Posted: November 21, 2005

Athletics: Running In The Zone - A Handbook For Seasoned Athletes

New Book Released by Steve King and Dan Cumming, Editors - Published by Trafford Publishing

Imagine yourself running a marathon! Now imagine doing it in 2:47:02 – yes two hours, forty-seven minutes and two seconds. Now imagine you are 64! Too far? Too fast? Too old? Maybe, but that is exactly what one of the 26 contributors to Running in the Zone did in 2004.

If that is too hard to imagine, then what about getting yourself ready for a walk/run program to do your local fun or charity event? More manageable? That too, is in Running in the Zone, along with instructions on meditating while you run. Something for everyone is what the editors tried to build into this new book. That is exactly what they did according to Jeff Galloway, former Olympian and author of the best selling Galloway’s Book on Running:

"This is a book that is designed for the older runner. The authors are not only experts in their fields, they have dealt with the issues themselves. You'll find a lot of information on a wide range of issues.”

The 26 contributors, men and women, average just over 61 years of age (ranging from 46 to 76) and collectively have run well over 1250 marathons, not counting many ultramarathons. Some have overcome physical challenges such as cancer. Others are present day age-class regional, national and even world record holders. There are several Olympians and world record holders among the contributors, but there are many who simply love running. While the contributors have run virtually every distance up to ultramarathons, most have done the marathon. The fastest was a men’s masters performance of 2:18 and the fastest from the women writers was 2:29. But, one of the ‘bests’ was near five hours – and a best it was, considering the circumstances.

The book was developed by Steve King: runner, triathlete and race commentator, well known for his race day announcing at Ironman Canada, the Vancouver Marathon, Royal Victoria Marathon, Vancouver SunRun and as on-air commentator for event coverage by national and international TV networks, and by Dan Cumming: average but avid runner, race director and author with many years experience in writing, editing and publishing. Running in the Zone was officially launched at the Royal Victoria Marathon on October 8, 2005 at a sell-out “Celebrity Writers Breakfast” event.

Running in the Zone is for all runners, but particularly those that feel they are now, or soon will be, among the “seasoned” athletes. It’s also for those thinking maybe they would like to start running even though they are 40 or 50 years of age. Many of the writers, including the one in the opening lines, didn’t start running until they hit their 40th birthday and beyond.

Running in the Zone is inspirational and instructional. Even among the most elite of the contributors, the most common reason for continuing to run distils down to: “because I love it”. The youngest are in their late 40’s while the eldest is 76. Running in the Zone shows there is little to stop a person from enjoying this wonderful sport and being active as a competitor, non-competitive practitioner, coach and volunteer, for as long as a person has the will to do so.

Running in the Zone: A Handbook for Seasoned Athletes: Get it. Read it. Enjoy.

Running in the Zone is available at http://trafford.com/05-1768 and will soon be available in running and bookstores near you. For more information contact Dan Cumming at dbcumming@shaw.ca or Steve King at stking@vip.net. .