The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women

Get Off Your Butt and On with Your Training

By: Dawn Dais

Narrated by: Dawn Dais

Anyone can run a marathon. Dawn Dais makes it a little more bearable -- and a lot more fun

Dawn Dais hated running. And it didn't like her much, either. Her fitness routine consisted of avoiding the stairs in her own house, because who really has the energy to climb stairs? It was with this exercise philosophy firmly in place that she set off to complete a marathon.

The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women is the ideal training manual for women who don't believe that running is their biological destiny but who dream of crossing the finish line nonetheless. Nonrunners offers a realistic training schedule and is chock-full of how-to's and funny observations, which she felt were lacking in the guides she had consulted. She also integrates entries from her journal, sharing everything would-be marathoners need to know about the gear, the blisters, the early morning workouts, the late-night carb binges, and most important of all, the amazing rewards.

Running may not seem like a friendly endeavor, but with Dawn Dais, you can tame the beast and hit the marathon trail.

Critic reviews

"Dawn Dais is your average nonrunner who experienced firsthand what it's like to shake up the routine and train for a marathon--and finish it! This is a funny guide that provides needed motivation for a journey that can change your life for the better."
—U.S. Olympian Jeff Galloway, author of the bestselling book Marathon

"This is the funniest book ever written about marathon training-an essentially absurd process that is taken too seriously by far too many runners. This is a must-read for couch potatoes who accidentally sign up for this ambitious athletic event and then think, Oh my god, what have I done?"—Jayne Williams, author of Slow Fat Triathlete: Live Your Athletic Dreams in the Body You Have Now

Good tips but trying too hard to be funny

after the first couple of hours of trying to REALLY prove she's reuly not an athlete, I just got bored with it. some good tips but overall didn't get me that motivated. Running Like Girl was much better.

snarky

I did not find this motivational AT ALL. I couldn't get passed her negativity. I think she was aiming for humor but it was just bitter. Can her friend "Chipper Jenn" please write a book? Maybe they could write the next one together to balance out the harsh tone.

Not Motivational

This book should be re-titled: How to Tease Your Weird Runner Friends About Their Hobby. The author takes what she must believe is a relatable approach, incorporating sarcasm and self-deprecating attempts at humour throughout. The unnatural narration sounds like an overly rehearsed speech with coached inflection carefully injected at various pre-determined points, rather than natural story-telling or educational lecturing. I listened to the first 50 minutes (up until partway through chapter 5) giving it several chances, but have decided to return this book. I've heard more than enough.

I've read other "non runner's marathon training" titles in the past, and found them very motivational, encouraging, and helpful. This book is the exact opposite. From the moment you begin listening, you will hear nothing but how painful and frustrating training for a race is for "people like us"... you know... those fat lazy blobs who prefer to sleep all day and lie around on the couch wasting our lives watching tv. I simply cannot identify with that at all, and don't want to. While other books help to remove "imposter syndrome" and help beginners to feel truly athletic and empowered, this book takes more of a back of the pack approach.

Summary of this book: "You probably can't do it and shouldn't even try. After all, you're not athletic, and people like us have no business putting on running shoes and getting out there with the fit people, but hey... if you're willing to take a ton of ibuprofen and you're a bit deranged and don't want to listen to the much needed advice of your psychiatrist, then maybe you can give it a whirl."

This might be exactly the book some others are looking for, but every time I've listened, it has made me feel nothing but negative, dejected and quite frankly apathetic about what was previously a very exciting running goal for me. I will still run a marathon, but this book has no place in my training or educational library and I'd never recommend it to others.

Weird

Odd humor and depressing content. Certainly didn’t make me feel motivated to run!

Also PS - most of the world uses KM! Learn it!