Hansons Marathon Method: A Renegade Path to Your Fastest Marathon [Paperback]

Thanks to my impulse buying and Amazon Prime membership, I had a copy of Hansons Marathon Method: A Renegade Path To Your Fastest Marathon in my hands just two days after learning about it. Written by Luke Humphrey, an elite Hansons runner who also has a master's degree in exercise science, with Kevin and Keith Hanson, the book outlines their philosophy and program for a successful marathon covering every aspect from training to strategy to recovery. In just a couple of days I'd read the book from cover to cover and I was sold. I'm going to give their program a shot for my next marathon.

Most marathon training programs are fairly similar. For beginners you usually run three shorter runs during the week and a long run on the weekend peaking around 20 or 22 miles. As you get more advanced, speed workouts and higher mileage are added to the training schedule, but the long run - still peaking at 20 or 22 miles - remains a staple of most programs. The Hansons method takes a different approach. It "teaches a strategic and scientifically grounded approach to everything from the long run to speed workouts to pacing," writes Kevin Hanson in the book's foreword. The Hansons method has evolved over the years helping runners of all levels to marathon success since the 1990s.

The biggest difference in the Hansons program is the long run. Rather that the typical 20-miler, the longest training run in the standard Hansons program is 16 miles. The reason this works, Humphrey writes, is that the long run should simulate the last 16 miles of the marathon, not the first 16. It's all based on experiencing the cumulative fatigue you experience in a marathon without completely zapping your energy for the next week of training. The book cites a guideline that your long run should not exceed 25-30 percent of your weekly mileage. For beginners who have completed just three short runs during the week, a 20-miler on Sunday can sometimes be 50 percent or more of their weekly mileage. This can be demoralizing and lead to injury - both of which can turn people off from running.

The book covers the philosophy behind the program and delves into the physiology of running covering issues like glycogen depletion and VO2 max. From there Humphrey's discusses the training program components including easy mileage, which is made up of warm-ups and cool downs, easy days and recovery days, and something of substance (SOS) workouts, which include speed, strength, tempo runs and long runs. The book goes over proper pacing for each of type of run before outlining it's training programs including both a beginner program and an advanced program. It also talks about program modifications for when life and injuries get in the way.

After covering the program, the book moves into the strategy side of things. It talks about setting race goals; how to incorporate supplemental training such as cross-training, strength-training and flexibility; and marathon nutrition and hydration during workouts, on race day and for recovery. It moves on to marathon gear, race tactics and post-race recovery - leaving no stone unturned. Finally, the book includes an appendix showcasing the elite Hansons program and describing how its principles are very similar to the ones in their beginner and advanced programs for everyday runners. It even shows Humphrey's training program for the 2011 San Diego Rock `n' Roll Marathon (this course was my first marathon back in 2005!) where he placed fifth in a personal best time of 2:14:27.

If you're a runner, you'll want to give this book a read. Even if you decide to stick with your current training program, you'll most certainly learn something from it.

After 7 marathons trying to break the four hour mark, I finally decided to try the Hanson Method. Not only did I finally get under four hours, but I bested my last marathon by 28 minutes, and my PR by 16 minutes! Not to mention, I stayed injury free for the first time. Sore legs, yes; injuries, no. I highly - highly - recommend this book/method.

First of all, I want to say that my star rating doesn't refer to how well the training program does or doesn't work (as I can't judge that - I have been running for just under a year and have "only" completed two half marathons to date), but rather to the coverage of the topic at hand and quality of the writing. There is no doubt that the Hansons are successful, but would they be more or less successful with a different training program is beyond me to judge!

I found this to be a really easy read, especially for containing so much scientific background. It is also very concise, containing just enough information on each topic to make it make sense. In that regard, the book is well written. I won't summarize the high points of the entire book, as that has been done in several other thorough reviews, but rather talk about a few things that stood out in my mind.

- First of all, I think that many new runners (and even some experienced ones) will be intimidated by all the talk of running at a certain % of VO2max. There is a brief description of how to do a rough test yourself with a one mile run, but I'm not sure of the accuracy of that. This is the first time I've seen it described. Frankly I was surprised at the focus on VO2max and the complete and total omission of any kind of heart rate training. Training by heart rate wasn't mentioned even to discuss why they don't use it. Given how cheap it is to buy and use a heart rate monitor (on its own or with a GPS watch), I really wonder why the Hansons strictly use pace (supposedly correlated to VO2max).

My understanding is that heart rate correlates very well to aerobic vs anaerobic effort, and is used successfully by many other elite athletes in the same way as the Hansons use percent of VO2max. As a not very experienced runner, I won't try to say what is better, but I think a future edition of this book would benefit from a discussion on this topic. And if you, like me, train by heart rate, you'll be frustrated by the omission of said discussion.

- There were more than a couple of occasions when statements were made such as "Research shows us..." without providing any citations. Especially given that some of these statements challenge conventional wisdom, citations would be exceedingly helpful.

- I found that the discussion of fluid replacement follows conventional wisdom, but having read Timothy Noakes book "Waterlogged," I am skeptical of some of the claims made in this section. I'd encourage everyone to read at least chapter two of that book to compare to this one, and then experiment for themselves to see what kind of fluid intake works best for them. Also, there is a claim in the Hansons book that athletes well conditioned to running in heat will sweat less? I'm pretty sure that one of the major adaptations to heat is the ability to sweat MORE.

- The discussion of shoes was definitely written by people who own shoe stores, that's all I can say! Minimalist shoes are largely dismissed, with the premise that people just wont take the time to strengthen their feet and adapt to the shoes slowly. That's an interesting thought, considering the very detailed and precise training plan they expect people to follow... Just another topic that I would not consider this book to be the last word on. There is a great deal of writing and research out there on barefoot/minimalist running that is worth looking into.

- Last but not least is a question my husband posed: if the benefits of the long run are largely gone after a duration of three hours, and in fact running longer than that is damaging to the body, how are ultra runners training for and successfully completing 100 mile races at the crazy paces they do? This is the great unanswered question, and it is one of the main factors that led me away from a five star rating. If there is a future edition of this book, I hope the author considers addressing this question - with actual cited research to boot!