Matt Fitzgerald is a prolific health and fitness journalist and author of books on fitness, nutrition, and weight loss, including Racing Weight, The Runner's Diary, and Brain Training for Runners. Fitzgerald is a featured coach with the online training groups Active Trainer and Training Peaks, where he creates interactive training plans for runners and triathletes.
Dathan Ritzenhein is a two-time Olympian, world championship medalist, and U.S. record holder.
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Most serious runners don't realize their potential. They simply stop getting faster and don't understand why. The reason is simple: most runners are unable to run by feel. The best elite runners have learned that the key to faster running is to hear what their bodies are telling them.
Drawing on new research on endurance sports, best-selling author Matt Fitzgerald explores the practices of elite runners to explain why their techniques can be effective for all runners. RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel will help runners reach their full potential by teaching them how to train in the most personalized and adaptable way.
Fitzgerald's mind-body method will revolutionize how runners think about training, their personal limits, and their potential. RUN explains how to interpret emotional and physical messages like confidence, enjoyment, fatigue, suffering, and aches and pains. RUN guides readers toward the optimal balance of intensity and enjoyment, volume and recovery, repetition and variation. As the miles add up, runners will become increasingly confident that they are doing the right training on the right day, from one season to the next.
RUN marks the start of a better way to train. The culmination of science and personal experience, the mind-body method of running by feel will lead runners to faster, more enjoyable training and racing.
"The elements and philosophy laid out in RUN were fundamental and played an essential role in my overall success throughout my career as a self-coached athlete. The ability to run by feel is a learned skill and without the capacity to self assess and adjust your training intuitively, you will inevitably fall short of your potential." - Alan Culpepper, 2000 & 2004 U.S. Olympian, sub 4-minute miler, sub 2:10 marathoner
"ASICS was onto something when it chose its new name, a Latin abbreviation for 'a sound mind in a sound body.' This philosophy is the key to unlocking all the potential we hold. From my first race in junior high gym class to competing in the 2008 Olympic Marathon, I have found that the stronger my mind and spirit are, the further I am able to push myself. Any runner interested in maximizing potential must study the mind-body connection or their journey will not be complete." - Ryan Hall, 2008 Olympian and two-time American record holder
"The coach knows what to do, the scientist tells us why. Fitzgerald's RUN artfully and responsibly blends scientifically grounded supportive research and convincing anecdotal evidence into a message that those of us who take running seriously must heed. Now the U.S. can learn the true secrets of the great African runners: That voice in your head that says, 'Too much, too little, too hard, too easy', despite what the device on your wrist says, is probably right!" - Bobby McGee, elite running coach and author of Magical Running and Run Workouts for Runners and Triathletes
"RUN is full of information that will help all runners start training by feel. Once you learn to trust your instincts in training, your injuries will decrease and your personal records will fall." - Amy Yoder Begley, 2008 Olympian and four-time U.S. national champion
"As a long-time proponent of effort-based training, I highly recommend RUN. The reader will learn the most important concept in all of training—how to connect effort with pace. Using the techniques and ideas in this book, runners can expect more consistent training and racing results without the worry of external feedback from devices like GPS and heart rate monitors. I use effort-based training with the beginning runners, middle of the packers, and Olympians I coach and recommend all runners learn this valuable technique." - Greg McMillan, M.S., McMillanRunning.com online coach
"After years of searching science journals for secret workouts and fitness techniques, Matt Fitzgerald has decided that the brain is the ultimate training tool. In this insightful and evidence-based book, he challenges us to achieve our potential by enjoying every run and race, even as we accept the pain." - Amby Burfoot, Editor at Large, Runner's World; 1968 Boston Marathon winner
"Hey, maybe that voice in your head isn't you going bonkers from too much training. Maybe it's your brain trying to tell you something. Whether you're a newbie or a master runner, if you want to improve your running, learn more about yourself and your body, and possibly maximize your running potential, I highly recommend you pick up a copy and read Run." - Runner Dude's Blog
"If you're looking to get to your peak performance weight or explore the mind-body connection of running, writer Matt Fitzgerald has some advice for you. Through his numerous books published by VeloPress, Fitzgerald, an expert in endurance training and nutrition, explores a wide range of topics and cutting-edge developments from the world of running and endurance sports." - ESPN.com
"Run doesn't aspire to convert the masses, yet Fitzgerald skillfully urges everyone to hear his philosophy and put a little thought into the way we approach training. Those runners who do find merit in Fitzgerald's approach will be rewarded with simplicity and peace of mind." - Liberty Sports magazine
"What does it all mean when you are feeling great or not so good or somewhere in between? RUN takes us back to the commonsense approach of listening to our bodies and using its signals to adapt our training." -IMPACT magazine
"Commit the time to RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel, and you will be handsomely rewarded with a new way of approaching and thinking about your running, training, and racing." - The RUNiverse