The best running books for beginners to help you start running today

This list of the best running books for beginners will guide you through your first few weeks as a runner, help you boost your running endurance, and inspire you to continue running.

Heads up, some links here are affiliate links

---

---

Two books if you’re starting from scratch

These two best running books for beginner runners will ease you into running, improve your endurance, and set the stage for more running, safely.  

The Beginning Runner’s Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Run Walk Program, Ian Macneill

The Run Walk Run Method, Jeff Galloway

A run walk program is one of the best things you can do to build fitness, endurance, and strength without overloading your system. 

It’s because your bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles need time to develop strength for running. This strength helps you absorb the impact of running.

If you don’t give your system enough time, you’ll place yourself at a much higher risk for a stress fracture, shin splints, and other running injuries. 

So before you run non-stop, you have to apply stress to your bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles gradually—with walk breaks.

---

Build your endurance

Want to run fast? Slow down.

You’ll learn why running slow (in 80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower, Matt Fitzgerald) actually builds your endurance and speed. 

If you want to take your running to the next level—whether that’s running faster or longer—then this book’s one of the best running books for beginner runners.

---

Getting faster

Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon, Brad Hudson, Matt Fitzgerald

One of the most valuable skills to develop as a runner is listening to your body. 

This skill can help you learn when to take a day off or when to adjust your workout. 

But you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. 

With this book, you can learn how to become your own best coach to train better and run faster.

---

Staying motivated

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen,Christopher McDougall

Has anyone ever told you, ‘running is bad for your knees’? You might believe that yourself. 

But if that’s true, how do some people run without injury and without fancy modern running gear? Perhaps it’s because we’re all born to run. 

---

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, Alex Hutchinson

As a new runner, you’ll learn that running needs endurance—physical and mental endurance.  

And in Endure, you’ll find out how the brain and body work together to help you push your limits.

When it comes down to it, you can always go farther than you think you can. 

---

26 Marathons: What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career, Meb Keflezighi, Scott Douglas

You might not think that, as a new beginner runner, you’ll have much in common with an elite marathoner, but you do.

Even those running at a 5:00 min/ mile pace face the same challenges as any other runner—overcoming the urge to quit, balancing running and family, and managing uncomfortable moments while running.

Want more running book recommendations? Explore more running motivation books for beginner runners in this list.

---