Be A Better Runner: Book Reveals New Scientific Findings to Improve Running Skills

The popularity of running has exploded in recent years with over 37 million people counting themselves as avid participants in mankind’s oldest athletic activity. RunningUSA.org estimated the number of total runners in the U.S. has been increasing at a rate of nearly 10% each year, while the number of organized races in the U.S. nearly doubled between 2000 and 2006. Marathoner and Triathlon Hall of Fame inductee Sally Edwards, former President of the American College of Sports Medicine Carl Foster, and longtime fitness writer Roy Wallack have teamed up to give readers a book that features the latest research in the science of running to teach them to run longer, faster and with fewer injuries.

Be a Better Runner (Fair Winds Press, April 2011, $22.99, paperback with color photos), addresses every possible concern from posture and form to nutrition, footwear and race strategy. Readers will learn how to adapt running mechanics such as stride and pacing to body type and fitness level while specific training regimens prepare them for any type of running event including sprints, distance runs, and marathons. The book includes the latest strategies to boost performance, train more effectively, and aid post-workout recovery as well as the latest research on special concerns such as running after age 40, running during pregnancy, overtraining in younger runners and preventing amenorrhoea in female distance runners.

Some of the most progressive training and competition methods detailed in the book include:

• The Black Hole: How to bypass the commonly used training zone that impedes progress and recovery;
• Barefoot Running: Adherents to this small but growing back-to-nature trend claim injury reduction and running longevity;
• Race-Day Primers: How to score the best time by tapping the science of race physiology, digestion and calorie usage;
• Run Less to Run Better: Why cross-training activities such as cycling, swimming, rowing, elliptical training and hiking are not just a fun break from running, but are absolutely critical to running better; and
• Eat Right, Eat Well: How the right food at the right time improves a runner’s ability to go long and strong, manage weight and recover quickly.

Be a Better Runner is filled with step-by-step photos and illustrations that show readers the mechanics of form and technique. With this cutting-edge combination of exercise science, time-tested coaching techniques and competitive running strategies, readers will run farther, faster and longer!

About the Authors
Sally Edwards is a former Master’s World Record holder in the Ironman Triathlon, a 1984 Olympic Marathoner Trials Finisher as well as a World Record Holder in the Iditashoe 100-Mile Snowshoe Race. She has competed in some of the hardest races on the planet, including the Western States 100-Mile Run which she won. A leader in the field of fitness training, Sally holds a master’s in Exercise Physiology and is the creator and CEO of the Heart Zones Training System which uses heart rate data and cardiac training ranges to enhance athletic performance. A founder of the sport of triathlon (and a Triathlon Hall of Fame inductee), most of Sally’s recent races have been performed in her role as the National Spokeswoman for the Danskin Triathlon Series.

Carl Foster, Ph.D, FACSM, is the former president of the American College of Sports Medicine. He is a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at UW-L. Foster is a former associate editor-in-chief of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and a co-editor of ACSM’s Health/Fitness Facility Standards and Guidelines. His distinguished professional career and accomplishments have produced over 250 scientific papers, book chapters, and longer works.

Roy M. Wallack is a longtime writer, editor and author specializing in fitness training, gear and adventure travel. A fitness columnist for the Los Angeles Times, he is the former editor of Triathlete and Bicycle Guide magazines, and a contributor to a variety of magazines, including Outside, Men’s Journal, Runner’s World, Muscle & Fitness, Playboy, Competitor, Consumer’s Digest, Bicycling, Mountain Bike, and others. His books include Run for Life: The Breakthrough Plan for Fast Times, Fewer Injuries and Spectacular Lifelong Fitness (2009), Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100 (2005) and The Traveling Cyclist: 20 Worldwide Tours of Discovery (1991). A frequent participant in some of the world’s toughest endurance events, including the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Eco-Challenge, the 750-mile Paris-Brest-Paris randonee and the TransAlp Challenge, he was inducted into the 24 Hours of Adrenaline Solo Hall of Fame in 2008 and finished second in the World Fitness Championship in 2004.