You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by scotchyeti
The Cool Impossible: The Coach from "Born to Run" Shows How to Get the Most from Your Miles—and from Yourself by Eric Orton
4.0
One day I should stop reading books about running and simply do it but I find hearing the stories directly from the coaches and learning their approaches priceless. This book is no different.
I loved how Eric Orton takes the reader by the hand and runs him through his camp. I can understand if some readers feel annoyed but for me it worked. There is no denying that Eric cares for his runners and he has a strong confidence that with his method everyone will improve. He has learnt from the Tarahumara Indians, one of the best runners in the world, and integrated his findings in the daily training.
By far the most useful thing for me was the strength program for foot/leg/glute. I have built my own Slant Board based on Eric's design and boy were my legs sore after the first exercise day! It's a great way to prevent injuries and I have also noticed that my glutes are suddenly active. The hints to improve running form were also effective although it takes time and effort to make them second nature.
The running program itself left me less excited and is in my opinion presented terribly. After a more careful examination I found that the structure is sound (1 long run per week that increases in length over time, faster repetitions, short pickups every 5min as part of normal runs, drills, hill sprints) but for me as recreational runner it's overkill. Unfortunately the author doesn't give additional advises, e.g. "if you just start then do the pickups once per week" or "do sprints to improve economy and speed" so you have to rely on other sources to build your own program.
4 stars out of 5
I loved how Eric Orton takes the reader by the hand and runs him through his camp. I can understand if some readers feel annoyed but for me it worked. There is no denying that Eric cares for his runners and he has a strong confidence that with his method everyone will improve. He has learnt from the Tarahumara Indians, one of the best runners in the world, and integrated his findings in the daily training.
By far the most useful thing for me was the strength program for foot/leg/glute. I have built my own Slant Board based on Eric's design and boy were my legs sore after the first exercise day! It's a great way to prevent injuries and I have also noticed that my glutes are suddenly active. The hints to improve running form were also effective although it takes time and effort to make them second nature.
The running program itself left me less excited and is in my opinion presented terribly. After a more careful examination I found that the structure is sound (1 long run per week that increases in length over time, faster repetitions, short pickups every 5min as part of normal runs, drills, hill sprints) but for me as recreational runner it's overkill. Unfortunately the author doesn't give additional advises, e.g. "if you just start then do the pickups once per week" or "do sprints to improve economy and speed" so you have to rely on other sources to build your own program.
4 stars out of 5