Run for Your Life

The first running book by a leading pioneering running doctor and athlete, creator of the Air Force's Efficient Running program--the result of more than three decades of study, practice, and science that shows us in clearly illustrated and accessible text how easy it is to run efficiently and injury-free, whether you're in your twenties, sixties, or seventies --for beginning runners and experienced marathoners . In Run for Your Life, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella explains the simple mechanics of how our bodies have evolved and adapted to run. Despite our natural ability and our human need to run, each year more than half of all runners suffer injuries. Pain and discouragement inevitably follow. Cucuzzella's book outlines the proven, practical techniques to avoid injury and reach the goal of personal fitness and overall health. His book--the first running book to be written by a professor of medicine with the credibility of the Air Force behind him--gives us a straightforward, easy-to-follow look at the anatomy, biomechanics, nutrition, and/or clinical medicine with clear drawings and black-and-white photographs. The book provides illustrated exercises designed to teach healthy running, along with simple progressions, a weekly/monthly schedule detailing common mistakes, and cautions that allow the reader to tailor the training regime to individual needs and abilities. With an annotated list of videos and other innovative, book-Internet links. The proceeds from RUN FOR YOUR LIFE will go to support Mark Cucuzzella's community work through his non-profit organization, Eastern Area Health Education Center/Freedoms Run.

ldquo;This book offers something special for readers at nearly every level of physical activity.” 
—Booklist (starred review)

“Cucuzzella, a physician, offers readers a path to health and a sense of well-being in this detailed fitness guide.”
—Publishers Weekly

“When Mark Cucuzzella talks about running, savvy runners listen.”
—The National Book Review

“A fantastic repositioning of how to run, and of what makes running fun and healthy (they can be one and the same). True to the Hippocratic oath, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella takes back the paradigm of running that has been fostered by major shoe companies and mass media, and he recalibrates it with the runner’s best interests at heart.” 
—Joe Puleo, coach of the Marine Corps Running Team and author of Running Anatomy

“The principles outlined in this book were transformational. Not only did I run faster and better, but I was able to complete my third marathon pain-free. Most important, I felt the joy of running, and that's the type of joy anyone who runs—either around the block or a hundred miles—should have the chance to feel. Reading Dr. Cucuzzella's book will help you get there.”
—Mike Plunkett, MisFits columnist, The Washington Post

“Dr. Cucuzzella has long been a leading mind when it comes to healthy running and healthy living. He understands the comprehensive physiology behind the simple act of running, but he has also mastered the art of applying both science and passion to help runners understand how to maximize their strength, endurance, fitness, and enjoyment in a healthy, sustainable way. He’s an authentic source of information and enthusiasm amid a turbulent sea of flashy trends and biased product marketers. I expect Run for Your Life to become one of the leading running books of this era and to serve as a guiding light to runners of all abilities.” 
—Brian Metzler, former editor in chief, Competitor magazine; founding editor, Trail Runner magazine; co-author of Natural Running and Run Like a Champion

“Beginner. Intermediate. Advanced. Runners of all ages and abilities will advance their knowledge just by getting this book in their hands. Runners will not want to put this book down.” 
—Rod Dixon, Olympic medalist, two-time World Cross Country Championships medalist, and New York City Marathon champion

Auteur

Mark Cucuzzella, M.D.

Résumé
**A straightforward, easy-to-follow look at the anatomy, biomechanics, and nutrition of running.

Dr. Cucuzzella "aims to improve the fitness and well-being of all, from the uninitiated to beginners to veterans who still have new tricks to learn" (Amby Burfoot, Boston Marathon winner, writer at large for Runner’s World magazine, and author of The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life).

Despite our natural ability and our human need to run, each year more than half of all runners suffer injuries. Pain and discouragement inevitably follow. Cucuzzella's book outlines the proven, practical techniques to avoid injury and reach the goal of personal fitness and overall health. 

With clear drawings and black-and-white photographs, the book provides illustrated exercises designed to teach healthy running, along with simple progressions and a running schedule that shows the reader how to tailor their training regimen to their individual needs and abilities.

Échantillon de lecture
Chapter 1

**Our Bodies Are Older Than We Think

Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.
-          Theodosius Dobzhansky
 
 
MYTH: *Life spans have increased compared with decades ago.

• FACT: *When chronic disease and declining public health are factored in, modern life spans aren’t much longer than they used to be. By some measures, average functional life spans in the United States have started to decline.

•  
  Whether your goal is athletic dominance or simply to arrive at a healthy old age, we all share the goal of making the best of our lives while on the planet, in the healthiest and most productive way that we can.

  Let’s start by inspecting the miraculous equipment we inherited, to better understand what it is that our bodies were designed to do.
   

  **Running Is Only Human
  
  Throughout human history—for almost 2 million years as hunter-gatherers, followed by 12,000 years as pastoralists and farmers—our ability to run, to walk, and to be physically active has been essential to life. By virtue of our existence—indeed, as evidenced by our domination of the planet—humans are succeeding. So far, at least.

  Our prehuman, primate ancestors were slower and weaker than many of the large animals that they eventually would learn to prey upon. Masters of agility, their bodies and limbs were adapted mainly for living in trees, where they could find forage and fruit, and were safe from nonclimbing predators that lived on the forest floor.

  So how did they come to dominate these other species, prey upon them, and even drive some of them to extinction? And later, what enabled modern humans, Homo sapiens, to win the evolution race with earlier species of our genus? Was it brains over brawn, or the other way around? Or did our brawn and brains coevolve?

  By nearly every metric of human strength and performance, early hominids (and even one extinct line, the Neanderthals) were superior to Homo sapiens. We made an incremental yet critical adaptation by gradually becoming able to walk and run long distances.

  Scientists generally believe that the ability to walk and run on two feet was a game changer. With the rudimentary tools avail-able to early humans, it would have been difficult and dangerous to bring down an antelope. Yet there’s evidence that humans were killing and eating large prey for some time before spears and other weapons were developed.

  One compelling theory proposes that early humans’ ability to walk …