Perfect Run

Most runners have had a run where everything clicks, the aches fade, and the miles feel almost effortless. Mackenzie Havey, a writer for Runner's World, explores how to bring that state back on purpose. Her guide starts from the idea of "flow," the heightened mental state that studies link to both greater enjoyment and better running.

Havey notes that these runs are hard to predict. They often arrive in bad weather or on a day when nothing else is going right, and forcing the conditions for one frequently backfires. Her approach is to build a routine that makes such runs more likely, one session at a time. This book follows her earlier title, Mindful Running.

The book reviews current research on optimal experience and pairs it with stories from professional and elite runners. Each chapter ends with exercises a runner can practice right away.