Every year countless runners, endurance athletes and outdoor enthusiasts discover the sport of trail running – and it’s getting bigger and bigger in Australia as the months pass by. There is self-discovery in finding a sport unlike any other, and Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running captures the excitement, intensity and appeal of the great outdoors. Inside, readers will find an abundance of features including techniques for running over a variety of surfaces like dirt and rock, equipment recommendations based on terrain and conditions, safety guidelines for navigation and water crossings, conditioning programs for all levels of runners, and strategies for improving race day performance.
Where the Road Ends is for all athletes, from those who are on the verge of starting on their first trail with a chapter on what trail running is and how to find out more information, to the more experienced ultra runner who may be looking for tips on personal climate control and how to build or organise your own training plan.
Included is even what the authors call a ‘Trail Run Training Cheat Sheet’ where you can find the various kinds of trail run training one page – basically, it’s a buffet or smorgasbord of training opportunities, showing you what the best training is for the type of trail you’ll be running. It’s a most informative chapter, aptly titled Training for the Trail, and even helps you to understand how your heart rate works for your runs.
The publication is of high gloss quality featuring stunning colourful photographs on almost every single page; also accompanying the book are a number of outboxes titled ‘Places and Races to Inspire’ with information about trail runs or places from around the world (including the Appalachian Trail in the US, Lantau Island in Hong Kong, Lake District in England and the Kepler Track in New Zealand plus many more).
Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running speaks volumes to athletes, and although American-written with some pertaining to snowy conditions, most if not all of the information is relevant to all runners.
Interestingly, there is even a bit on where and how to dig a hole for disposing bodily waste.
Hicks was the 2013 winner of the Marathon des Sables in Morocco and holds many other wins and podium finishes at trail races from around the world; she is also the senior editor of iRunFar.com, is a contributing editor for Trail Runner magazine, and a former columnist for Marathon & Beyond.
Powell has twice finished in the top 10 at the Leadville Trail 100 Run, twice won the under-30 age group at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, and finished the Hardrock 100. He is also a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine and has written Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons.
Rating: 5 out of 5
RRP:
Publisher: Human Kinetics
