Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally

This is an extremely worthwhile book for anyone who is interested in taking care of their bodies generally as well as learning the habits that Kelly says will allow a lifetime of running.This guide really hit home for me. To give some perspective on my review: I used to run 7 miles most days, but stopped because a sports medicine doctor told me that if I continued I would have arthritis by my early 30s and the next doctor told me that I just wasn't born to run. I've tried many of the "open your wallet" remedies that Kelly mentions - custom orthotics, lots of special new shoes, expensive P.T., strength-building & stretching exercises, and none of them actually fixed the problem - my double case of runner's knee and hip pain has lingered despite having given up running years ago. This places me squarely in the target market for this book.The style of writing is terrific - Ready to Run gives understanding, encouragement ("your tissues can change, your joints can change, and you can change"), solid explanations for what is wrong with how runners/our society approach(es) running and why, as well as tough advice (the only way to succeed in meeting these standards is to take time (10-15 minutes) to do them every day, correctly, forever).The photos alongside step-by-step directions are easy to follow, and worth doing for everyone, even if someone isn't committed to running. Kelly's standards span a wide range of exercises to perform to address common running-related injuries and misconceptions. All the advice here has merit beyond running specifically, but just in the context of taking better care of your body, instead of hoping it will hold up if you ice and take anti-inflammatories as needed. Kelly's obvious passion for helping people who want to run develop good habits and proper form instead of relying on custom gear and painkillers really comes through.

Physical therapist, CrossFit coach and best-selling author Dr. Kelly Starrett partners with longtime endurance magazine editor T.J. Murphy to address the problems of runners across all sports. Given that 80% of runners injure themselves each year, a new perspective on the capacities required for the movement is long overdue. Starrett wisely avoids dispensing too much advice on running technique, instead offering a few tips and a list of resources for runners to consult on this subject. Instead, he stays in his wheelhouse, a thorough understanding of human movement and the dysfunctional patterns therein. One of the leading advocates of bringing the techniques of therapists and masseuses to the masses, Starrett offers a litany of mobilizations to improve runners' basic positions and avoid injury. His focus on elementary standards of movement and how and why to achieve them, combined with his very approachable writing and speaking style is unparalleled within the industry. More than anything, Starrett stresses personal responsibility. He offers readers the tools to stay healthy; it is up to them to take his advice to heart and make changes in their movement patterns. The sole negative is that a few movement standards appear a bit vague by comparison to others. For example, Starrett's test for thoracic spine mobility is whether or not you can stand up straight, without hunched shoulders. But how straight is straight enough, and at what point does your thoracic spine reverse its natural curvature? And for his warming up and cooling down standard, he offers a few bullet points of exercises and mobilizations for each, which pale in comparison to his detailed one week and one month sample mobility programs and over forty illustrated pages of specific techniques. Those concerns aside, this book offers an extremely valuable and refreshing alternative to the established medical and footwear industry, whose knee-jerk response to injuries is to stop running or buy new shoes. Starrett can help you repair your body and your running, if you are willing to accept the responsibility to do so.

I was happy to find that a lot of this book felt like review, and it reinforced a lot of things that I've been doing on my own. However, I've had to learn how to take care of myself the hard way, through pain and injury. So if you read this book and implement its strategies, you can save yourself tons of trouble. I've taught myself how to transition to minimalist running (inov-8 is great, and merrell trail glove) and once you learn how your body is meant to run there is no going back. You will be faster, feel better, more powerful, be stronger, be more of an all around athlete, and learn how to listen to your body and prevent injury. I've learned, the hard way.Pro tips: Do what the book saysGradually build up your mileage. Running should feel strong, it should feel great.Make sure to build up core and leg strength, as well as balance, and don't neglect upper body either. It's all connected.Recovery is key... Runners always want to just keep going and push through--learn when to back off or when to swim for a day or two insteadI think jogging every day is a waste, you should also be able to run fast like you were built to, so mix in some 200s, 400s, 800s intervals etc for increasing speed and work capacity greatly.

Just like most runners that I have encountered, I've had my share of minor injuries and niggles since I took up running. As a runner who also has minor scoliosis, I am a prime candidate for injury. I'm not a fan of physios, chiropractors, or osteopaths, I've seen many of them. In my experience, they just want perpetual patients on their books and treat your body as though it is their intellectual property by not telling you how to resolve these, niggles/injuries yourself. Kelly Starrett is different, he tells you exactly what you need to do in order to resolve your problems. He also won't tell you to get a gait analysis done. Instead, you will need to invest in some torture equipment such as voodoo floss, lacrosse balls, and various rollers and "camp out in the pain cave." As well as that, there are lots of easy-to-follow mobility drills and stretches. In comparison to the cost of a course of physio treatment versus the price of this book plus the additional equipment, you will potentially save yourself hundreds of pounds, your sanity, and you might even achieve your running goals.

This is a book predominately about strengthening and conditioning your body to make you a more efficient, robust and less injury prone runner. After taking on board advice and practising exercises and concentrating on my particular issues (IT band, lower back pain) I noticed a significant improvement in just a couple of weeks - and I'm no longer popping ibuprofen to get through a run and recovery!This isn't a book about running form, and you need to take your plan seriously (access to a gym would definitely be useful).Oh, and you do have to cut through a lot of yee-haar American-style waffle to get to the good stuff. But good stuff is there to be had!

Love this book. Had hip and back pain for around 3 years. Nothing else worked, S&C, yoga, rest, physio.. was beginning to think it was something I was going to have to live with. Within days of doing the exercises Dr Starrett suggests, I can feel an improvement already. Got a big event this weekend and then I am going to work on my dodgy ankle. Highly recommend this book. I personally love his writing style and find it easy to read through and use..!

Full of great info. I think I was able to understand and take it in better because of my background in acupuncture + physical therapy, and the plan is a little full-on if you're busy or injured already, so I'm just using the techniques and implementing them slowly. But lots of good info here for taking care of your body, your most important asset

Kelly Starrett's Ready to Run is a wealth of mobility knowledge, his way of conveying information is a great balance of humour and serious intellect.The book provides education on not only mobility issues, but how to prevent them in the first place via posture and activities of daily living.Visit his website Mobility Wod to learn more and keep up to date.