Skip to main content

Running Science

Optimizing Training and Performance

Running is a deceptively simple sport. At its most basic, you need only shoes and comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting sweaty. Yet each time you lace up, all your body’s moving parts must work together to achieve a gait that will keep you injury-free. Many other factors also affect your performance, from the weather and the surface you run on to your shoes, your diet, and even your mental and emotional state. Science plays an important role in most, if not all, of these factors.

As a sports scientist and Running Fitness columnist, John Brewer has reviewed hundreds of scientific studies, and he offers runners the benefit of their findings in Running Science. Each chapter explores a different aspect of the sport through a series of questions. Many of the questions address practical matters: Do you really need to stretch? Which running shoes best suit your form and foot strike? Does carbo-loading lore stand up to scientific scrutiny—could a big bowl of spaghetti be the difference between a PR and a DNF? Other questions enhance appreciation for the incredible feats of the sport’s great athletes. (What would it take to run a two-hour marathon? Perfect weather, a straight, flat course, competition, and a lot of luck!) The answer to each question is presented in a straightforward, accessible manner, with accompanying infographics.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned runner with many miles and medals behind you, Running Science is a must-have for anyone interested in the fascinating science behind the sport.

192 pages | 300 color plates | 9 3/4 x 9 | © 2017

Biological Sciences: Anatomy

Sport and Recreation

Table of Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE  the runner’s body
John Brewer

CHAPTER TWO  perfect motion
Iain Fletcher and Laura Charalambous

CHAPTER THREE  fuel and fluid
Bob Murray  and Daniel Craighead

CHAPTER FOUR  running psychology
Andy Lane

CHAPTER FIVE  training and racing
Charles Pedlar and James Earle

CHAPTER SIX  equipment
Paul Larkins

CHAPTER SEVEN  running well
Anna Barnsley

CHAPTER EIGHT  the big questions
John Brewer
 
APPENDICES
Notes
Notes on contributors
Index
Table of measurements
Acknowledgments

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press