I met Ben True. Here are some interesting things I learned.

The shoe that sounded like the number 85 must be the A5. Lighter than FastTwitch and no post.

Injury Master wrote:

He also mentioned his shoes; I believe he said that he wears Triumphs for his longer AM runs, FastTwitches for his faster road work (with that little piece of posting removed specially for him), and a shoe I had never heard of for his 30 min easy runs (sounded like the number 85?).

Injury Master wrote:

He avoids shoes with any sort of stability, including neutral shoes that have any sort of posting to add support. Instead he keeps his feet strong with exercises.

By posting I presume you mean rigid sides and backs.

All the running shoes that I find are too rigid for my feet.

Where do you find shoes with no posting or rigidity?

saucony fan wrote:

The shoe that sounded like the number 85 must be the A5. Lighter than FastTwitch and no post.

Injury Master wrote:

He also mentioned his shoes; I believe he said that he wears Triumphs for his longer AM runs, FastTwitches for his faster road work (with that little piece of posting removed specially for him), and a shoe I had never heard of for his 30 min easy runs (sounded like the number 85?).

I think you're right, because the Saucony rep with him mentioned there was an A6, except I heard 86. If the A5 is lighter then I probably mixed up the roles of the FastTwitch and A5 in his training

rigid shoes wrote:

Injury Master wrote:

He avoids shoes with any sort of stability, including neutral shoes that have any sort of posting to add support. Instead he keeps his feet strong with exercises.

By posting I presume you mean rigid sides and backs.

All the running shoes that I find are too rigid for my feet.

Where do you find shoes with no posting or rigidity?

Adidas boasts that their Boost line allows a lot of natural torsion and overall their shoes are pretty flexible, but on the narrower side (also they tend to be pretty pricey; I haven't sold a single one in my time working here). A lot of minimalist and performance-oriented shoes are flexible but usually that's because they neglect any midsole volume or structure, so that's something to consider. Newton's shoes might also interest you.

[quote]Injury Master wrote:

-He does pretty much no core work. He attributes this to the fact that he has plenty of core work from when he was a nordic skier, but I think the more important point that he tiptoed around (because of the casual-runner audience) is that core work is useless in distance running.

Just because he is an awesome runner and skier doesn't mean that you should infer that core work is useless in distance running.

Most likely, he has a rock solid core. This is probably the result of his training for elite nordic skiing and world class running. Perhaps his rock solid core did not come from traditional exercises like planks and crunches. That doesn't mean his regimen does not include core work.

Lets just put it simply. A strong core helps to improve power and efficiency and reduce the likelihood of injuries. Even if you disagree with the first two points, the third is hard to ignore.

Rail Trail Runner wrote:

Thank you. I do find your comments interesting and thought provoking.

Where and when did you have your talk?

I'd like to know what model Saucony shoes he trains in.

I'd like to know if he goes to southern temperatures during the winter. If so, when and where.

Does he believe in altitude training?

I have absolutely NO DOUBT Ben is clean and always will be.

C'mon, man. "Absolutely no doubt"? That's ridiculous. He may seem like a nice guy and even be a nice and sincere guy, but he's a professional runner, it's his job, he's running for $$$, and if his competition is doing something/doping/bending the rules, and he's going for the same $$$ to feed himself and his family, if he has one, I'm sorry, you can't have NO DOUBT. Be serious.

not to mention wrote:

Rail Trail Runner wrote:

Thank you. I do find your comments interesting and thought provoking.

Where and when did you have your talk?

I'd like to know what model Saucony shoes he trains in.

I'd like to know if he goes to southern temperatures during the winter. If so, when and where.

Does he believe in altitude training?

I have absolutely NO DOUBT Ben is clean and always will be.

C'mon, man. "Absolutely no doubt"? That's ridiculous. He may seem like a nice guy and even be a nice and sincere guy, but he's a professional runner, it's his job, he's running for $$$, and if his competition is doing something/doping/bending the rules, and he's going for the same $$$ to feed himself and his family, if he has one, I'm sorry, you can't have NO DOUBT. Be serious.

not everyone lacks morals

sorry

not to mention wrote:

if his competition is doing something/doping/bending the rules, and he's going for the same $$$ to feed himself and his family, if he has one, I'm sorry, you can't have NO DOUBT. Be serious.

If you think it helps then it does, but only because you think it does, for no other reason.

maine kid wrote:

In high school Ben was notorious on the team for stealing girls' socks since he never remembered to bring gloves to practice.

Did he crap in those socks too?

Injury Master wrote:

Hopefully something here is interesting to someone.

If true, that's quite interesting. Like another poster said, I surmise he is and has been a blue-collar folk-hero of Letsrun for awhile. I guess his cross-country, road race and track successes of recent have come from a place of focus, no-nonsense base. Eating real food and keeping the drinks simple is something which certainly tickles my conscience--having struggled and experimented with different protein products and sports drinks (and been immersed in a culture and even some NCAA programs where these things are handed out a bit too excessively and unquestioningly) for many years since I was younger. The shoe thing, I also concur with. I don't know about forgoing any core work, though, since that seems to go against my "core" (no pun intended) philosophy/paradigm of biomechanic maintenance and work in support of running. Well, just cause he ignores his core, maybe he does strength training for his legs, but that is cause for worry. Might be a possible risk factor for getting injured..

johnny appleseed... wrote:

Not interesting at all, core is so overrated it makes me sick. Also makes personal trainers rich, there is a sucker born everyday.

Well, you're opinion might not change and you might think it's just placebo, but as documented on Kimbia's website, Jerry Schumacher's stable of athletes (at least, they used to) worked with Pascal Dobert on core strength. That includes Chris Solinsky (and this was highlighted prior to his breakthroughs circa 2009/2010 in the 5k and 10k), Evan Jager (ha, where is he now? broke the American Record for the steeplechase TWICE!), etc. Visually, it's been apparent for a long time those guys (Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Jager) had abs out of Ancient Greek legend.

not to mention wrote:

Rail Trail Runner wrote:

Thank you. I do find your comments interesting and thought provoking.

Where and when did you have your talk?

I'd like to know what model Saucony shoes he trains in.

I'd like to know if he goes to southern temperatures during the winter. If so, when and where.

Does he believe in altitude training?

I have absolutely NO DOUBT Ben is clean and always will be.

C'mon, man. "Absolutely no doubt"? That's ridiculous. He may seem like a nice guy and even be a nice and sincere guy, but he's a professional runner, it's his job, he's running for $$$, and if his competition is doing something/doping/bending the rules, and he's going for the same $$$ to feed himself and his family, if he has one, I'm sorry, you can't have NO DOUBT. Be serious.

I am serious. I have NO DOUBT that Ben True is ethical and does not and will not use any artificial aids to compete at the highest level in the sport I love.

Wow! So much respect! Very interesting, awesome to hear some secrets to his training and beliefs.

Kipketer_Pumpkin_Eater wrote:

johnny appleseed... wrote:

Not interesting at all, core is so overrated it makes me sick. Also makes personal trainers rich, there is a sucker born everyday.

Well, you're opinion might not change and you might think it's just placebo, but as documented on Kimbia's website, Jerry Schumacher's stable of athletes (at least, they used to) worked with Pascal Dobert on core strength. That includes Chris Solinsky (and this was highlighted prior to his breakthroughs circa 2009/2010 in the 5k and 10k), Evan Jager (ha, where is he now? broke the American Record for the steeplechase TWICE!), etc. Visually, it's been apparent for a long time those guys (Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Jager) had abs out of Ancient Greek legend.

Dude,

if you thinks ABS are core you prove my point.

Galen Rupp does a lot of core work. He just ran 3:34. He's broken 13 and is the american record holder in the 10k. He has a silver olympic medal.

Maybe Ben True should do some core work.

Kipketer_Pumpkin_Eater wrote:

johnny appleseed... wrote:

Not interesting at all, core is so overrated it makes me sick. Also makes personal trainers rich, there is a sucker born everyday.

Well, you're opinion might not change and you might think it's just placebo, but as documented on Kimbia's website, Jerry Schumacher's stable of athletes (at least, they used to) worked with Pascal Dobert on core strength. That includes Chris Solinsky (and this was highlighted prior to his breakthroughs circa 2009/2010 in the 5k and 10k), Evan Jager (ha, where is he now? broke the American Record for the steeplechase TWICE!), etc. Visually, it's been apparent for a long time those guys (Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Jager) had abs out of Ancient Greek legend.

They have low body fat. Basically anyone has visible abs when they get that lean. It doesn't tank specific ab work.

OverTheHillAndBack wrote:

Galen Rupp does a lot of core work. He just ran 3:34. He's broken 13 and is the american record holder in the 10k. He has a silver olympic medal.

Maybe Ben True should do some core work.

Galen Rupp does alot of things.....

OverTheHillAndBack wrote:

Galen Rupp does a lot of core work. He just ran 3:34.

and got 11th place

Edward Teach wrote:

Injury Master wrote:

-He does pretty much no core work. .

-Instead he keeps his feet strong with exercises.

Wonder if he does leg exercises too.

Unless he runs on his arms it seems likely that he does leg exercises while you know, running.