Archives for November 2011

The Great Barefoot Running Debate: UKSEM Panel Summary by Ross Tucker from The Science of Sport Blog

I’ve been waiting anxiously for Ross Tucker over at the Science of Sport blog to post his summary of the barefoot running/footwear discussion that took place last week at the UKSEM conference in London. If you aren’t aware of this event, it was a panel discussion that included some of the most eminent figures involved […]

Links to Shoe Reviews: Altra Lone Peak, Brooks Pure Grit, and Saucony Triumph 9

Since I have not had time to write a review of my own recently, I wanted to steer you to three shoe reviews written by people that I know and whose opinions I respect. All are of shoes that I do not own myself and so no review of my own is forthcoming at this […]

Blaise Dubois’ Running Injury Prevention and Treatment Course Returns to Milwaukee, WI February 24-26, 2012

Last January I attended a 3 day course called New Trends in the Prevention and Treatment of Running Injuries. The course, led by physiotherapist Blaise Dubois from Quebec City, was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend attending should you have the chance. I recently received an email from my friend Kyle Roberts who owns […]

Journal Article: Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race

Just a quick post to announce that my first academic paper on running-related research has been published in the Journal of Sports Sciences – the title is “Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race.” The research in this paper is based on film that seven of my former undergraduate […]

Skechers GOrun Review: A Second (Positive) Opinion

If you’ve read my recent review of the Skechers GOrun, you’ll note that I was somewhat surprised by how much I liked running in the shoe despite the somewhat awkward feel that you get when simply standing in them. I’d still prefer that the shoe not have as pronounced a “bump” under the midfoot, but […]

Meb Keflezighi’s Running Form in Slow Motion: Boston 2010, NYC 2010, and NYC 2011

Last Sunday, Meb Keflezighi ran the 2011 NYC Marathon and finished in sixth place with a personal best time of 2:09:13. Much has been made lately of Meb’s decision to sign a sponsorship deal with Skechers, and NYC was his first marathon with Skechers shoes on his feet. In the video below, Meb indicates that […]

The Role of Anecdote vs. Scientific Evidence the Running Form and Footwear Debate

In my previous post I shared my thoughts on the current debate about running form and footwear – that post was triggered by reading the comments related to Christopher McDougall’s recent article in the New York Times Magazine. A number of commenters criticized McDougall for basing his article off of a few individual anecdotes (his […]

My Thoughts on “Perfect” Running Form and Footwear

I’ve been reading with some amount of amusement the comments associated with Christopher McDougall’s latest article in the NY Times Magazine. On the one hand there are folks decrying the use of anecdote and asking to see the data showing that barefoot is better, as well as those horrified at the thought of running barefoot […]

The Once and Future Way to Run: NY Times Magazine Article by Christopher McDougall

Quick post to alert you to a feature article in the New York Times Magazine by Born to Run author Christopher McDougall. The article is titled “The Once and Future Way to Run,” and in the article Chris addresses a number of issues relating to running form and running shoes, and provides some interesting perspective […]

Injured: A Pain in the Back and a Depressed Runner

Sometimes the running gods are cruel. I’ve been incredibly swamped lately between increased work commitments associated with becoming chairman of my department, an impending book deadline (Jan. 15 is approaching fast!), and always sacred family time. As a result, my running mileage and my attention to this blog and its associated email load have taken […]