It’s been a while since we had a new running read, so this week features The Running Revolution by Nicholas Romanov (with Kurt Brungardt). For those of you unfamiliar with Romanov, he is the creator of the POSE method. He is also a two-time Olympic coach. The Running Revolution is a great read for both the beginning and more advanced runner.
The book is divided into four different parts: Preparing for the POSE, Ten Lessons, the Running Circuit, and Take it to the Limit. Part One focuses on a bit of Dr. Romanov’s personal history, in addition to tracking your running progress and choosing the right shoe. At the end of this section, he introducing information on becoming more familiar with your personal stride and how to become a more powerful runner through strengthening exercises.
Part Two covers the ten lessons to help hone your running skills: the foot, the running pose, falling, the pull, integrating the frames, the Achilles tendon, Pose Frame Revisited, Falling Frame Revisited, Pulling Frame Revisited, and Putting It All Together Again. In Part Three, you learn about and how to coach yourself, prevent common injuries, run on different terrain and more.
Finally, in Part Four, you put it all together with information on assessing your training needs, sample 5k, 10k, half and full marathon plans and how to stay healthy for the long haul!
The Running Revolution is great for runners who love to learn more about the biomechanics of running and how to improve form and prevent injuries. It’s definitely written in a teaching/lesson format, so if you like more of a conversational book on running, this might not be the one for you. I love that there are a lot of photos for demonstrating strengthening exercises and form drills, but I still think you would want to search for some video footage of the drills. I find it easier to see the whole exercise put together on video, but that’s just my personal opinion!
Overall, I think there is a lot of wisdom to be found in The Running Revolution. Dr. Romanov is a very well-respected figure in the running world, and it’s great to be able to take advantage of the knowledge he has amassed over his years of training. The book is a great intro into improving your running form and training to avoid injury and run for life. I think it’s great for anyone interested in learning more about the Pose method, or perhaps taking a Pose clinic.
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