Evolution Running: Run Faster with Fewer Injuries

by Evolution

Product Description

The Ultrafit Multisport Training SeriesAthletes in every sport except running devote enormous attention to perfecting even minute details of the movements they will be required to produce in competition. Running coaches just tell their athletes to run longer and harder. Runners, and their coaches, have basically ignored technique for years, assuming that their natural stride will give them efficiency and injury resistance. We have found that this simply is not the case.For the past decade, African runners have dominated distance running at its highest levels. Research on what makes these runners faster consistently demonstrates normal VO2 Max and lactate threshold levels for elite runners. Their height, weight, and limb-length ratios all fall into the normal category. Clearly and consistently, what sets the great African runners apart is that they are more efficient than their competitors, running faster without expending more energy. Experts in running economy agree that running barefoot through childhood contributes significantly to the extraordinary economy of these athletes. We're not suggesting that you run barefoot. We are suggesting that you take the time and effort to learn the techniques that may be more natural running barefoot, and implement them into your shoe-running technique.DVD

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000A7GEGW
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,467 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #21 in Sports & Outdoors > Team Sports > Track & Field

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Wish I Had Found This DVD First, August 31, 2009

By 

Wakka - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Evolution Running: Run Faster with Fewer Injuries (Sports)

After reading "Born to Run" and investigating barefoot running techniques, I learned that I was a serious "heel-striker" and always have been. Forehead slap!

I set out to change my running form and unfortunately I went to books first instead of videos. Mistake. I wish I had found this DVD *first*. I have been investigating barefoot running, chi, and POSE, and much of it confused me, as authors tend to describe the same thing 20 different ways. And I'm sorry, a series of 50 still-frames printed in black-and-white across two pages of a book is NOT THE SAME as a VIDEO! There is simply no substitute for video when trying to learn a dynamic motion.

While this is not hollywood-quality production, it is more than good enough, and it has the information where it counts, mainly the ability to "see" what people with correct form are doing, compared to the inefficient stride that most amateurs are using. In this case a $25 DVD and 45 minutes of your time is worth weeks and weeks spent with a stack of books.

This DVD leaves little out -- it talks about "barefoot" running but avoids falling into the "cult of barefoot weirdos". It simply says barefoot runners are efficient, and that you can apply the same efficiency techniques while wearing shoes. Perfectly logical to me.

The DVD also covers using a metronome for cadence (way helpful!), and is very insightful about the theory of running uphill and downhill which most books say NOTHING about ... namely that very little should change in your form whether running flats, up, or downhill. Also a refreshingly logical perspective.

It also shows SIMPLE drills to help you feel the right way to spring off your feet. Which also makes complete sense because deep down running is simple. I shouldn't need a gym full of rubber bands and fitballs and 5 coaches to teach me how to put one foot in front of the other. The simple drills and images in this video helped me instantly "get it" instead of reading complex descriptions like "the foot should land and rotate at such-and-such position toward the medial axis of blah" ... or "think about running on ice" or "think about running on water" ... well, which is it, water, ice, what? Video is worth 1,000 wasted descriptions.

I might recommend that newcomers get this DVD in conjunction with *reading* about running technique of whatever method. Deep down they are all more similar than different -- there is only one way to run and land on the forefoot, after all.

If I came at this DVD out of the blue, I might not think much of it. But after reading through 10 books and websites about running theory and using myself as a guinea-pig, I now recognize that this DVD hits on ALL the main points of efficient running that I have been reading about everywhere else. They did a superb job at being concise and effective. The DVD is deceptively brief, there is A LOT here.

Even more importantly (bad for me though!) is there is a brief TROUBLESHOOTING section on the DVD. It lists about 5 or so major mistakes that people make when trying to change their form. Unfortunately I made them all, thanks to the books I read.

Like the title of my review says, I wish I would've found this DVD first. It makes total sense.

As far as negatives go, this DVD spends a bit too much time explaining the mechanics of why heel-striking is bad. I already knew that, so I had the "preaching to the choir" type of experience. I think most people who buy this DVD are already looking for an alternative to injury-creating running form, so they didn't have to harp on it so much. It's a small criticism though.

Another negative is that they didn't really explore the performance gains, and how to apply the new techniques to running FAST. I know that the coach is training champion triathletes, and their testimonials are in the videos, but the specifics on how much improvement a person can get from changing their technique would have made the video even that much more compelling. One person says she went from being a local elite to #3 in the world (impressive!) but there's no specifics on race times or data. They do say that you can be 4% or 5% more efficient, and that equates to a couple of minutes per hour off your PR times... and maybe that's as specific as they can get legally, or whatever, but it would have been nice to have more detail about real-world training and performance.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for., December 13, 2006

By 

V. Messner (PA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Evolution Running: Run Faster with Fewer Injuries (Sports)

I'm just an average runner, and I'm ok with that. I will never experience what a 5 or even 6 minute mile will feel like. That's not a good or bad thing, it's just reality.

When I decided to study running form, I knew that I didn't want something too complex or too involved. I simply wanted an overview of running form with simple recommendations on becoming more efficient and avoiding injuries.

Evolution Running is the DVD I decided on, and it gave me exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I picked up some great tips on things like: stride length, vertical movement, uphill and downhill running, tempo, etc.

There is no DVD that will make one a champion runner overnight, but Evolution Running will give anyone some great concepts to ponder. The information I reveived from this DVD will certainly be put to good use and I'm really glad I chose it.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly excellent--but downhill advice is wrong, March 17, 2008

By 

Kelly Cox (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evolution Running: Run Faster with Fewer Injuries (Sports)

You don't have to be an elite runner to learn to run like the elite runners! All runners, especially those who are just starting on a new running goal, would benefit from this video.

I bought this DVD 3 years ago, when I first started running barefoot, and the ideas in this DVD are based on barefoot running techniques. Almost all of the advice in this video is spot-on, and the vast majority of runners would benefit from using this DVD to improve their running form.

I coach track (distance and middle distance events) at the high school level, and I pass this DVD around to my athletes, especially ones that are prone to overstriding and heel striking. I was a heel-striker for 25 years, and this resulted in repeated injuries, including 5 cases of plantar fasciitis. Using the techniques from this video (and applying them to barefoot running) I have been injury free for the past 3 years.

The advice in this video isn't really new--Jack Daniels and many other coaches have taught these techniques for years--but this DVD brings a lot of great ideas on running form together in one place, and does what no book can do--show you clearly the difference between proper running form, and the way most amateurs run (overstriding with slow cadence).

My only gripe is the advice given about running downhill. He claims that you can land with your foot slightly behind the spot directly below your center of mass, when running downhill, and this is plain wrong. Besides coaching, I also teach physics at my high school, and I know that landing behind your center of mass produces a net torque on the body, which can only be counteracted if you are *accelerating* downhill.

Still, the advice about downhill running isn't bad, in that most runners will land too far in front of their body when running downhill, and will slow their cadence below their normal pace. The idea of landing closer to the spot right below the center of mass is a good goal--a wrong idea can still lead to a different way of thinking about running, and lead to a better downhill run, with a faster and smoother cadence.