Top 5 Books on Arthur Lydiard’s Training Methods
/I’ve read A LOT of books on famed New Zealand running coach Arthur Lydiard and his training methods.
Here are, in order, my pick for the top 5 books on Lydiard’s Training Methods.
Running Your Best: The Committed Runner's Guide to Training and Racing by Ron Daws
If you only read one book ever on Lydiard’s Training Methods this it is.
Ron Daws does an amazing job of explaining in clear detail and simple language Lydiard’s methods, its benefits and drawbacks, and how to successfully apply Lydiard’s training principles to a variety of training situations and runners. It was written in 1985, so it is light on scientific evidence, but overall the information given is sound even to this day.
The Self-Made Olympian by Ron Daws
Ron Daws was an average college runner who became one of the top US marathoners in the late 1960s as well as an Olympian in 1968. This book is part autobiography, part training log, and part training guide. It’s short, 140 pages, but it’s an insightful read. Daws is the first athlete I know who was not directly coached by Lydiard but achieved high-level competitive success applying his training methods.
Run to the Top by Arthur Lydiard and Garth Gilmore
Published in 1962, Lydiard’s first book offers a raw, in-depth insight into his famed training methods. It’s hard to find, but worth the hunt. Later books by Lydiard and Gilmore offer more adaptive, less rigorous training meant for a wider audience. This book details how he developed his Olympic Gold Medalists and World Record Holders from seemingly out of nowhere. It reads more like a biography than a training text. Think Once a Runner meets Daniels Runner Formula. It does offer training schedules, but they’re meant to be more illustrations than instructions.
Distance Running by Robert M. Lyden
Published in 2000, Lyden’s book offers a modern perspective on why Lydiard’s training methods work. Lyden is a Lydiard purest. He retains Lydiard’s annual cycles of acquisition (Base Period, Hill Period, Sharpening Period, and Peak Period) while offering modern scientific evidence and understand as to why Lydiard’s training periods and sequence results in successful adaption to the distance runner. At almost 500 pages, this book is packed with useful knowledge. It includes training schedules aimed at high school runners for 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 5K XC as well as schedules for 10K and Marathoning.
Healthy Intelligent Training: The Proven Principles of Arthur Lydiard by Keith Livingstone
Livingstone’s book on Lydiard’s methods is the most accessible to a wide audience on my list. It offers a basic and succinct understanding of Lydiard’s methods written in a fun, very easy to read tone. This book a quick, enjoyable read.
