What an entertaining, fascinating, enlightening and above all inspiring read. All very approachable, easy to understand, and realistic– it will be hard work, but anyone can try - and reap the benefits. Shane Benzie give’s a big thumbs-up for the Parkrun movement too, with lots of praise, which I love, and that can’t be a bad thing. The Parkrun is a free event in the UK (and now many other countries), and the book may be focused in good part on Olympians and world record holders but we can all give it a go, and practice down at the local park. Instead it's more of a potted history or a memoir of sorts of how he became interested in running technique/human movement. Plus it gives an insight into his travels around the world to study the best most fluid naturally talented runners on the planet. Running technique has to be one of the most subjective issues out there: 10 minutes' investigation on the internet will generally confuse rather than confirm what you should or should not be doing. Mother Nature gave us some amazing gifts as runners - if we rediscover them and use them, we can transform our dynamic and everyday movement.' (Shane Benzie) He has literally travelled all over the planet to work with athletes and indigenous people in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya & Morocco), South America (Peru) & North America, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, India, Nepal, Bahrain, France and the United Kingdom.

The Lost Art of Running, Running Up That Hill, Eat and Run 3 The Lost Art of Running, Running Up That Hill, Eat and Run 3

Part narrative, part practical, this adventure takes you to the foothills of Ethiopia and the 'town of runners'; to the training grounds of world-record-holding marathon runners in Kenya; racing across the Arctic Circle and the mountains of Europe, through the sweltering sands of the Sahara and the hostility of a winter traverse of the Pennine Way, to witness the incredible natural movement of runners in these environments. As far as I’m concerned, if you have truly lived - if you have truly connected with what you are and where you are in the world - it’s because you run.” The basis of the book or his theory is that we should utilising the fascia system, basically to run with more bounce and elasticity in our strides, run tall, run like the Kenyan, land in the tripod of the feet(midfoot). Our training should be focusing on forms, rather than efforts, eg less training time but more quality in terms of focusing on forms (not efforts such as pushing hard paces). He also advocates for videoing ourselves when we run. Yes, it it not easy to keep this form, I do have to keep concentrating on “running tall”. It will require lots of training to make this my new basis form. However once having the form (reasonably) correct it does make a real positive difference on the whole running experience.

Full Book Name: The Lost Art of Running: One Man’s Mission to Rediscover Our Capacity for Effortless Running

The Lost Art of the Fartlek | McMillan Running The Lost Art of the Fartlek | McMillan Running

The Lost Art of Running is an opportunity to join running-technique-analyst coach and movement guru Shane Benzie on his journey across five continents as he trains with and analyses the running style of some of the most gifted athletes on the planet.I'm convinced that Shane's insights were were instrumental in me winning the Marathon des Sables for a second time' Elisabet Barnes, coach and athlete And what is most important to me is that I have less to no pain. And that for me this says it all. For now I am cautiously positive about the techniques explained by Shane Benzie. But from the first try outs and my own experience, I feel he is onto something real! I am sure he will learn much more through research about the fascia and its use in the human body. I think it’s because we don’t think of running as a movement skill. We see it as a try hard skill. It’s an innate ability. All humans can do it. So we do it. We lace up our trainers, walk out of the front door and start into the actions of us running. We don’t have any real perception of how we are moving or whether it might be the most efficient or effective way. We just presume that if we work hard and put maximum effort in, then we will move forwards as well as we physically can. If we want to improve, we run further or harder. The rest is on autopilot. Running beautifully doesn’t really enter the equation."

The Lost Art of Running - Bloomsbury Publishing The Lost Art of Running - Bloomsbury Publishing

There is a chapter about him doing research in the Arctic... All I can remember from this chapter is how he broke his leg and like superman did not go to the doctor for a week... Wow... But I have absolutely no recollection as to what the point was with regard to his conclusions about running technique, as each chapter is supposed to be about his journey of discovery. He has also done quite a lot of work with elite ultra runners. Many of who's experiences are included in the book - like for example: This book started promising about the author's theory about utilising the fascia system for elastic energy for easier running. However, I keep yearning for showing me more about it (the fascia). Instead the book talks about the author's journey or pursuits of various coaches and athletes and getting them to sign up with him or agreeing with him, at the same time sharing little info on the fascia. Called “one of the best and smartest distance running coaches in America” by Runner’s World’s Amby Burfoot, Greg McMillan is renowned for his ability to combine the science of endurance performance with the art of real-world coaching. While getting his graduate degree in Exercise Science he created the ever-popular McMillan Running Calculator – called “The Best Running Calculator” by Outside Magazine. A National Champion runner himself, Greg coaches runners from beginners to Boston Qualifiers (15,000+ and counting!) to Olympians.Running technique has to be one of the most subjective issues out 10 minutes' investigation on the internet will generally confuse rather than confirm what you should or should not be doing. Mother Nature gave us some amazing gifts as runners – if we rediscover them and use them, we can transform our dynamic and everyday movement.' Shane Benzie