Anatomy for Runners, THE BEST RUNNING BOOK, EVER.

I went to the Zombie Runner store in Palo Alto Saturday morning to stock up on GU Roctanes and get a awesome latte (they are into good coffee there as well as running ;)

I checked out the book section..expecting to find nothing new ....and then this book caught my eye.

I flipped through it and right away saw it was *exactly* the book I wish I had given to me when I started running.


Over the years I've figured out a lot of stuff by reading books (and fellow bloggers) and talking. Gradually I have learned how to avoid injuries...but it's been very ad-hoc and there is still a lot I don't understand.

This book lays out the deal in a way everybody can understand..it's a fine line between dumbing things down too far and making it too hard to understand.  I think he does a good job. (although some analogies weren't perfect or were over-used a bit..but hey). 

Along the way I saw him confirm many of the things I have already figured out...refine my understand on some and blow me away on others.  (e.g: runners knee is usually not caused by quad weakness..read the book if you want to know the real most common cause..and NO it's not heel striking either.)

This book doesn't talk much about your "engine"..i.e. energy metabolism, muscles, VO2Max, Lactate thresholds, etc....we all know that stuff anyway. Who has problems raising their LT? 

Instead, the entire book is about about your "chassis"

After all, what good is a V8 engine in a VW Bug chassis? Lots of us have reved up our V8's (ok V5 maybe ;) and torn the crap out of our chassis!

The last section of the book has a self exam (that is the same one he uses in his practice) that identifies imbalances or weaknesses that can lead to reduced running economy at a minimum and potential nasty  injuries in many cases. 

For each test he has exercises (easier ones to start, then harder) that can be used to correct the issue.


It's 285 pages of pure gold for runners.