The Runner's Literary Companion Great Stories and Poems about Running edited by Garth Battista - For me, this has been the best running book so far. Overall, Born to Run is the most readable and interesting, but these stories about different runners and races enabled me to understand more about the differences between different distances, and then the mindset of a runner in a race. My favorite stories were Wheelbarrow by Eddy Orcutt, written in 1936 about a college mile race, and See How They Run by George Harmon Coxe, written in 1941 about the marathon. Many of the stories are more modern, but I've always loved a good old-fashioned short story, and these two were wonderful. 
! 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss by Dean Karnazes - Dean is an Ultramarathon Man who runs for a living. When he tripped over a tree root on a 100 mile endurance run and had to leave the race near the end, he ended up seeing one of San Francisco's top Orthopedic Surgeons. Here's my favorite excerpt from the book: "When I entered his office, he took one look at me and said "You're a runner, you're going to have horrible knees." After seeing me and taking some X-rays, he informed me that I had a torn meniscus. He gave me some pills and told me to stop running. He instructed me to schedule a follow-up appointment in two weeks. I walked out of his office, threw the drugs in the trashcan, and went running. I never returned."
Dean travels around the world running and racing the most difficult courses in the most difficult conditions. His feeling is that if it's there, then it can be done. Just that idea applied to any area of one's life is an inspiration. It's about doing what you yourself want to do, even if it goes against the grain and flies in the face of everyone's superior knowledge and advice. Be your own person and your own best friend and decide yourself what is best for your own self.
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