Review

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2014

“With over 300 photos to illustrate everything from strides to strength programs, the authors clearly and concisely give readers helpful advice to improve their practice. Runners of all levels will appreciate the book’s breadth and encouraging tone . . . This is an informative, friendly guide that all runners can grow with and will likely return to over time.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This is so good. Honestly, I think this is the best running book ever.”
—Bob Anderson, founder of Runner’s World and of the Double Road Race 15K Challenge and the Double Training Program

“Build Your Running Body represents something new and needed in sports literature. This is the ‘right stuff’ for runners who want to get faster, enjoy running more, and stay injury-free for a lifetime.”
—Bill Rodgers, four-time winner of both the New York City and Boston marathons

“At last, a running book that shows us how to enjoy running all through life, and that’s as interesting as the sport we love so much.”
—Kathrine Switzer, first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon and author of Marathon Woman

“Build Your Running Body is the most useful, info-packed, and comprehensive training manual I’ve ever read. Coaches will find it invaluable, and runners of all levels will use it as a complete guide to reaching their goals.”
—Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon winner and Runner’s World editor-at-large

“I wish I’d had an encyclopedia on running like Build Your Running Body long ago. It’s comprehensive–filled with relevant and valuable guidance–and articulated in a way that even the most novice runner can understand.”
—Jacqueline Hansen, two-time world-record holder for the women’s marathon, Boston Marathon winner, and first woman to run a sub-2:40 marathon

“A wonderful combination of running science with real-world wisdom for modern runners. When Pete Magill talks, smart runners listen.”
—Scott Douglas, Runner’s World senior content editor

“Coach Tom Schwartz possesses an understanding of training and racing that is world class. Utilising an unconventional approach to training, Tom crafted a program that improved my endurance, my long-term development, and, most importantly, my confidence. Tom made me a champion.”
—Kevin Miller, multiple times USA masters age-group and age-graded national champion

“Build Your Running Body is nothing short of the Unified Theory of Running. Packed with delightfully fun-to-read advice and asides, it squeezes a century of technical research and coaching wisdom into a book of bite-sized lessons. Techniques and training, energy systems and recipes, race strategy and injury prevention–this book covers it all.”
—Ken Stone, founder and editor of MastersTrack.com

“Pete Magill must have found the fountain of youth. I coach college students, and he consistently outruns half my team! He must know something the rest of us don’t!”
—Steve Scott, former American record-holder in the mile (3:47.69), 3-time Olympian, 10 times ranked #1 American miler, and world record-holder for most sub-4 minute miles (136)

“You will not want to put Build Your Running Body down. It’s OK to miss a training day to learn from Pete Magill’s knowledge and experience–runners of all ages and abilities will be smarter just by getting this book in their hands. It’s filled with good, honest common sense gained from years of experience and results.”
—Rod Dixon, winner of the 1983 New York City Marathon, Olympic Medalist, two-time World Cross Country Championship Medalist, and founder of KiDSMARATHON

“Build Your Running Body masterfully breaks down the essentials of running-specific training and will help bring you to the starting line of your next race happier, healthier, and faster than ever! Pete Magill is a master, and that’s not just an age group designation! The wealth of knowledge in this book is truly remarkable–it shares much of what has allowed Pete to continue to thrive as an athlete and has something to teach every aspiring runner out there. It’s truly a must have!”
—Will Leer, 2013 USA Champion, Indoor Mile & Indoor 3000 Meters

About the Author

Pete Magill has coached his running clubs to 19 masters national championships. He’s a five-time USA Masters Cross Country Runner of the Year and the fastest-ever American distance runner over age 50 in the 5K and 10K. He is also the lead author of Build Your Running Body. He lives in South Pasadena, California.

It’s hard to believe that Pete Magill was once a four-pack-a-day smoker. “I’d kick things off with two packs of Marlboros, then a pack of Camel non-filters when I couldn’t taste the Marlboros anymore, and then a pack of Kool menthols when even the Camels weren’t registering,” says Magill. At age 47, the legal researcher has posted 2008 track times of 4:02.01 for 1500m, 8:36.86 for 3,000m, 14:34.27 for 5,000m, along with a 14:50 at the Carlsbad 5K road race. The 3,000m and 5,000m track times are both pending American records, bettering his own marks of 8:37.52 and 14:45.96, set in 2006. He also set the American 10,000m record of 31:27.3 in 2006.

Although Magill showed promise in high school, clocking 1:55.3 for 800m and 4:26 in the mile, and then earned All American accolades in cross country at Glendale Junior College, he drifted away from running after that, hitchhiking around the country, owning a nightclub on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and then working as a screenwriter in Hollywood. “I started and stopped running at least a dozen times, but my lifestyle wasn’t conducive to a consistent training program,” he recalls. “It was a lifestyle that contributed to alcohol and drug abuse problems that plagued me for two decades.”

At 39, Magill scaled over 200 pounds, compared with the 165 he now carries on his 6-foot frame, and suffered from bronchitis for five months. “I had a young son to think about, and I realised that I couldn’t go on like that,” he explains. “So I put down my cigarettes and bourbon, laced up the running shoes and started running again.”

But it was hard starting over. Magill recalls setting out for a 3-mile run his first time out, but settling for three blocks. “It took me most of a year before I finally felt like maybe I could race again,” he says, adding that he then suffered two stress fractures in one leg after attempting some track workouts. Then he cracked two ribs water skiing.

By age 41 in 2002, however, Magill was in high gear, clocking 3:56.42 in the Steve Scott Invitational 1500m and 8:31.08 in the Occidental Invitational 3,000m. His most memorable effort came that year when he teamed up with Tony Young, David Olds, and Jamin Aasum to set a world masters record of 17:40.63 in the 4 x 1600m relay.

While he doesn’t have the speed he once had and requires more time to recover, Magill thinks that those losses have been, for the most part, offset by the knowledge that comes with experience. “Mentally, aging has given me insight to which youth blinded me,” he says. “When I was young, I feared that if I didn’t do every crazy thing I could think of that very instant, life would pass me by, that there would be no opportunity to make up for lost time in the future. Now, I’ve learned that there’s plenty of time in life to do all the things you’d like to do — as long as you don’t waste time trying to do them all at once.”

STATS

Born: June 19, 1961
Lives: South Pasadena, CA
Masters PRs: 1500m: 3:55.42, 3,000m: 8:31.08, 5k: 14:34.27, 10k: 31:27.30

Masters’ Log

Typical two weeks of training for Magill (pace of training runs varies from 6:00 to 8:00/mile depending on how his body feels):

Sunday: Medium run (approximately 10–11 miles)
Monday: a.m. — Short run (approximately 5–6 miles) p.m. — Medium run
Tuesday: a.m. — Short run p.m. — 3-mile warm-up, 20 x 400m @ 5K effort (approximately 70 seconds) with 100m jog recoveries; 3-mile warm-down
Wednesday: Medium run
Thursday: a.m. — Short run; p.m. — Medium run
Friday: a.m. — Short run; p.m. — Technique drills; short run afterwards
Saturday: Long run (approximately 14-15 miles)

Second week:

Same, except Tuesday p.m. speed work, which he exchanges for 3 x set of 1 mile at 15K pace, 1200m at 5K pace, 800m at 3K pace, 400m at mile pace; all with 400m jog recoveries; 3-mile warm-up and 2-mile warm-down. If race on Saturday, he does only one workout on Thursday (medium run) and Friday (20 minutes of jogging and stretching).

Training philosophy

“Put away your watch, stop counting miles and start listening to the body. Our bodies will tell us more accurately how fast and far to run than a watch or training log ever can. And our bodies will warn us when we’re courting disaster – injury or overtraining – long before our minds are willing to accept the premise. More importantly, when we learn to listen to our bodies, we learn how to race.”