The Lost Art of Running: A Journey to Rediscover the Forgotten Essence of Human Movement

beautiful movement is not all about power. Balance and symmetry win every time.

how we stand when we make a cup of tea is how we run.

I was cool eating meals with sand in. I was fine with the smell of elephant shit. I was OK with not sleeping well. I knew that I could suffer. I knew that I could go to some very dark places – right to the bottom of the barrel – and somehow climb back out again.’

‘You can give up as many times as you like, as long as you keep moving. That’s what my dad always told me.’

The wheels are going to fall off, it’s often about whose fall off last!’

Imagine a long train of elastic running up an invisible centre line in your body (from your navel to the top of your forehead) and adopt a tall posture that keeps it pulled tight, bringing your hips forward and your pelvis into neutral, thus optimising the resultant elastic energy.

Don’t think of yourself as mechanical. Think of yourself as elastic, fluid, connected and synergistic.

Our perception of our movement has a huge influence on the movement itself. If we change our perception, we will go a long way towards changing our movement.

if I was going to be in a wheelchair then I’d make the best of it. Having accepted it, I started to consider the alternative. This time, though, I did it in increments without the level of pressure or expectation that I’d had before. I supposed that if I could just stand up then I wouldn’t necessarily have to be confined to a wheelchair. And if I c