A RunSmart Review From NYC

Daniel Seidler, MS, PT of WSPT in NYC has written a great review of "RunSmart" on his WSPT blog. You can find the original post here.

People run for a variety of reasons - fitness, racing, weight loss and overall well-being are just a few. The mistake many people make is that they assume that because running is such a natural activity, they don’t have to put much conscious thought into their technique or planning of their running program.

Allan Besselink, PT, DipMPT has written a comprehensive guide to running from a scientific and evidence-based approach. Allan is a physical therapist in Austin, TX. He’s worked with the US National Track and Field team on three occasions. He’s an adjunct faculty/clinical instructor at Texas State University and Austin Community College. As a coach, he’s had athletes qualify for the Ironman World Championship and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. He’s currently a running coach for RunTex University.

Besselink provides for anyone, beginners to experienced runners, an entire framework of running technique, drills and planning. This guide is a roadmap to progress runners to faster times, more effective training or just a more enjoyable, pain-free running experience.

A guiding principle of RunSmart is that the human body has the ability to adapt to change if done properly with enough rest for recovery. Progress, such as more strength, increased mileage, or faster times occur if we provide a stimulus and then allow the body to accommodate to the new stress. According to Besselink, “Injury-free running is simply a case of balancing the rate of application of training loads with the rate of recovery and adaptation to those loads.” In other words, choose your speed, distance or challenging terrain, but not until you are ready and then allow your body to recover from any increases.

Sections of the book include:

• Training
• Sports Performance
• Recovery-Centered Training
• Mechanical Loading Strategies
• Cognitive Loading Strategies
• Nutritional Loading Strategies
• Special Topics
• Going Longer
• Training in the Heat
• Running for Triathletes
• Footwear
• The Injured Runner

Some of these topics may sound very technical, and at times they are. This book definitely speaks to health professionals, trainers and coaches, but it also is appropriate for anyone who wants to take a conscious approach to running and training.

For example, in the Mechanical Loading section, Besselink lays out his RunSmart Pyramid. This demonstrates the progression of a running program from assessment and goal setting to strength training, plyometrics, running drills, neuromuscular power training and neuromuscular efficiency training. Each of these steps is described in clear, concise detail. The subsections on strength training, plyometrics, and drills are complete with exercise descriptions and images. They are easy to understand and apply to any running program.

As a PT I have already used RunSmart as a valuable resource for injured patients. As a running coach, I have employed the basic principles and many of the exercises in the book for my 6-week 5K program. Lastly, I’ve put many of the ideas into practice for my own running purposes. I feel very fortunate to have come across this great book. I now recommend it to everyone I know who runs.

“RunSmart” is not a book about the evolution of running like “Born to Run.” It is not a detailed encyclopedia, rife with pacing charts and specific training programs like Jack Daniels’ “Running Formula.” Instead, in “RunSmart” Besselink has laid out a simple, big picture, evidence-based outline of how to be a more effective runner without getting injured. Shouldn’t that be every runner’s number one goal?