Birthday Present for a Runner You Know?A book review of "The Lost Art of Running" by Shane Benzie

4.5/5 Stars.

Runners are hard to buy for. They are so fussy about their own running gear that I would not advise that you to buy any shoes or shorts for them. As they may end up in the bin.

But you could buy them a book. This book is a really good read for runners and I believe you will be wiser after reading it. That is a pretty big claim, but go on, what have you got to lose...

I give this a 4.5 stars out of 5. Is this the complete book of running? Sadly no but I still really love it. I think the title is really on point as it gives the reader a story about how he, the writer, believes we have lost the art of how to run.

I am very critical of running books. As a practising physiotherapist who specialises in treating and coaching runners, I have been on a similar journey to the author which is why it resonates with me.

I particularly love this statement that comes up early in the book - “I knew everything there was to know about running, but nothing about how to run”. There is so much information out there about running - running shoes, running programs, strength training, stretching, foam rollers, accessories, but there is a black hole of information about how to run. Even when there is some information, it can conflicting. Run tall, lean forward, knees up, small steps, land forefoot, land on whole foot, etc etc. When there are two conflicting ideas about something, it generally means that someones idea is wrong. If that idea is coming from an expert, what else could they be wrong about?

I have been looking for a long time for a book like this, wanting others to verbalise something that is hard to verbalise. How can we use words to describe the efficiency we see when we see a good runner run? Words just don't do it justice. This author does a nice job, he takes us on that journey for the search for that effortless running style.

The first step to change something is the acceptance that there is something to change. This book challenges the reader to ask the question “Am I running effortlessly, Am I using that my bodies elastic system”. Trying to change this, without even knowing about it, is really hard. I believe this book is going to help people to think about this. To challenge their thinking. It also gives some nice general advice about how you to change it. (Though I don't think that is actually an easy thing to do via reading a book).

Many books talk about running in such detail. They can give you a program for your half marathon, tell you the right heart rate you need to train at, detail the muscles you need to strengthen to prevent running injuries, or describe your injury and how to stretch or roll it out. But they miss the idea about how to run in the first place and they don't propose that you might be doing it slightly wrong. That idea is very confrontational to some, but for others is what they are actually craving.

I really like this book for that reason, because it helps people to think about the “how we run”.

4.5 stars out of 5 from me. Please read, or even better buy it for your runner friend.