{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Shane Benzie, author of The Lost Art of Running","standfirst":"Shane Benzie, author of The Lost Art of Running, has helped some of the world\u2019s best runners be at their best. Ahead of the 2023 London Marathon, he shares some of his insightful tips with Scouts and volunteers who want to move more freely and enjoy exercise more \u2013 whether running 26 miles, or just dashing around the block.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EI was one of those kids who woke up bursting with energy. I would run to school and play out until my mum dragged me in. I grew up on an estate when there wasn\u2019t much to do. So playing football and getting out on our bikes was a big release.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, we just don\u2019t see children playing outdoors in the park as much as we used to. There are so many distractions now, especially with social media and gaming.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EObviously, times have changed but being outdoors and getting exercise is still as important as ever. Without this, young people miss out on the physical and mental health benefits, but also opportunities to learn how to cooperate and organise themselves, which is what \u003Ca href=\u0022/scouts/\u0022 title=\u0022Scouts\u0022\u003EScouts\u003C/a\u003E do so well.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19883/shane-benzie.png","width":1582,"height":866,"altText":"Shane Benzie smiles while looking to one side and standing outside.","caption":"Shane Benzie, author of The Lost Art of Running","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EDoing what we\u2019re designed to do\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore I studied human movement, I used to study sharks. Because the Great White Shark has been around for over 400 million years, it\u2019s had a long time to get really good at what it does, which is swimming, eating seals and having baby sharks. Its environment hasn\u2019t really changed, so it\u2019s thrived.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut humans have only been around for about 300,000 years. In that time, we\u2019ve gone from being hunter gatherers to farmers; to being part of the industrial revolution and now the technological revolution. So actually a human is almost like a fish out of water.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf we\u2019re sat in front of a computer all day, we\u2019re not doing what we were originally designed to do. Instead, we need to move more, even while working. Perhaps we should be standing up at our computers, for example (like I\u2019m doing right now) rather than sitting. By standing up, I\u2019m training my body for eight or nine hours a day, rather than detraining it.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EUnderstanding how our bodies work\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was speaking to our local Scouts at Goring Heath. The leader contacted me and asked me to chat with them about running for their \u003Ca href=\u0022/scouts/activity-badges/athletics/\u0022 title=\u0022Athletics\u0022\u003EAthletics Badge\u003C/a\u003E. One of the things they did on the night was making and watching a video of themselves running. The best way to understand your movement is to see it.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI explained that the 206 bones that make up your skeleton are actually floating. No bone touches another bone \u2013 they all sit in an elastic sea of tension created by your tendons and ligaments.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen you move, your skeleton is free flowing in a sea of energy. Each bone sits in its own elastic trampoline. If you stand beautifully tall all day, then you\u2019re creating a beautiful sea of energy and your body will be able to spring and flex. If you sit crouched all day, or run in a cramped way, you don\u2019t have this wonderful freedom.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen you run tall, you load the elastic energy in the body. All the joints are sat in the right place, and you can run with a lot more freedom. My job when I work with athletes is to help them understand this and liberate them. To help people learn this young is just as important.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19881/beavers-running.jpg","width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":"A group of Beavers, wearing blue jumpers, run across the grass","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EBut why should we run?\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a western world, we\u2019re not moving as much as we should. Movement is medicine. When you run, your bones become stronger. Your cardio vascular system improves. Mentally you\u2019re better off too \u2013 it increases your ability to learn.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the great things about running is that you can just do it. You don\u2019t have to find a venue or buy lots of technical equipment \u2013 you can just do it. Even walking is good.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EThe morning mile\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn your brain, there\u2019s about ten things going on at the same time. When we run, all of those systems fire at a higher level. It\u2019s a great kick-start to the brain.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u2019ll have heard of schools who are doing \u2018the morning mile.\u2019 Not only does this make young people feel good at the start of their day, it improves learning too. And if you can get someone excited about doing something, they\u2019ll do it a lot more.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI went back to the Scout group about six weeks after my first visit and it was such an honour to hand out their \u003Ca href=\u0022/scouts/activity-badges/athletics/\u0022 title=\u0022Athletics\u0022\u003EAthletics Badge\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"value":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/797720225?h=1151ee24e2\u0026amp;app_id=122963","gridType":"embed","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass"},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EShane shares a message for the 14 Scout runners in the London Marathon\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#f1f1f1","title":"","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EGetting into good habits\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to running, people just do it. This is both a good and a not-so-good thing. Often, people don\u2019t feel they need any coaching, as they would in other sports, and consequently, can get into some bad habits.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe biggest pitfall is landing on your heel on a straight leg when you run, which is very jarring and unstable. I\u2019ve worked with over 4,000 runners one to one, and 84% heel strike on a straight leg. We almost run with a walking gait.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYour foot is the interface between you and the ground, so we need you to land on a tripod. Believe it or not, you\u2019ve got a quarter of a million nerve endings on the sole of your foot. There are more nerves in the sole of your feet than there are in your hand. They tell you how hard you hit the ground, and give you a perception of effort and spatial awareness as well.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you don\u2019t land well, you don\u2019t get that vital information to the brain. But if you land on a tripod, with three parts of the foot making contact with the ground, it gives you a lot more stability.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EA stone age brain in a space age world\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI wrote a book called the Lost Art of Running. I called it that because we\u2019ve lost the ability to do it well. It was 15,000 years ago that we were hunter gathers. We still have the ability to run, we just need to rediscover it. We\u2019ve got a Stone Age brain in a Space Age world.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve travelled all round the world, visiting tribes and indigenous people to understand the different kinds of human movement, as well as meeting some of the best athletes. I discovered some amazing things and met some incredible people.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19882/squirrels-running.jpg","width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":"A group of Squirrels wearing red jumpers play outside","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EWhy we should run with our arms, not our legs\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was lucky enough to spend some time with Eliud Kipchoge who completed the first (still unofficial) sub two-hour marathon in Vienna. He would tell me that he runs with his arms, not his legs. It sounds crazy but actually makes a huge amount of sense.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen you run, your right arm and left leg move together, and vice versa. That\u2019s our kinetic chain. But it means our very clever right arm is very dominant over our not very clever left leg. When we\u2019re running, this right arm is sending big messages to our leg.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you run beautifully with your arms, your legs will do beautiful things. If your arms are just flopping around, being lackadaisical, your arms are basically saying to your legs, \u2018take the day off because that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing!\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003ETop tips for better running\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFitness takes place during recovery. If you go running tomorrow morning, it\u2019s in the evening when your body rebuilds itself - and that where your fitness improved. But you need to be careful not to over-train \u2013 especially if you\u2019re doing lots of other sports and activities.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERecovery time is important. Sleep is the elixir of life \u2013 as well as water of course. Good hydration is vital to good running. Lots of sleep, lots of water, and put gaps between different sporting activities.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy big top for all Scouts, and especially to the 14 Scout runners in the \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.tcslondonmarathon.com/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022London Marathon\u0022\u003ELondon Marathon\u003C/a\u003E, is to run tall, keep your head up and your eyes on the horizon.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe human head weights around 5kg. For every inch forward the head comes down, it loads another 5kg on the neck and the spine. If your head is up on the horizon, your balance and spatial position is also where it needs to be.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFlick your eyes down to see what\u2019s going on. Run beautifully tall, and keep your eyes on the horizon. I know you\u2019ll have a great day.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EShane Benzie\u2019s book, The Lost Art of Running, is available from all good bookshops.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#002f6c","title":"Find out more","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"08 February 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Cubs Athletics Activity Badge","url":"/cubs/activity-badges/athletics-activity-badge/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Scouts Athletics Activity Badge","url":"/scouts/activity-badges/athletics/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Explorers Athletics Activity Badge","url":"/explorers/activity-badges/athletics-old/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"London Marathon","url":"https://www.tcslondonmarathon.com/","newWindow":true}],"id":48743,"nodeName":"Keep on running","title":"Keep on running: How to move freely and enjoy your exercise","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/19883/shane-benzie.png?cc=0.026829610900407239,0.0000000000000001122832965152,0,0\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd26eed620","caption":"Shane Benzie","type":"png","size":2331768,"width":1582,"height":866,"altText":"Shane Benzie smiles while looking to one side and standing outside."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Keep on running: How to move freely and enjoy your exercise","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Shane Benzie share his top tips \u2013 whether running 26 miles, or just dashing around the block.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODc0MyJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/february/keep-on-running/"}