Book Review: Run for Your Life

Book Author: Mark Cucuzzella
Review by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I read about Mark Cucuzzella for the first time through mentions on another book I have read a couple of years ago. To the author he seemed to know what he was talking about. Then, in the Marathon Training Academy podcast I heard an interview of the author about his “Run for Your Life” book and I knew I had to read it. It took a bit longer than I wanted to get my hands on it but once I got it, I consumed it with passion.

Cuccuzzella is a doctor and a runner who is passionate about both. His bio on Google Books reads as follows: Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel, practices family medicine in Ranson and Martinsburg, West Virginia. He is a professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine and conducts Healthy Running Medical Education courses. He has run competitively for almost four decades, with more than one hundred marathon and ultramarathon finishes, and he continues to compete as a national-level masters runner with an active streak of thirty straight years under a three-hour marathon. Cucuzzella owns the first minimalist running and walking store, Two Rivers Treads, in his hometown of Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

The book is divided into three parts and an Appendices section. The parts are: Before the Starting Line, The Body in Motion and Running is for Everyone. Each one touches in form a different perspective, the importance, the right way, and the approach to human movement so you can do it smarter, stronger and springier. This book is as much for sub-3 marathoners as it is for walkers wanting to complete their first 5k.

Dr. Cucuzzella has run sub-3 marathons for 30 years in a row

Each one of the 19 chapters concludes with a short section of drills to address what was taught in the previous pages. Such drills are not just strengthening or stretching exercises, but approaches, mental exercises or adjustments in your mechanics, your approach to exercise on your everyday life. It also has a companionship website where the recommended exercises and drills are explained in video format and additional scientific resources are available.

Dr. Cucuzzella is a firm proponent of the minimalist shoe. He gives a scientific-based explanation on why this is the way to go, as well as the right way to transition there. As interesting and well supported as his theory is, I don’t see myself switching to a minimalist shoe anytime soon, although it has made me reassess my selection of footwear, which I have already discussed with the manager of my local running store.

Part II was the key section of the book for me. It is about the science of running. The part the brain controls, the engine that builds endurance, nutrition, recovery, injury prevention, flexibility; how to make your muscles, tendons and ligaments work on your behalf and biomechanics of our gait. His explanation is so well adjusted for non-doctor readers and so solidly and convincingly based on science, that I have already adopted a few of his recommended adjustments and have seen amazing improvements on my step, which are confirmed in the way my running shoes have started wearing out.

This book is worth the money and the time invested in reading it. It is not about how many miles to run on Saturday and how many 400 reps you need to do on Wednesday. Once you are done with the book, make sure to keep it handy because it will become a consultation volume for years to come.

I someone knows Dr. Cucuzzella, please send him a big thank you on my behalf. There are many great running books out there. This is certainly one of them.