Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning: Training for an Ultramarathon, from 50K to 100 Miles and Beyond

My sons are long distance runners. They approved the advice and tips in this book.

As other readers have commented, this isn't the most informative ultrarunning how-to book out there. Nevertheless, it's an easy read and has some useful advice. If nothing else, it might serve as a companion to better training books like "Relentless Forward Progress." The subtitle of Koerner's book is a bit misleading. It seems the entire guide is geared toward the 100-mile distance. Koerner focuses a lot on bonking, foot care, hiking, nutrition, night running and headlamps--many things that aren't of great concern if you're running a 50K or maybe even a 50-mile event. In a 200-page book, the author repeats himself a few times, such as when and when not to wear cotton. Koerner seems to forget that when most people decide to tackle the ultra distance, they already have significant running experience and know not to wear cotton t-shirts. I think this book was a way for Koerner to give back to the sport and, less charitably, capitalize on his name as one of the greats of ultrarunning. I'd be doing the same if I were him. What ultimately disappointed me about this book is that the tone is so generic, like it's been sanitized. All I know of Koerner is what I've seen on YouTube, but he seems like a great guy with a big personality. I think readers would've benefited much more from a memoir of Koerner's own triumphs and mistakes as an ultrarunner. We see glimpses of this, as when he talks about wearing women's capris at UTMB and the chafing that resulted. But then he'll slip back into a dull recitation of advice. The advice is never bad, but Koerner seems to realize--and, to his credit, acknowledge--that over 100 miles different things are going to work for different people. Nutrition is going to be entirely different, along with preferences for gear, trekking poles, light sources... Again, this is why I wish there had been more about what worked for the author, not bland prescriptive do's and don'ts. The writing is fine; I would call it "workmanlike." All the rough edges have been sanded smooth. Hopefully Koerner will someday write the memoir and keep the rough edges in, because I'd love to hear the dirt on his own life as a trail runner.

This arrived well packaged and several days before the expected delivery date. The book is short, concise, and easy to read. I love it! I have not run a 50k yet and needed direction on where to start/ how to train. This really lays out a firm foundation for success and highlights many points I never would have thought of. I feel like I can now plan and train properly and have the confidence that I can reach my goal.

I found Hal Koerner's writing style to be engaging and the coverage of ultra running topics well sequenced and developed. Training included a discussion of over training and the nutrition and gear chapters included a wide range of insights. Hal included several lessons that he learned the hard way in races and it is this kind of realism that gave the book its soul. I've also read Running Your First Ultra by Krissy Moehl and I found Field Guide to have perhaps three times as much depth (text) in part because Hal doesn't include pictures (Krissy's pictures are very nice) and his training plans are about 6 pages compared to about 115 for Running Your First Ultra. While I read the book version I would think the Kindle version would be fine as there are few tables and virtually no pictures.

This book is an easy read that doesn't get bogged down giving you a great intro to ultra running through Hal's experience in the sport. However, you won't find much empirical evidence for anything he says, just his experience. It's not a worthless read, but it shouldn't be your sole reference for getting into ultra running. I think there is actually good evidence for doing a lot of things differently than he does. To be fair, he often says "you have to find what works for you", but you'll have to look elsewhere to find those alternatives. I appreciate his upbeat and light-hearted approach to everything and reminders to keep things in perspective. I recommend the read for anyone getting into this, I'd just use it as a data point and a vignette into the sport and supplement it with other books like Koop's.

Couldn't ask for a better FAQ guidebook to answer questions about the insights, process and preparation for getting into ultra running. Excellent for beginners and experts alike with specific topics covered in table of contents to go directly to answer specific questions. I'd say the only draw back are the training programs which I assume are directed for runners who have a high mileage base or have previous half or marathon training (not going to go from couch to 50km or 50 miles with these plans).