Allied with Shane's tensegrity model is the utilisation of fascia to provide elastic energy for more efficient forward propulsion. Shane explains how fascia runs throughout the body and that there are long strands that run from head to toe. And with proper posture and running technique we can capitalise on these - using them like elastic bands to store and release energy. The book starts well, and I was pleasantly surprised, as it was a lot better than Born to Run, which was a hyperbolic, driveling yawn fest, that reminded me of a badly written magazine article. It is not easy to make these changes in practice by merely reading. Shane makes it clear that filming yourself is almost mandatory for finding faults and setting them straight, but even then, achieving all the technique goals the book sets for you is a bit awkward on your own. He has also done quite a lot of work with elite ultra runners. Many of who's experiences are included in the book - like for example:

Lost Art of Running, The: A Journey to Rediscover the Lost Art of Running, The: A Journey to Rediscover the

The basis of the book or his theory is that we should utilising the fascia system, basically to run with more bounce and elasticity in our strides, run tall, run like the Kenyan, land in the tripod of the feet(midfoot). Our training should be focusing on forms, rather than efforts, eg less training time but more quality in terms of focusing on forms (not efforts such as pushing hard paces). He also advocates for videoing ourselves when we run. Explains in layman's terms how to run efficiently by utilising elasticity: you can't but help go out the door for your next run and try to put it all into practiceThe Lost Art of Running: One Man’s Mission to Rediscover Our Capacity for Effortless Running by Shane Benzie – eBook Details A very interesting and entertaining read. Very different to most of the other books I've read on the topic of running technique. This book is about the author's theory without any scientific basis, eg control group, about running/training. It's full of stories about his athletes and race reports from his athletes which have very little to do with the theory. I looked up his firth athlete, his performance (eg timing for the same race), did not even get any faster (actually slightly slower). If you had to write a guide called, 'How to make an instant coffee', and the objective was to clearly explain the steps involved in making a cup, you might start your guide like this...

‎The Lost Art of Running: A Journey to Rediscover the

Fartlek No. 2, Week 2—After a warm-up, perform four to five surges lasting 3 to 5 minutes each with a 1- to 2-minute jog in between. Your effort should be slightly faster than 10K race pace effort but not as fast as in Fartlek No. 1. Most runners find this to be at about 80 to 85 percent of full effort. Research indicates that running at this intensity for a total of 15 to 20 minutes results in a higher lactate threshold—the balance point between the production of lactic acid and your ability to keep it from building up. He has literally travelled all over the planet to work with athletes and indigenous people in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya & Morocco), South America (Peru) & North America, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, India, Nepal, Bahrain, France and the United Kingdom. Yes, it it not easy to keep this form, I do have to keep concentrating on “running tall”. It will require lots of training to make this my new basis form. However once having the form (reasonably) correct it does make a real positive difference on the whole running experience. The information about technique was useful and interesting, but I really feel that this could have been far more enjoyable, more to the point, and seem a lot more informative if it had lost at least a quarter of its content, if not half. I really wanted to enjoy it and learn from it, but the constant introduction of new characters and situations gets overwhelming and repetitive. It obscures the interesting and useful information that the book contains... I would read this book and find my eyes becoming heavy, or my mind wandering...

About the contributors

Called “one of the best and smartest distance running coaches in America” by Runner’s World’s Amby Burfoot, Greg McMillan is renowned for his ability to combine the science of endurance performance with the art of real-world coaching. While getting his graduate degree in Exercise Science he created the ever-popular McMillan Running Calculator – called “The Best Running Calculator” by Outside Magazine. A National Champion runner himself, Greg coaches runners from beginners to Boston Qualifiers (15,000+ and counting!) to Olympians. I'm convinced that Shane's insights were were instrumental in me winning the Marathon des Sables for a second time' Elisabet Barnes, coach and athlete The storytelling and writing was pretty average at best. That, and my hesitancy surrounding the "science," has me torn between 3 and 4 stars. I'm going with 4 for the very simple reason that this book made me want to run. Not wanting to be done running, but actually run - and I hate the actual running part of running. In the end, I think that says quite a lot ... What about those who do look for education on proper running form and practice? As the author puts it, "Running technique has to be one of the most subjective issues out there: 10 minutes of investigation on the internet will generally confuse rather than confirm what you should or should not be doing." Tensegrity is a word that I'd never heard of before meeting Shane. It's one of the key tenets of his theories on running technique and indeed how we as humans move.