How was this Marathon books list created?

We searched for "best Marathon books", found the top 5 articles, took every book mentioned in 2+ articles, and averaged their rankings.

How many Marathon books are in this list?

There are 25 books in this list.

Why did you create this Marathon books list?

We wanted to gather the most accurate list of Marathon books on the internet.

25 Best Marathon Books of All Time

Our goal: Find what the internet ranks as the best Marathon books (instead of one person's opinion).

Our process:

Search for "best marathon books" and study the top 4 articles.
Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊
(This took a long time, but we do the research so you don't have to!)

(Updated 2022)

MOST RECOMMENDED!
1
i
Born to Run
A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
Christopher McDougall
Appears in 4 articles
2recommenders
2
i
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
A Memoir
Haruki Murakami
Appears in 3 articles
1recommender
3
i
Once a Runner
A Novel
John L. Parker Jr.
Appears in 3 articles
4
i
26 Marathons
What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career
Meb Keflezighi
Appears in 3 articles
5
i
Running with the Buffaloes
A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men's Cross-Country Team
Chris Lear
Appears in 3 articles
6
i
Mind Gym
An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence
Gary Mack
Appears in 2 articles
1recommender
7
i
Unbroken
A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Laura Hillenbrand
Appears in 2 articles
8
i
Eat and Run
My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness
Scott Jurek
Appears in 2 articles
9
i
The Rise of the Ultra Runners
A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance
Adharanand Finn
Appears in 2 articles
10
i
Running with Sherman
How a Rescue Donkey Inspired a Rag-tag Gang of Runners to Enter the Craziest Race in America
Christopher McDougall
Appears in 2 articles
11
i
Let Your Mind Run
A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory
Deena Kastor
Appears in 2 articles
12
i
A Beautiful Work In Progress
Mirna Valerio
Appears in 2 articles
13
i
How Bad Do You Want It?
Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle
Matt Fitzgerald
Appears in 2 articles
14
i
Running Rewired
Reinvent Your Run for Stability, Strength, and Speed
Jay Dicharry
Appears in 2 articles
15
i
Running the Rift
A Novel
Naomi Benaron
Appears in 2 articles
16
i
The Runner's Kitchen
100 Stamina-Building, Energy-Boosting Recipes, with Meal Plans to Maximize Your Training
Emma Coburn
Appears in 2 articles
17
i
The Perfect Mile
Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It
Neal Bascomb
Appears in 2 articles
18
i
The Comeback Quotient
A Get-Real Guide to Building Mental Fitness in Sport and Life
Matt Fitzgerald
Appears in 2 articles
19
i
Running While Black
Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us
Alison Mariella Désir
Appears in 2 articles
20
i
Running Is My Therapy
Relieve Stress and Anxiety, Fight Depression, and Live Happier
Scott Douglas
Appears in 2 articles
21
i
Mighty Moe
The True Story of a Thirteen-Year-Old Women's Running Revolutionary
Rachel Swaby
Appears in 2 articles
22
i
How She Did It
Stories, Advice, and Secrets to Success from Fifty Legendary Distance Runners
Molly Huddle
Appears in 2 articles
23
i
Good for a Girl
A Woman Running in a Man's World
Lauren Fleshman
Appears in 2 articles
24
i
Footnotes
How Running Makes Us Human
Vybarr Cregan-Reid
Appears in 2 articles
25
i
Can't Nothing Bring Me Down
Chasing Myself in the Race against Time
Ida Keeling
Appears in 2 articles

Sources

FAQ

How was this Marathon books list created?
We searched for "best Marathon books", found the top 5 articles, took every book mentioned in 2+ articles, and averaged their rankings.
How many Marathon books are in this list?
There are 25 books in this list.
Why did you create this Marathon books list?
We wanted to gather the most accurate list of Marathon books on the internet.

25 Best Marathon Books of All Time

Born to Run

A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

A Memoir

Once a Runner

A Novel

26 Marathons

What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career

Running with the Buffaloes

A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men's Cross-Country Team

Mind Gym

An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence

Unbroken

A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Eat and Run

My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness

The Rise of the Ultra Runners

A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance

Running with Sherman

How a Rescue Donkey Inspired a Rag-tag Gang of Runners to Enter the Craziest Race in America

Let Your Mind Run

A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory

A Beautiful Work In Progress

How Bad Do You Want It?

Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle

Running Rewired

Reinvent Your Run for Stability, Strength, and Speed

Running the Rift

A Novel

The Runner's Kitchen

100 Stamina-Building, Energy-Boosting Recipes, with Meal Plans to Maximize Your Training

The Perfect Mile

Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It

The Comeback Quotient

A Get-Real Guide to Building Mental Fitness in Sport and Life

Running While Black

Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us

Running Is My Therapy

Relieve Stress and Anxiety, Fight Depression, and Live Happier

Mighty Moe

The True Story of a Thirteen-Year-Old Women's Running Revolutionary

How She Did It

Stories, Advice, and Secrets to Success from Fifty Legendary Distance Runners

Good for a Girl

A Woman Running in a Man's World

Footnotes

How Running Makes Us Human

Can't Nothing Bring Me Down

Chasing Myself in the Race against Time

Sources

FAQ

How was this Marathon books list created?

How many Marathon books are in this list?

Why did you create this Marathon books list?

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