Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a three time marathoner, four time sprint triathlete and finisher of numerous half marys, 10Ks and 5Ks, I can testify that food is a major component of training. If you don't eat, you don't finish the race (as a middle of the packer, I can also say that my goal is usually to finish, not to win). For those speedy racers who place in their Age Group or even plan to win the whole thing, I would venture to say that a strategic diet is even more important. It's unlikely that "Carb Load Friday" the day before the race will cut it.

Thus, we have Matt Fitzgerald's new book, *The Endurance Diet.* This quote from the summary pretty much covers the bases: the book "shares key strategies for optimal health and performance: eat everything, eat quality, eat carbohydrate, eat enough, and eat individually." In other words, plan ahead and plan wisely. I wouldn't say that the book is composed of brand new scientific theories and quick fixes for all dietary issues. But Fitzgerald does a good job of putting a ton of information together in one user-friendly, well written book. It's definitely the best book out there for this audience.

I started The Endurance Diet immediately after finishing Fitzgerald's previous book, How Bad Do You Want It? I'm nearing the end of training for my first marathon and I find myself trying to boost my mental confidence in every way possible. I wish I had read The Endurance Diet before starting to train and had more time to incorporate the habits into my own diet- like many people I find it easy to fall back on old standbys and hard to change how I eat as a whole. The Endurance Diet isn't a diet that limits what you eat in an effort to lose weight. It is a lifestyle diet where you eat healthy forever in order to be healthy. I am looking forward to using the book as a way to inspire me to continue to strive to be healthy after my marathon as I go into a down period before starting my next training cycle.