A science writer and recreational runner explores the science behind popularly held beliefs about shoes, injuries, nutrition, "runner's high," and more.
Conventional wisdom about running is passed down like folklore (and sometimes contradicts itself): the right kind of shoe prevents injury—or running barefoot, like our prehistoric ancestors, is best; eat a high-fat diet—and also carbo load before a race; running cures depression—but it might be addictive; running can save your life—although it can also destroy your knee cartilage. Often it's hard to know what to believe. In Running Smart, Mariska van Sprundel, a science journalist and recreational runner who has had her fair share of injuries, sets out to explore the science behind such claims.
In her quest, van Sprundel reviews the latest developments in sports science, consults with a variety of experts, and visits a sports lab to have her running technique analyzed. She learns, among other things, that according to evolutionary biology, humans are perfectly adapted to running long distances (even if our hunter-gatherer forebears suffered plenty of injuries); that running sets off a shockwave that spreads from foot to head, which may or may not be absorbed by cushioned shoes; and that a good sports bra controls the ping pong-like movements of a female runner's breasts. She explains how the body burns fuel, the best foods to eat before and after running, and what might cause "runner's high." More than fifty million Americans are runners (and a slight majority of them are women). This engaging and enlightening book will help both novice and seasoned runners run their smartest.
ISBN-13: 9780262542449
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: MIT Press
Publication Date: 09-14-2021
Pages: 304
Product Dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Mariska van Sprundel is a freelance science journalist who has written for Runner's World and other publications. The creator of The Rational Runner, a blog about science and running, she is a running instructor for recreational runners at a Utrecht athletics club.
What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
“Running Smart is a fascinating exploration of the science of running. Van Sprudel separates facts from folklore on everything from training to nutrition and gear. She explains what convinced her to stop buying anti-pronation shoes, why a good sports bra is a better investment than a DNA test for performance genes, and why running injuries remain an ‘unsolvable puzzle’ despite so much research on them. The book will interest any runner who’s wondered how much of the conventional wisdom around running is backed by rigorous science.”
—Christie Aschwanden, author of Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery and cohost of the podcast Emerging Form
“Even if you don’t enjoy running, you’ll be enlightened and entertained by this fast-paced, informative, and comprehensive tour of the science of running and its effects on the body. You might also run farther and faster.”
—Daniel E. Lieberman, author of Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding
“Instead of recycling the same old myths about running, van Sprundel goes looking for actual scientific evidence, with surprising and entertaining results.”
—Alex Hutchinson, author of the New York Times bestseller Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance
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Table of Contents
Preface
1 The Rise of the Long-Distance Runner
2 The Usefulness of Running Shoes
3 Back to Bare Feet
4 Built to Run
5 Training Load and Load Capacity
6 The Right Fuel in the Tank
7 A Spring to the John
8 Running for your Life
9 The Secret to Speed
10 Fatigue is All in the Mind
11 Running as Therapy for the Brain
Epilogue: Do Your Own Science
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index
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