the backbone of my marathon preparation for the past few years. I definately reccomend this book to anyone looking to not just run a marathon, but run a marathon FAST!!

Oh yeah, and it also has an entire section devoted to those of us who want to race multiple marathons within one season, awesome!

This is the best book for the people who wants to run a marathon, it makes you understand what you have to develop in your body to complete a good marathon.

I purchased this book because after doing some research on the best marathon book out there I came across this one based on the excellent reviews it gets from other customers as well as the Runner's World magazine. I never ran a marathon before and only started to run seriously (as opposed to jogging) in January of last year (I ran 2 half-marathons before my first marathon).

I followed the 18-week and 55 miles training schedule after reading this book from cover to cover and sure enough, even though I missed about 2 weeks of training due to sickness, I still qualified for Boston on my first marathon in Portland, Oregon in October 2003 with a 3:33 for my age category. I used the 12-week schedule for my Boston Marathon training and completed Boston Marathon 2004 - my second marathon last April (with slower time though since I didn't follow the training schedule properly due to busy schedule).

For those who want to train seriously for a marathon this is the ONLY book to get and you can advance your training accordingly since it has different training schedules for different levels. I can't thank the authors enough for writing such an effective and useful marathon training book.

Before reading this book, I was able to get my marathon time to the 3:10 range. A friend of mine gave me this book and I took the time to really read through it. It was easy to understand and it gave an excellent breakdown of the training cycles, nutrition, and physiology. If nothing else, the training programs are easy to follow, and they work. You can easily finda program that will meet your time and work demands. I've followed a couple of different programs, and I have taken my time down to 2:41, not bad for a 40 year old. Bottom line is this really works!

I had one goal when I purchased this book...to qualify for the Boston marathon. Before purchasing this book I had no running schedule, no plan, and no benchmarks to measure my progress. I relied mostly on input from well-meaning fellow runners. Every training run felt like a race and I always felt tired and without confidence. Subsequently my first two marathons were both failures.

I bought this book in September of 2003 with the plan of running Dallas White Rock in December for another attempt to qualify. I can not compare the book to others since it is my only book, but I thought it was a well organized, informative and even motivating. I read it from cover to cover and then referred back frequently during my training. I did not follow the included running schedules to a tee, but instead used them as a basis and followed the spirit of them. For the first time I actually had confidence in my training and felt like I was making progress. The most important thing I learned was the importance of the long SLOW run. This concept as well as the importance of recovery were critical to the success of my training.

I just finished running White Rock and I am extremely happy to say that I qualified for Boston. It wasn't easy, but without the balanced training I learned from this book it would never have happened.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is serious about improving his/her marathon times. I liked the detailed physiological information and the varied training programs. I have used two of his training schedules (the 50-70 miles/wk 24-week, and the over70miles/week 24-week program) and PRed in the marathon after each. They are not easy or for beginners, so if you haven't run at least one marathon yet this isn't for you. If your only goal is to finish, these training schedules aren't for you either. My only criticism would be an overabundance of long runs in the 70+ schedule, but you have to tailor the schedules to what your body can handle. Great resource.

My job makes running at a club impossible, so I had been looking for other ways to train. Earlier this year, I found this book and after reading it, I was very confident in its methods. I finished my first marathon in 3.12, then went to 2.57, 249 and 2.43. I just finished my 6th marathon yesterday (Berlin), which was the first I ran with this book as my personal trainer, and I shaved another 5 and a half minutes off my personal best: 2.38. I have reached this progress in the last 3 months (my fastest half marathon was 1.21 in may!), and broke my personal best on the 10K a few weeks ago, and almost my personal best for the half marathon on my way to the marathon yesterday! During it all, I felt great, confident, and in control: I perfectly knew my possibilities thanks to the schedules in this book. They not only make you train hard, they also give you a lot of feedback of how capable you are, and which goals are realistic. Thus, even though I was running very fast during the first half, I always rested assured that I would be able to maintain that pace. I am going to give the book as a gift to a friend who wants to improve her results, and I can recommend it to anyone wanting serious improvements, and also wanting to know WHY he/she is doing WHAT while training.

This is really the only book to read on marathoning if you are not just trying to make it through the 26.2 miles. Somewhere in the book, the author says, "We wish we could just tell you, do this, and you will run faster", but they know they have to explain to you why. Honestly though, if you just do what they tell you, you WILL run faster. I went from a 4-hr marathon to 3:34, qualified for Boston, and ran there (a legendary tough course) in 3:24. If that's not serious progress I don't know what is. Just buy the book, and follow their schedules, and you CAN achieve your goals! (N.B. this is not for those who want an "easy way out" - it is still a LOT of work. High mileage, hard speed sessions, etc. - but if you are motivated it will get you there.)

I have done three marathons over the last 15 years. I'm not what I would call a "marathoner", but I've always enjoyed the challenge and reward of the distance. Unfortunately, I've never enjoyed much success at the distance. I've never felt like I was properly prepared and my marathons showed it. My finishes have always been weak and my times, in the 3:40 to 4:10 range, have been disappointing.

With a 4th attempt at a marathon coming up this June, I purchased this book in the hopes that I could finally turn in a good marathon and qualify for the Boston Marathon.

This book has exceeded my expectations in every way. Every chapter is full of information and examples of things I've either failed to do in the past, done that I shouldn't have, or done at the wrong level of intensity. Exercise physiology, rather than running lore or other worthless information, packs each chapter. The authors do a wonderful job of explaining what happens to your body when you do things right and when you do things wrong. You come away not only understanding what you should do, but why you should do it. You learn why various types of running help and why those same types can take away from your goals if done improperly or at the wrong time/level. You also get an entire book that focuses on running 26.2 miles, meaning that you don't have to skim through chapters on the 5K, 10K, or other distances to pick out the information that is meaningful to you. Along these same lines, the authors talk about why certain types of training that are very useful for runners in other distances really shouldn't be a focus in your marathon preparation (and, of course, why they shouldn't). The book covers various types of running workouts, nutrition, hydration, recovery, race tactics, running economy, and training schedules. For the various workouts, it does a wonderful job of explaining each type of workout, what it does to aid you in achieving your goal marathon, and why.

I actually considered waiting until after my marathon in June, just so I could expound the virtues of this book with concrete evidence that what it has to say works, but I just couldn't wait. If you're at all interested in going from an average marathoner to an advanced marathoner, this is the book you need. I've read the entire thing in about a week (which is saying something for me) and plan to begin reading it again today, just to make myself a "cheat sheet" this time of the many things in the book that loudly spoke to me. Of the 5 books I've owned on preparing for the marathon, this is the best one by far!

From an "off the couch" 3:14 in 2000 to a dnf in 2001 that marked both my inexperience and my enthusiasm (heat exhaustion in mi. 26) to a 2:54 this year, this book has made the difference.

I bought it after the dnf and decided to train not only diligently, but also intelligently. Following the schedules will nearly allow you to predict your time or, better said, to set realistic goals. What makes them easier to follow is the fact that they give you the logic behind the logging of these many, many miles of training.

This book is not magic. No book should claim that. There is no secret beyond consistent, hard work. But, gee whiz, it's good to have the help of these guys who has done so much homework for you.

Can't say enough. So, I'll stop.

This is the only book I have seen that really treats racing the marathon seriously. The preponderance of material out there relates to first-time marathoners who, in all honesty, are only looking to complete the distance, whatever else they might think they are doing. This information is of very little help to the experienced marathoner looking to improve performance and really move to the next level of actually racing the full distance. If that is what you want, this is the book. Period.
Note: while Pfitzinger's Road Racing for Serious Runners and Daniels' Running Rormula are equally good books for competitive runners, they focus on racing a variety of distances, so the marathoning information is understandably limited. If marathon performance is your focus, this book is really the way to go.

Advanced Marathoning (AM) by Olympian Pete Pfitzinger and former Running Times editor Scott Douglas is packed with high-value training advice that should benefit every serious runner. AM is not without its problems, but none are serious enough to detract from a work that is well written and philosophically sound.

From the beginning Pfitzinger and Douglas make clear the basis of their views: "Advanced marathoning has to be based on more than common sense and running folklore. Advanced Marathoning, therefore, is based on exercise science." This declaration puts Pfitzinger and Douglas in the camp of exercise physiology, and, quite obviously, separates them from mainstream running authors. It's also a mild reproof of the mainstream and their penchant for ignoring the rapidly expanding world of exercise science.

Squarely on the side of science, AM begins by listing lactate threshold (LT), maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max), running economy, glycogen storage, recovery time, and muscle fiber composition as the key physiological variables that govern performance. The authors' claim, quite correctly, that "lactate threshold (LT) is the most important physiological variable for endurance athletes." They go on to say that "Contrary to many runner' beliefs, high levels of lactate (lactic acid) in your muscles aren't what make you sore for several days after a hard effort." Indeed, lactate, once considered metabolic waste, is "...produced by your muscles and is used by your muscles, heart, liver, and kidneys." Since the marathon is run at a speed slightly below LT, marathoners have a vested interest in raising LT. AM tells us how: "The most effective way to improve lactate threshold is to run at your current lactate threshold pace or a few seconds per mile faster, either as one continuous run (tempo run) or as a long interval session at your lactate threshold pace...." It's here that I have to quibble. Tempo runs are good LT workouts, however, recent research (Rusko, Billat, Anderson, and others) indicates that intervals at 3-K to 10-K speed with fairly long recoveries are better. Tempo runs definitely have their place, but not to the exclusion of faster LT sessions.

As for the other key variables, maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max), not as important as LT and only a rough predictor of performance, is also worth some attention. Pfitzinger and Douglas are right on the money again when they report "The most effective running intensity to improve VO2max is 95% to 100% of VO2max." This speed is normally close to 5-K pace. They wisely recommend work intervals of two to six minutes with rest intervals of equal length or slightly less. This is the standard, scientifically sound VO2max workout. However, it's interesting that velocity at VO2max (vVO2max) is not mentioned as another critical training intensity. Daniels, widely quoted in AM, has much to say about vVO2max, yet AM is silent on the subject. If recent work by Billat is correct, vVO2max could be a training intensity equal in importance to LT. This omission could be due to the long lead-time (sometimes 18 months) in getting a book published. AM may have gone to press before Billat's research was available.

In addition to physiological variables, Pfitzinger and Douglas have plenty to say about shoes, tapering, fluid replacement, nutrition, pre-race activities, post-race recovery, heart rate, periodization and a bevy other topics. They also present three very reasonable training schedules based on low, medium, and high mileage. Their only serious error regards altitude training. AM tells us that "Other than by training at altitude...the hemoglobin concentration of your blood won't increase with training." It should be well understood by now that living at altitude, not training at altitude, confers the benefit--hence the live high/train low protocol. Scores of endurance athletes are training at or near sea level by day and sleeping in hypoxic tents at night. Rusko (1998) has even constructed an altitude house. (See Gamow, Snell, Stine, Poronnet, Rusko, and Levine.)

All things considered, AM is well written, fairly well researched, and aside from an obvious typo in the first sentence of the third paragraph on page 18, also well edited. AM's puny bibliography was slightly disappointing. One would expect several pages of references in a work of this size. Nevertheless, AM is a worthy treatise, unfettered by the "folklore" so popular with the commercial running establishment. I give it a solid four stars and recommend it to every serious marathoner.

One of the better marathon books I have read. It has detailed schedules for low milage to high milage runners. The sidebar stories about famous runners make a good read. It gets kind of technical when it talks about how to compute VO2 max, maximum heart rate, Lactate Threshold, and the different training zones you should run in. This book pretty much covers it all

The dynamic duo of Pete Pfitzinger, renowned exercise physiologist and two- time Olympian, and Scott Douglas, former editor of the Running Times, have teamed up to write the latest and greatest text about marathoning. Quite simply, this book is a must read; the authors have produced a theoretically sound, easy-to-read, and entertaining manual for anyone seeking to run (i.e. as opposed to "finish" or "run-walk") a sub-four hour marathon. Advanced Marathoning has a number of outstanding features:

Numerous easy-to-read, day-by-day, training plans. From peak mileage at 55 miles per week over 12 weeks to 93 miles per week over 24 weeks, nine different marathon schedules are laid out and explained with daily detail.

A Multiple Marathons training plan. For runners who wish to tackle more than the standard yearly spring and fall marathon plan, the book details methods for racing marathons as close as four weeks apart.

A sidebar in each chapter which profiles a world class marathoner. These tales from the trenches illustrate how some of the principles of marathon training are applied in real life.

Practical advice about how to balance high commitment marathon training with the rest of a "normal" life. Since not all of us can make a living winning prize money in road races, the authors present practical tips for incorporating high mileage training into the rest of your busy life.

An entertaining writing style. The best line of the book comes on page 205 where the authors warn about trying to run back-to-back marathons in less than 4 weeks:

Your main concern should be about recovery, recovery, and more recovery not only from your first marathon but also from the lobotomy that led you to come up with this plan. Despite its many strengths, the book has two minor drawbacks: Hill training is glossed over. Hills are an essential part of almost any marathon training program. The authors acknowledge this, but they aren't specific about where, when, and how hills can be incorporated into a training plan.

The core strength training and flexibility training sections are brief. Specific diagrams illustrating some of the exercises written about would have been very helpful. These drawbacks, however, pale in comparison to all of the "good stuff." To repeat, this book is a must read.