Customer Reviews

Master the Art of Running: Raising Your Performance with the Alexander Technique

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm moved to add my positive review after noticing the negative one by S Hadley.

I found this book full of insight on the nuts and bolts of the running process as opposed to most of the other books I've read that take form as a given and instead focus on training regimes. I see it as a primer, a well thought out and very useful one: you can read it cover to cover or just open it and pick up some technical point to practice on your next run. It does mention the like of Haile Gebrselassie, Sebastian Coe and Merlene Ottey as role models but I found this inspiring and their form something to aspire to rather than the glib comment S Hadley alludes to.

One last thing. I bought the book 2 months ago and although my times have not come down noticably, my recovery rate and overall fatigue after a long run has diminished remarkably. I look forward to a largely injury free running future.

This book introduced me to the possibility of "technique" in running, and started me on a journey (to the Pose Method, and barefoot running) that has dramatically changed the way I run - smoother, with less impact and fewer injuries.

I have to disagree with the first reviewer. While the book may not tell the entire story, I did get some very concrete and relevant tips - for instance, remembering to look ahead, and not down (as I had been) while running.

The message of this book is simple: if you want to run better, simply run like Haile Gebr. Of course, there's no hint as to how to run like Gebr, but there are pretty pictures and oodles of "ideas" which totally lack any sort of flesh. The book is sporadic, repetitive and offers no useful examples. The concept of a new, almost holistic approach to running is interesting, but almost completely unexplored after the introduction.

I've attempted many of the techniques and found my running to quickly become less enjoyable, more labored and a lot slower. I'm an advanced runner and found only a handful of quotes to be useful. I see almost no purpose at all for a novice runner to read between these covers.