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Breathe Smarter, Run Stronger
- Author David 'Jacko' Jackson
- Narrator David 'Jacko' Jackson
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date 12 March 2026
- Run Time 9 hours and 11 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Exercise and workouts, Marathon and cross-country running, Running and jogging.
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What to expect
Bloomsbury presents Breathe Smarter, Run Stronger: Breathwork to Transform Your Running, written and read by David 'Jacko' Jackson
'I have no doubt this book will be a disruptor for the running world!"
Patrick McKeown, author of The Oxygen Advantage
‘Breathing is foundational to efficient, resilient running, yet few athletes truly understand it. This excellent and informative book fills that gap. It’s simple, smart, and grounded in real running’
Shane Benzie, author of The Lost Art of Running
BETTER RUNNERS BREATHE BETTER
Your breath is fundamental to physical and mental performance. How you breathe affects your efficiency, your perception of effort, your nervous system and more. Yet you’ve probably never trained your breathing.
David ‘Jacko’ Jackson simplifies the science of respiration and gives you the practical tools for smarter breathing and stronger running. He takes you through the limitations of how we currently breathe and shows you how to
train your respiratory system.
Through breathwork exercises integrated into your training – including mobility hacks to unlock your ribcage and tools to develop your diaphragm – you’ll learn how to ventilate more efficiently like an elite runner.
No matter your running experience, this book will unlock the key to running further and faster.
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'Learning to breathe better is a game changer for your running ... Jacko is a fantastic coach'
Richard Whitehead MBE, Paralympic champion & world record holder
‘A fascinating read … simple, exciting insights that will make you run faster and feel more relaxed whilst doing so’
Paul Tonkinson, author of 26.2 Miles to Happiness
'I have no doubt this book will be a disruptor for the running world!"
Patrick McKeown, author of The Oxygen Advantage
‘Breathing is foundational to efficient, resilient running, yet few athletes truly understand it. This excellent and informative book fills that gap. It’s simple, smart, and grounded in real running’
Shane Benzie, author of The Lost Art of Running
BETTER RUNNERS BREATHE BETTER
Your breath is fundamental to physical and mental performance. How you breathe affects your efficiency, your perception of effort, your nervous system and more. Yet you’ve probably never trained your breathing.
David ‘Jacko’ Jackson simplifies the science of respiration and gives you the practical tools for smarter breathing and stronger running. He takes you through the limitations of how we currently breathe and shows you how to
train your respiratory system.
Through breathwork exercises integrated into your training – including mobility hacks to unlock your ribcage and tools to develop your diaphragm – you’ll learn how to ventilate more efficiently like an elite runner.
No matter your running experience, this book will unlock the key to running further and faster.
---
'Learning to breathe better is a game changer for your running ... Jacko is a fantastic coach'
Richard Whitehead MBE, Paralympic champion & world record holder
‘A fascinating read … simple, exciting insights that will make you run faster and feel more relaxed whilst doing so’
Paul Tonkinson, author of 26.2 Miles to Happiness
Critics Review
Jacko is a fantastic coach, who’s been part of my coaching team that supported me to multiple gold medals and world records. Learning to breathe better is a game changer for your running.
Jacko’s breathwork helped me defend my world title. Because I was always in control of the effort, I was in control of my body and in total control of my mind. It meant I could relax, enjoy and express myself on the world stage.
A thorough and highly practical guide to breathing for running. It will spark important conversations and influence progress in the sport for years to come … Jacko’s book is not only a guide to running. It is a guide to living well through breath. When used consistently, these practices can unlock easier pace, more enjoyable runs, better recovery and a deeper sense of flow.
I’ve been running marathons and coaching marathon runners for 40 years and never once has someone like David (an expert in breathing) explained to me and showed me how I can improve my breathing … David’s book has educated me on that! In fact, he’s taken me right back to school. In this book he presents the benefits of breath mastery with simplicity and clarity and has really made me think that learning to understand more about harnesses breath is something that runners can't afford not to do if they want their running to be better.
A fantastic guide and learning tool
Since working with Jacko the impact he’s had on my mental and physical feeling has been transformational. The techniques and education he has taught me have opened my eyes into how to breathe properly in certain positions and situations to improve my performance. Whether that’s mobility, controlling my breathing in the heat of the game or down regulation breathing, the impact has been absolutely brilliant.
A fascinating read … simple, exciting insights that will make you run faster and feel more relaxed whilst doing so
Jacko is a master-breather! Not only is he an accomplished athlete who has conquered breathwork but Jacko breathes life, energy and clarity into the science of running and respiration.
David tells the story of his injury and his ensuing exploration into the science of breath with humility, grace and humour. He keeps you turning the pages to find your next step on your journey to mastering breath and making your running easier, more graceful, and in tune with your physiology. Every runner, in fact, every breather will benefit from time spent with this book.
David tells the story of his injury and his ensuing exploration into the science of breath with humility, grace and humour. He keeps you turning the pages to find your next step on your journey to mastering breath and making your running easier, more graceful, and in tune with your physiology. Every runner, in fact, every breather will benefit from time spent with this book.
A great blend of science, theory and practical advice. An easy read that everyone will get something out of.
Most runners train their legs and overlook their breath. Jacko flips that script. Train your breathing and everything changes: build real endurance, move more efficiently, and recover faster. If you exercise, if you run, if you breathe, this book is for you.
This is more than a book about how we breathe; it’s a training masterclass based on thousands of hours of coaching and personal application. Jacko makes something as complex as respiration, and how we train it for optimal efficiency, accessible to every runner. From short distance amateurs to endurance elites, follow Jacko’s advice to the letter, and over time you’ll leave 'fine' or, worse, 'just made it through' performances in the dust.
As a coach and researcher, I am always looking for new ideas and ways to further my understanding. Breathing is foundational to efficient, resilient running, yet few athletes truly understand it. This excellent and informative book fills that gap. It’s simple, smart and grounded in real running.
A game-changer. Jacko’s story from professional rugby player, sustaining a brain injury to breathwork coach and ultra-runner is simply inspiring. The book also achieves a goal that many authors aspire to, that of explaining a technical subject or science in everyday language, blending science and practice to clearly explain how breathing affects endurance, recovery, and mental focus … Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned athlete, this book is a must-read for runners interested in being a better athlete and also becoming more connected to their body and its performance.
If you want better performance, start with your breath. In Breathe Smarter Run Stronger, Jacko gives you a system to assess, train, and apply your breathing in a simple, repeatable way. It improves not only how you run but, more importantly, how to stay composed when running gets hard.
This book is a breath of fresh air for the performance world, offering an updated scientific perspective on how athletes can practically integrate this work into their training.
Informative, interesting, practical, and easy to read. It's exceptionally well organised, moving seamlessly from the science, through self-assessments, to techniques you can integrate into your very next run … What sets this book apart is Jacko's unique combination of credentials. He's lived the athlete's journey as a professional rugby player, understands the science as a strength and conditioning coach and now as a Master Oxygen Advantage Instructor, and has refined these methods through his work with everyone from weekend parkrunners to international competitors … Whether you're an athlete chasing performance gains, looking to improve recovery, or simply want to feel less out of breath in daily life, this book
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