A Review of The Balanced Runner and the Online Camp

I recently took The Balanced Runner Online Camp and want to share about the camp and about The Balanced Runner itself.  Also, I need to make sure it is known that I paid for the camp myself and took it not simply to write a review but to learn what I could so as to be a better runner.

Jae Gruenke

After having run for 45+ years you may wonder why I need to still be looking into form, after all that time have I not figured it out.  Truth is I think we all have things to learn and when you factor in aging I have found learning new things becomes even more important as age begins to create barriers that need to be overcome in ways you may not be prepared for. In wanting to learn more I looked at any number of videos and programs that are out there but found while many had very important aspects and even appealed to my “just tell me what to do” mindset the issue was my mind just could not wrap itself around all that was to be done.  In trying various aspects of what was out there it began, IMO, to lead to problems.  For example, in trying to get to the “magical” 180 cadence I was able to get close to it but in doing so had a tendency to stiffen up my feet while being so focused on the cadence and getting my feet up in time.  On top of this add in trying to rotate my pelvis, lean just right and any number of other “helpful” things I not only felt off with how I ran, no matter how “correct” it may have been, but I am somewhat confident this may have contributed to some of my Achilles/Heel issues I dealing with.  The changes may not have been the direct cause but with all the changes and trying to force what was “correct” I was not running as fluid, or natural, as I needed to be and so at best all the changes were contributors.

In my research, and just looking for all things running for the blog, I came across The Balanced Runner.  My initial look and seeing it was based on something called The Feldenkrais Method, more on this in a moment, led me to just keep moving past it.  However I went back a few times to look more into it and the more I read and investigated Feldenkrais the more it seemed a natural, and as the name states, balanced way to look at running.  After all we are not simply made up of legs, glutes, pelvis, core, arms and more but are a body that while containing the aforementioned has to have them all working in concert for things to be “balanced.”  So many systems look at these various parts in trying to help us learn to get them to work together but in doing so often things get complicated.

To learn more about the actual principles of the Balanced Runner I signed up for the 6 week online class not really knowing what was ahead but as the class came with a money back guarantee, within 90 days of purchase, what harm was there in trying as this gives you time to process what you learn after the camp.  The rest of this post will deal with The Balanced Runner and the class itself.  In sharing my take away from the lessons I want you to know that what you may initially hear as being negative is really not that at all as you will see once I explain things.  I share this just to make sure your take away from this is what I intended

So, what is The Balanced Runner and what is different about it from other running form programs?  To begin with The Balanced Runner, founded by Jae Gruenke, looks at running from the perspective of the Feldenkrais Method of somatic education rather than simply looking at biomechanics, often as disjointed systems, and looking to correct them.  This is not to say all programs look at running more as a conglomeration of individual aspects but this is often how I see them come across.  The Feldenkrais Method looks at movement from a neuromuscular perspective to connect movement with your mind so that it is not simply about “doing” a particular movement but goes much further into what I would term as a holistic look at movement.  In truth when I first looked at this it just seemed as some sort of weird fringe idea since who has ever heard of Feldenkrais, let alone his method.  However, the more I looked into it the more sense it made and when linked to what I read at The Balanced Runner site it seemed like a very viable and sensible avenue to deal with running and form.  For more info on the Feldenkrais Method and The Balanced Runner you can look here:

• About the Feldenkrais Method
• Here is an article by Jane Brody of the New York Times originally thought of the Feldenkrais Method as “some sort of New Age gobbledygook with no scientific basis” but ended up think something else:  Trying the Feldenkrais Method for Chronic Pain
• An interview on Endurance Planet
• Article on Running
• And one more article on The Feldenkrais Method

I went into the Online Class not really knowing what to expect except that it would be different.  The
6 classes over 7 weeks, as you have one week off to catch up if you need to, cover a range of lessons all of which are grounded in the Feldenkrais Method and principles but directed at running and movements that will enhance it.  Each lesson has a webinar that deals with some aspect of the body and movement then there are a number of “Lessons.”  These lessons start with what is called an “initial scan” where you go out for a short run and take notice of certain aspects described in the class audio.  This is followed by the class where a variety of moves are done slowly and with no effort where you will be working to get your brain to connect with the movement in a way you may not have before thought of.  Lastly you do a final scan where you go back out for a 4-5 minute run again noticing certain aspects and if there are any differences that you may notice.  Also, in the weeks lessons are “Refreshers” which are shorter lessons that cover what was gone over in the main lesson but in less amount of time to remind your brain and body what you have learned.  The other part of the weekly lessons is the live Q&A session.  These are great places to interact with Jae and others in the class with regards to the lessons and questions that arise.  Since not everyone may be able to make the weekend calls you can send in questions and then watch the call later.  I would encourage you to at least attend a call or two live is you can as it is fun to chat with others in the class and with Jae.

Here is a look at the lessons as laid out on the website:
Week 1: learn the core action and how it helps your legs work better and reduces stress. This lesson usually is enough all by itself to relieve runners’ knee, or patellofemoral syndrome.

Week 2: learn how to use gravity to make your running easier rather than uncomfortable and damaging by harnessing the energy of ground reaction force. You’ll discover how to take the stress off your feet, calves, and knees by using the little-known relationship between your head and your glutes so the right muscles work when you run. This helps people with plantar fasciitis, achilles tendon problems, hamstring problems, and back problems.

Week 3: Learn to use the connection between your arms and your hips to more easily control your speed, reduce your impact, get rid of shoulder tension, and further improve your legs and back.

Week 4: Learn how to use your obliques and gluteus medius together with your shoulders and head to relieve IT band stress and resolve any lingering difficulties with your footstrike. This lesson usually puts an end to the stresses that cause IT band syndrome.

Week 5: This week brings the preceding four together and gives you a really practical way to set yourself up for a good run every time you go out.

Week 6: This week we take all the improvements you’ve made to the next level by working on something runners generally fail to prioritize: the arm swing, upper spine, and head. In all my professional experience, I’ve learned that the biggest improvements in how a runner feels and performs come from the improvements they make in their technique high up in their bodies – counterintuitive but true!

Now to the lessons as a whole and why I stated up front that some comments may sound negative at first blush but are not.  To me I found the lessons to be difficult, but let me explain.  It is not that was asked to be done in the way of movement was difficult.  You are actually told to move only as much as is easy and takes no effort.  It is that I was asked to “feel,” this feel is not with your hands but by perceiving the movement, a particular aspect of the movement that was hard for me to do and the most frustrating.  Heck, I was asked to feel something to do with my pelvis and to be truthful I had to simply say to myself  “feel my pelvis, I know I have one but feel it?”  I did get the idea of the movements and basically how they would relate to running but as I am a sort of a “just tell me what to do and lay it out for me” kind of guy and that is not what is intended in the classes I struggled some to get the connection. This did get better over the course of the class and, again, since the class lessons are available later and you can even take the class again for free I will be taking full advantage of this.

The frustration I felt was not because of the class but because of how my mind tends to work.  If you are like me do not let this aspect of the course dissuade you as I do believe that it is this aspect of “feeling” what you are doing that make your running better.  There are great benefits of feeling how you run over just going through some motions.  Keep in mind this feeling over time will become more automatic so that your running is taken care of largely by your mind rather than seeking to make a whole lot of conscious movement simultaneously, which is to say the least difficult.

With regards to this idea of movement and how it all works together with the brain the good news is the body is designed, from my worldview by God, for them to work together.  It is, however, not enough to consciously work to do so but we need to have the body and brain work together in a way that does not require constant conscious inputs by us.  What we need to realize is that in a world where “multi-tasking” is so lauded the truth no one actually multi-tasks.  Yes, we may have multiple tasks on our plate but in reality we can only do one thing at a time, as that is just how it works.  If you apply this to running and trying to get various parts of our bodies to do certain things we really cannot do so effectively if we have to think about all the various, even if correct, movements.  What happens, if you are like me, is you end up getting lost or over focusing on one aspect to the detriment of the overall effect you may desire.  The good news, and how I see the Balanced Runner lessons working, is that if we can work to get our body and brain to make the needed connections so we do not need to “think” them through then ones body can begin to move holistically.  As an example of the brain just simply doing the work consider that the body was designed such that you do not have to think about things like pumping blood, breathing and many other functions that all happen simultaneously – true multitasking -  to get them to take place.  If you had to think about breathing, pumping blood and other actions for them to take place all at once - well you would be dead because you cannot do this yourself but the body can. To me this is the direction one heads with the lessons in the Online Class in that by doing them slowly and repetitively the body and brain make a connection as to how things are to feel so they all work together and this over time just become natural.  When you are done you may be at the same place as other programs may seek to take you but instead of having to always “think” about things the body will basically take over.  OK, I know that was a long explanation but to me it is important.  Yes, there are form principles you will learn, some that may even contradict others you have heard elsewhere, but understanding how the movement and brain all interact is for me a great thing.

A couple things I immediately took from the class, but will not spend a lot of time on, were arm carriage and foot movement.  As far as the arms the movement looked for is more bent and close to the body than many might put forth.  That said just watch most of the lead Kenyans and you will see see this arm movement.  Also, part of this was the idea of where you hand ends on the follow through is very much related where your foot lands.  So keeping your arms and hand closer helps to minimize over striding.  As far as foot movement this is an interesting one to me since for a while I have noticed when I start to feel my heel rubbing in my shoes if I worked to let my foot more plantar flex on the push off the rubbing dissipated.  However with all my focus on a 180 cadence my feet often were very stiff just trying to get them up quickly and thus very little plantar flexion.  Well in one of the lessons this principle along, with correct dorsiflexion. on the foot coming through is taught. In working to let these two aspects, arms and feet, be part of my running form while my cadence is less I do feel more relaxed and while I still need to get this to be more automatic my follow through for sure is more fluid and my feet are more relaxed.  I have more to work on and for sure need to work more to not make this being about “thinking” about how I move my arms and feet but about allowing my body to “feel” things moving as they should.  But I wanted to share that even with my troubles with the lessons I still had an immediate take away after 6 weeks that has helped.

That was a fairly quick look at the classes and my take-away as I could go over each lesson but the depending on where you are how you process things you may have a different initial take away.  What I can say is that while I am going to go over them again and have actually enrolled in what is called the Master Class with the few immediate take ways I do feel a difference running.  The main take ways for me initially were arm carriage and some aspects of leg movement.  While I still have to think about these aspects they are slowly becoming more normal and when they fit together my running does feel more fluid.

I leave you here with the encouragement to give the class a try.  While it is not cheap it is also not expensive when you look at what you can pay for shoes and doctor visits.  Also, again, with the 90 day guarantee what do you have to loose by not giving it a try.  If you already have worked with a different program and things work well for you that is great and the class may or may not benefit you, I think it would, but I know that is not where everyone is.

One last thing, take some time and look over The Balance Runner site and blog as there is a lot of info available.  Also, if you want to hear some examples of lessons on the home page you can get info on Core Stability, Foot Strike and also get a checklist on being a balanced runner.

Hope this was beneficial.