Product Description

Whether you run a few miles a week or are training for a marathon, learning to run properly takes time and energy. For many runners physical and mental barriers can stop progress, as until you have achieved a certain level of competence it is unlikely that you will enjoy it very much, or for very long. This book's ultimate aim is to help you enjoy to run - to enjoy the feeling of movement, to overcome inertia, to renew yourself and to boost energy as a result - based on the proven principles of the Alexander Technique. The technique encourages good body use and awareness, teaches you how to release tension from your back and neck and instructs you to run without suffering from injuries. The authors' perspective on the sport takes you into areas rarely touched on in conventional manuals. Instead of placing importance on speed, targets and goals it emphasises the importance of the way you run so you can transform your training and performance. Other titles in this series include "Master the Art of Swimming" (9781843405429) and "Master the Art of Working Out" (1843403501).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84572 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author
Malcolm Balk has taught Art of Running workshops for the past 15 years, helping thousands improve their running technique. He is a masters' athlete and former head coach of Concordia University's track and cross country programmes. Malcolm currently teaches in Quebec. Andrew Shields was Sport and Health Editor of Time Out London magazine and is now working for the London 2012 Olympics team. A former nationally-ranked triple jumper, he now competes in masters' events.

Customer Reviews

An inspiring and imaginative approach to running.
So many of us think we know how to run well, but in fact run extremely poorly. This book was a revelation to me. I have run for about ten years now, and the Art of Running opened my eyes to several of my faults. It's not easy to correct them just from reading the book, but it has given me pointers towards what I should be doing to improve my technique. I like the style of the book: the personal testimonies are inspiring and show just what Alexander Technique has to offer, while the tone is light-hearted but practical without too much jargon. There's a similar book on swimming, The Art of Swimming, and the two are similar in that they encourage you to think about the activity rather than just perform it mindlessly. For any runner who is stuck in a training rut, or suffering a lot of injuries, this is an excellent and thought-provoking book which might help them towards a more fulfiling future.

a provocative and valuable reference
I enjoyed the style - a mixture of people's own stories and experiences, specific drills and training sessions, and useful philosophical background. Its a challenge to capture the subtlety of the authors' message in words, because both running and the Alexander Technique are all about personal, kinaesthetic experience. Still, there's more than enough value in this book to improve the quality of anyone's running if they put Balk's ideas into practice.

Some good ideas with which to work.
The previous reviewer seems to have missed the point that it is almost impossible to improve one's running just by reading a book: has she ever tried to learn to dance better from a book? There are plenty of ideas to work with but they will only really make sense if you have Alexander lessons - to quote from one of the letters: ".. if you want to explore the ideas in these pages you will certainly need a teacher to help you". The letters are encouraging in that they show what benefits (in many areas, not just running) people have experienced from taking Alexander lessons. I do not find the book especially well written (better to dip into it than to read as a whole), but there are plenty of useful ideas in it with which to work.