The Lost Art of Running: A Journey to Rediscover the Forgotten Essence of Human Movement

Tried and tested the approach ... brilliantly simple instructions that helped improve my running, walking & way of training to make it easier as well as better

I took up casual running in my 40s for fitness and found myself out of breath with achy knee joints after any run over a mile. I'd read "Born to Run" and was inspired by its promise but also so stiff that I struggled to get to a mile, and couldn't imagine doing a 5K without stopping to rest every few minutes. Maybe I wasn't born to run after all!For a couple of years I just tried to push harder. I eventually did get to 5k but had tired knee joints after I did any 5k+ runs. Then I saw "The Lost Art of Running" in my list of recommendations. A month after buying the book and practising its advice on beautiful running form, I did a few 5Ks without my customary struggle and without any joint pains.Wow. I hadn't expected running form to be so important. Critical aspects of posture such as head position and foot placement were explored by relating the principles of movement to the author's travels around the world looking at the best runners of our day.The relationship of our body's fascia and natural elasticity was brought together via a Buckminster Fuller inspired tensegrity model. The resulting science was then simplified into easy to use checklists (such as HCAC Head Chest Arms Cadence) and movement questions to ask while running to prompt positive body awareness.With hindsight it all makes sense. There were good reasons for my tired legs. Beautiful running form changes so much because it uses the body's natural elasticity (in the fascia) instead of forcing muscles and joints to bear most of the load.Today I decided to try my first 10k run and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it felt compared to my former 5k runs. I have none of my previous knee pain and didn't find myself out of breath.I'm so grateful to the authors for putting this book together, I hope you continue to revolutionize running for the masses. I'll never run like the guys at Iten training with Brother Colm, but I'm already running far better than I ever have in my life.

I bought the book after hearing Shane Benzie on the Radio talking about its launch and his ideas. Even before I got it I had already taken on board one of his ideas about keeping your head up and looking at the horizon. It struck a chord with me for two reasons. Firstly, it's something that deep down I knew when I got tired I had a tendency to fold over and look at the ground. It felt wrong but also a natural thing to do so this was such a useful thing to have someone highlight. Secondly, I am also a keen swimmer and another swimmer told me that my head was too far in the water (when doing front crawl). I've never had lessons and had always focused on pushing my head under. In fact it turns out that the correct position is to have the water just lapping your forehead about where your hairline (or would be if it was still there!). This had two benefits. Firstly I reduced the drag in the water from not being straight - something not that relevant to running. Secondly, and this is relevant I think, I just felt so much more in sync with my arms and legs. I felt long and powerful. This I think is directly analogous to the author's focus on the 'head issue'. Anyway when I got the book I was able to read more about Shane's ideas and a lot of them really chimed with me. Firstly, elasticity. As an aside, I actually don't think the Shane can have heard about the fascia for the first time as he claims at a lecture)- he would surely have come across one of the most common running injuries well before this - plantar fasciitis. That's a minor quibble. I am also not sure the science on fascia has quite been settled - I think it's still an areas of debate. Having said that the idea of running smooth, having rhythm, being relaxed is surely something all runners can relate to. Secondly, on foot striking. Many years ago I actually went to a 'running school' where they espoused landing on the front of the foot. I have to say it felt really odd and in my experience a definite no no - In my experience landing on the front of the foot is something that is likely to cause injuries. I then researched the subject and found that mid foot striking is generally the consensus - this makes sense. Of course the quicker the runner the more they will land towards the front of the foot (as sprinters do) but the feedback is from pace to position and not vice versa. Thirdly, I definitely concur about running shoes - the more padding the less you feel the ground. You want structure (a clear arch) rather than excessive protection from a running shoe. The other bits I will try to incorporate - having more height in the strike (and a slight lean from the chest to enhance the strike) in order to cycle your legs neatly underneath makes sense (my cadence is 183-5 so at least I am ballpark there in other respects). This was something I had previously been trying to minimise as I was worried about losing speed but I agree it makes sense. I had a couple of quibbles with the book. One, on p.177 a female runner (Elisabet Barnes) makes a blatant sexist comment about men, "...you mostly see men attempting this fruitless strategy [starting their run too quickly] and paying for it later." As well as being sexist (you know the editor would not tolerate a comment the other way as in - 'mostly women runners make this mistake') this is garbage. I know from both running and swimming that there is no gender distinction between slower athletes trying to beat you and over pacing themselves before falling back really quickly. Secondly, on p.180 he makes a mistake about posture by saying we should not sit "we could spend the day standing" and makes favourable comments about standing desks. This is absolutely wrong - any physio, osteopath or chiropractor will tell you 'there is no such thing as a bad position' - what you need to do is alter your posture frequently - so changing from sitting to standing and vice versa. Of course walking is excellent in this respect - of course we need to stop moving at some point during the day but absolutely standing is not per se better than sitting. Standing can and has been used as a form of torture - because you will get pain in your hamstrings, lower back ,etc. Lastly I just want to highlight one thing the book left out - strengthening your core. Shane touches on conditioning but in the context of the gym (I do do gym workouts but I would agree they don't help the running). I do mostly 10k runs and the single biggest improvement apart from form has come from bodyweight HIIT training. Not only has this raised my VO2 Max but it has massively strengthened core muscles especially the hidden muscles (not just the so-called 'mirror muscles' that people in the gym use. I work a 3 or 3.3 to 1 ratio (work to rest) for about 40 mins (this is a serious serious workout). I use burpees, squat thrusts, mountain climbers, press-ups, jumping jacks, high knees, crunches, bike crunches, russian twists, dynamic planks, side planks, 'climbing a rope', jumping squats, pop squats, lunges, curtsey lunges, etc. You get the picture. Perhaps this work is only good for shorter distance runners like me but it really helps me. May be it does not work for an ultra-runner?Edit - I wanted to add one more thing on stretching/recovery. This is so important to general health but also athletic performance but only touched on in the book. I stretch every morning for about 10 mins focusing on ‘tight’ spots for me - lower back & hip flexors (tight hamstrings are often the result of tight hip flexors). I also do dynamic stretching before exercise and slower/longer stretching afterwards. Lastly, I was surprised Shane did not mention the trigger point roller . Forget foam rollers - too soft. A trigger point roller will mimic a really good sports massage and will generate release in the muscle (or is the fascia?!). Absolutely crucial for running legs...

I started running a year ago at the age of 50. I do short distances (5k) purely for fun and fitness but suffered one bad injury and enough niggles (aching hips, next-day early morning hobbles...) to cause me to consider giving it up. But I love the feeling of freedom running on trails gives me and decided to take a look at this book to see if it could help.From the word go it made complete sense to me. I have practised yoga for years and was already familiar with fascia and its role in movement, so when Shane started talking about it in relation to running it was like a light going on. I now find it funny that I thought about fascia and elasticity in relation to my yoga but had never taken those concepts into my running, thinking of my running movement in purely mechanical terms, if at all.I immediately started introducing Shane’s techniques into my runs and the difference was instant. No more aches and pains and a lot more power. It’s going to take a while for the changes to become habit but it definitely feels like a better more natural way to run. I particularly remember the part in the NHS Couch to 5k programme I initially followed where it tells you to be ‘less bouncy’. At the time this felt counter-intuitive to me and now I know why. I’m very happy to get my natural bounce going again!I’m never going to be one of the ultra runners described in the book but hopefully I’m now going to be a happier, less injury-prone veteran hobby runner! The book is a fun read too and a fascinating insight into a world I knew next to nothing about.

Trying to coach myself or figure out what online articles would actually help me didn't work very well. This book was the first resource I found that actually helped me improve running technique.

Excellent book

O livro é simples, e fala muita coisa que já vemos em outros livros, como cadência e inclinar o corpo pra frente. O foco do livro é desmistificar o deslocamento vertical na corrida, e provar os pontos através de viagens que o autor fez pelo mundo. Uma leitura legal, e posso dizer que influenciou minha maneira de correr.

I have been struggling with injury and want to get back my love for running. The logical approach, the simplicity of how to run with elasticity and the way Shane makes the story engaging gives me great hope this will work for me.The book is light on for images in describing something that is very much look and feel - e.g. I had to google a tensegrity model and wasnt sure if I had the right one to understand what was described, but regardless this is a great book to help you think about your form, with a data driven approach that resonates with me.

Beautifully written narrative including both anecdotal and scientific support for optimal running form. I think this book and Shane’s perspective represents a revolution in how we look at running.Now when I go out for a run, instead of worrying about pace, I think about the subtle yet powerful cues that Shane suggests. Running has become a practice of movement and presence. It has opened a whole new world.