JIM FIXX'S SECOND BOOK OF RUNNING

by James F. Fixx ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 1980

Strictly for addicts, this chatty update to the Complete Book of Running reports on some new aspects of the sport that have caught Fixx's attention. The tone is often wildly enthusiastic (""Running is. . . the leading edge of a major and perhaps lasting change not just in how we take care of ourselves but in what, ultimately we think of ourselves""), though Fixx acknowledges that the popularity of running has peaked and the inevitable backlash is setting in. Still, there are reports here on new equipment and new publications; there are recent findings on nutrition, on training, on avoiding and treating injuries; and there's word of such subgroups of runners as women, children, older people, and ultramarathoners (who may run over 100 miles per race). Fixx's conclusions on the physical and psychological effects of running are generally positive, but he does report some problems: there are ""addicted runners,"" who work out even when injured and who ""are likely to neglect other important aspects of their lives""; and runners in general are prey to two delusions--that running prevents cancer and assures cardiovascular immortality. (""Neither is true."") Fixx also offers some strategies for overcoming inertia, the most bizarre of which is ""writing checks to the KKK or the American Nazi Party to be held by a friend who mails them if the appointed mileage is not carried out, tears them up if it is."" In general, there's no practical advice here; just a look around for those who can never read enough about running.

Pub Date: April 21, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION