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Run Like a Champion

An Olympian's Approach for Every Runner

Published by VeloPress
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

In Run Like a Champion, one of America’s most versatile and accomplished runners, Alan Culpepper, reveals the best practices of the best runners.

Over his 25-year racing career, Culpepper won national titles from 5K to marathon, a span of race distances so wide that just a few runners can claim the same impressive versatility. Culpepper sets out his approach--and the lessons he learned from his competitors--so that all runners can fully realize their potential.

As a two-time Olympic competitor, Culpepper has a unique understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest level. His running career has put him on the start line alongside the world’s best runners, and he has found that despite their many differences, talents, and approaches to training, among them they share a common understanding: the best athletes know that the secret to success in running lies in understanding a bigger picture of training.

Not everyone has the physiology to run at the highest level, but everyone can benefit from implementing an Olympic approach to training. Run Like a Champion shares a big-picture view of running, looking at not only the essential training elements but also other key pieces of the puzzle: identifying motivation; finding a proper work/life/family balance; and understanding complementary aspects of training such as stretching, how much to drink, diet, and how to avoid and treat injuries.

Run Like a Champion reveals all the guidelines, tips and tricks, workouts, mental training, and nutritional practices that Olympic runners use. By making this Olympic approach part of their running, runners of all levels will make their goals achievable from 5K to marathon.

About The Author

Over the course of his 25-year racing career Alan Culpepper proved to be one of the most consistent and versatile distance runners in American history.

While a student at the University of Colorado, Culpepper became an 8-time All-American and NCAA Champion in the 5K distance. During his 10-year professional running career, Culpepper qualified for two Olympic Games. He is a multiple sub-4-minute miler, with a personal best of 3:55. In his debut marathon, Culpepper ran a 2:09:41, an American Debut Record. In his second-ever marathon, Culpepper won the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trial and finished 12th at the Olympic Games. He finished in the top 5 at the Boston Marathon two times.

Culpepper now produces running events for the Competitor Group, including Rock "Ëœn' Roll Marathons and Half-Marathons. He contributes to Competitor magazine and coaches runners through his Culpepper Coaching company. He lives in Colorado with his wife, two-time Olympian Shayne Culpepper, and their four children.

Product Details

  • Publisher: VeloPress (March 5, 2015)
  • Length: 224 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781937716684

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Raves and Reviews

"Sitting down with Run Strong, Stay Hungry is like going for a Sunday long run with multiple generations of running's wisest and most-experienced. Jonathan Beverly puts you smack in the middle of a wide-ranging discussion on the sport that conveys the passion, mindset, and training methods of lifelong runners. The only disappointment is that the conversation, like a great run, must eventually come to an end.”

– Pete Magill

“In Run Strong, Stay Healthy, Jonathan Beverly interviews dozens of runners who have trained and raced hard through the decades. Their advice is clear, proven, and usefulexactly what all runners are looking for.”

– Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon winner, Runner’s World editor at large

“Jonathan Beverly has expertise, knowledge, and love of the sport of distance running. His book, Run Strong, Stay Hungry, is for runners who get that running is not about one race or rival. Running is about you, your path, and your lifetime of running.”

– Bill Rodgers, four-time Boston Marathon champion and Olympian

“Running is so challenging it makes you wise. Running is such fun it keeps you young. Jonathan Beverly captures the wisdom and the fun in his masterly distillation of the thoughts of 50 lifelong runnersthat’s two thousand years’ experience in one fascinating book.”

– Roger Robinson, PhD, author and masters runner

“Jonathan Beverly mines new material in Run Strong, Run Hungry. He focuses on the heroes of yesterday to learn their secretswhat contributed to their success and, perhaps equally interesting, how they failed and what they learned. A masterful read.”

– Hal Higdon, Contributing Editor, Runner’s World

“Jonathan Beverly’s book, Run Strong, Stay Hungry, is fantastic for runners who want to continue runningand for runners who have been running for decades. I found myself nodding and saying ‘Yes!’ at each chapter.”

– Dave Dunham, mountain running champion with over 135,000 lifetime miles

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