Movie Reviews
Running Faster with Alberto Salazar
"We may train or peek for a certain race but running is a lifetime sport". This instructional tape that was directed by Ambrose Salmini and hosted by Alberto Salazar is just as relevant today as it was during its release in 1990. Packed full of elite runners, primarily in competition against one another, each aspect is illustrated well as the slow motion movement drives home the main points that are also summarized on screen for emphasis. This nostalgic filled hour long lesson is divided into seven sections: setting goals (whether it is to improve fitness, maintain speed in a race, or set a personal record, by setting your focus on both short and long term goals you are sure to improve), philosophy (taking less than two minutes on this tape, you will see that an individual at any level will find rewards by running), running technique (a quarter of this video is dedicated to going through a runner's form from "top to bottom" comparing the technique of many elite athletes including Ignacio Fragoso, Doug Padilla, Ibrahim Hussein, Salvatore Bettiol, Ed Eyestone, Kim Jones, Geoff Smith, Steve Jones, Toshihiko Seko, Francie Larrieu Smith, Pat Peterson, Julius Kariuki, Steve Scott, John Sinclair, and other award winning athletes), training methods (encompassing nearly twenty minutes, more athletes are used to demonstrate specific concepts of mileage, intervals, hills, cross country, cross training, fartlek, adventure running, ultrarunning, uphill and downhill form, drills, and weight training; race footage from the "New York City Marathon", "Bloomsday", "Cascade Run Off", "Carlsbad 5000", "Boston Marathon", Men and Women's Olympic Marathon Trials, "San Blas Marathon", Honolulu, Peachtree and the Falmouth Road Races are all used to stress the variety of training philosophies); injury prevention (only a few minutes are dedicated to the need to being smart to avoid running injuries; the use of rest, moderation, cross training and returning to performance levels slowly are emphasized), mental preparation (Salazar shares his experience with the 1982 "Boston Marathon", where he and Dick Beardsley had their "duel in the sun" with Salazar winning in 2:08:52, the best Boston time by an American until Bob Kempainen in 1994), racing (know your pacing, review the course, hydrate properly, and then go for it, and you will improve your competitiveness by adapting to the weather, keeping contact, initiating surges, using the aid stations correctly, tucking into the pack, and knowing your limits based on your fitness level; these points are revealed with footage of Rolando Vera, Janis Klecker, Cathy O'Brien, Cyndie Welte, and Alberto Salazar finishing the 1980 "New York City Marathon" in 2:09:41, the first of three consecutive wins, that are all shown in the last ten minutes of this presentation).
