The Art of Run Training: Using Sport Psychology & Physiology for Optimal Performance

Whether you are a coach or simply taking the do-it-yourself approach, The Art of Run Training is a useful guide that blends science with a decade's worth of professional observations from the field, so you’ll gain new perspectives on the mental approach to training and racing. For example, you’ll learn improved methods for correcting running form and teaching proper foot strike, as well as the reason why many people struggle to make these corrections. The Art of Run Training is packed with knowledge that is less commonly discussed within the running community.

The sport of running has come a long way for amateur runners, as race registrations and collective miles logged are at an all-time high. Along with this running boom comes an overabundance of information found in online articles and magazines, some of which is often contradictory. How do we piece it together and make sense of it all?

Using a conversational tone that makes the information easy to digest, The Art of Run Training offers practical knowledge in three foundational areas—psychology, physiology, and an effective approach for improved run mechanics. As a successful coach over the past decade, Mike Hamberger raises runners’ abilities and enhances their confidence to do so.

Some of the other notions highlighted in this book include:
1) Running should be 10% mental, not 90%.
2) Switching running shoes will not change run mechanics.
3) The instruction to run with “short, quick strides” does more harm than good.
4) Garmin watches (or other GPS devices) hamper running performance.
5) Humans have better form when running fast, not slow.
6) The surging popularity of half-marathons and marathons is causing most injuries.
7) The need for a longer, more strenuous off-season phase than most runners attempt.
8) A runner should not use a race as “a training run.”