Unbreakable Runner: Unleash the Power of Strength & Conditioning for a Lifetime of Running Strong Paperback – October 1, 2014

I have been running for four years and I've been doing Crossfit for about two years, and I will be the first to admit that I am totally mediocre at both. I regularly come in at the bottom 20% of all races that I run, and my attempts to become a better, faster runner have been disorganized and largely unsuccessful.Enter CrossFit Endurance.A friend recommended CrossFit Endurance programming to help me build speed, and he referred me to the CFE website. Even though I was familiar with CrossFit and its endless acronyms, I could not wrap my head around the CFE programming on the website. Even so, I soldiered on, doing the CFE drills that I could understand several times a week.And I saw immediate improvement. Over the course of about five weeks I beat my 5K personal best by a full minute and a half. I didn't see that much improvement in my first FOUR YEARS of running. But I still felt like I wasn't getting everything I could out of CFE because I didn't understand the programming fully. That's where Unbreakable Runner shines. It explains the methodology of CFE, the what, why and how of the workouts, and it talks in plain terms about how to implement the program. And the best part of Unbreakable Runner, to me, are the invaluable training plans. The book covers everything from the 5K to ultra distances, laying out reasonable training plans using CFE methodology.Critics often point to CFE's lack of the sacred "LSD," or long, slow distance run in the programming for longer races, but the book acknowledges that there's room for the long run if the runner wants to do it (and some of us do love our Saturday mornings of 20 mile solitude). So that's no reason to turn away from the book.In all, I'm glad to have purchased the book. I just started a training plan out of the book and I'm excited to see how I progress using this methodology in the coming weeks.

Would have liked a little more insight into what the "Cross fit" workouts are like when that is stated on the training plan. But I guess that would get you to join a gym. Otherwise this is an interesting concept. I like the strength and form emphasis. I'm going to give this a try this year for my upcoming marathons and Ultras this 2015 year.

This book has what was missing from MacKenzie's "Power Speed Endurance", namely training plans. "Unbreakable Runner" has training plans for beginner, intermediate, and advanced for 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, and ultramarathon. Previously, I could only find a 6-week beginner program and an advanced program and neither specified distance; I needed something at an intermediate level for a half marathon and I finally have it in this book. The other thing I like about this book is that it's shorter and more focused. "Power Speed Endurance" has great information but it was a bit of an overload for me. For instance, this book has 4 drills to focus on for good running form, whereas "Power Speed Endurance" had an overwhelming number to choose from. If you are a beginner to the CrossFit Endurance approach to run training, this is a great introduction. If you're already familiar with CFE, buy this book for the training plans in the back.

Pros:-Does a good job of summarizing the barefoot running movement and does a much better job of emphasizing gradual adaptation than the barefoot bible (born to run).-Offers a good verity of baseline workouts for varying fitness levels and focuses.-Easy to read, to the point.Cons:-Very clearly selling the Crossfit Endurance system.-Same issue as many Crossfit boxes: very limited instruction on very complex exercise that, in an over confident or under trained athlete, cause injuries all too easily.-Pushes Crossfit Endurance as the one and only training regimen for any distance cardio event.Overall:Interesting read with useful tools but NOT a complete guide to natural running, mobility, or endurance training. Read with a grain of salt.

Awesome book. It makes sense to me and I've seen the impact this focus on strengthening the core has on distance running. I also know from scientific studies that this focus on less duration but greater intensity has benefits that go beyond running longer and faster. High Intensity Intermittent Exercise (HIIE) is one of the best fat burners there is and it releases Human Growth hormone and brain derived neurotrophic factor. So, it is good for the body and the brain.That said, be advised: Crossfit exercise is a diagnostic at first. It will show you where you are weak. But I look upon that as a benefit. It has shown me areas I'd forgotten about that need exercising.Finally, I've trained for six marathons and finished four of them. The last two were cut short by repetitive stress injuries that accompanied the three to four 20-mile training runs. Those training runs are boring and unnecessary when you do other things to strengthen the undercarriage for the stress of a marathon. I like that aspect of the training most of all.

This book is easy to read and loaded full of great concepts that are easy to adopt. I'll admit I've had reservations about Crossfit's application to sports in the past. Having read and adopted the core concepts of Becoming a Supple Leopard, Free+Style, and now Unbreakable Runner I can say forget what you've heard (if negative) and start reading these great books on mobility, movement, and running. My only knock against this book is that Mackenzie doesn't dive into his wealth of knowledge on breath work and cold therapy applications. (See- Wim Hof)