T. J. MurphyUnbreakable Runner: Unleash the Power of Strength & Conditioning for a Lifetime of Running Strong

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.

Good book with training guidelines on being a better runner. My running has improved after following T.J. Murphy and Brian Mackenzie's precepts and training plans. Exercises are illustrated with black and white photos and if one goes to their CrossFit Endurance website, there are videos that are very helpful in learning how to properly perform the drills and exercises. To all the Crossfit haters, don't knock it until you try it. I have incorporated CrossFit (or HIIT, if you'd rather) into my training, and truly believe it has made me into a better, faster runner and elevated my fitness level.This is a good supplement to one's fitness regimen. I would recommend it to anyone who's willing to do the work and practice the form drills, use one of the training plans and see it through. Do the work, results will follow.

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.

The byline of Unbreakable Runner (T.J. Murphy and Brian MacKenzie) deceived me from the start. The book reads as though written entirely by Murphy, punctuated by references to what MacKenzie says and does for himself and the athletes he coaches. Given his experience as editor of Triathlon and Competitor magazines and author of Inside the Box, Murphy's writing abilities are up to the task, but an introductory text to Crossfit Endurance would seem more credible coming firsthand from its founder Mackenzie. Compared to MacKenzie's Power, Speed, Endurance, which offers a comprehensive guide to strength and conditioning for the endurance athlete, Unbreakable Runner deals mainly with the rationale for Mackenzie's innovative approach. Again, Murphy is not the best source to make these arguments, but the numerous studies cited in support of the book's claims lend them a great deal of credence . The training plans which comprise the second half of the book are fairly bare bones, which is understandable for a book which will be read by athletes with a variety of different goals and abilities. Far more illuminating is the highly detailed two week plan Mackenzie programmed for one of his own athletes, found in Appendix B. For those with experience in coaching and training, this plan can be adapted to fit an athlete's needs in a way that more closely parallels MacKenzie's philosophy. Read Unbreakable Runner for the source material and the training plan outlines; read Power, Speed, Endurance for a more complete picture of Crossfit Endurance and the technical aspects of this program.