Back in September I traveled to New York City to attend a roundtable discussion hosted by Merrell Footwear. The group in attendance was diverse, and included bloggers, journalists, doctors, physical therapists, and a former Boston Marathon winner. Despite our differing backgrounds, one thing we had in common is that most of us had a Y […]
Women and the Minimalist Running Movement: Merrell Wants Your Feedback
December 1, 2011 By 14 Comments
The Great Barefoot Running Debate: UKSEM Panel Summary by Ross Tucker from The Science of Sport Blog
November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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
November 23, 2011 By 2 Comments
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
November 23, 2011 By 3 Comments
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
November 18, 2011 By 35 Comments
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
November 15, 2011 By 65 Comments
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
November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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
November 7, 2011 By 15 Comments
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
November 3, 2011 By 64 Comments
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 […]
Injured: A Pain in the Back and a Depressed Runner
November 2, 2011 By 57 Comments
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 […]
Running Sock Reviews: injinji, Swiftwick, and Wrightsock
October 26, 2011 By 16 Comments
In a perfect world I wouldn’t wear socks when I run. When at all possible, I do prefer to go sockless, but shoes that allow me to do this without developing blisters are few and far between. What’s more, winter is around the corner, and socks become something of a necessity to help break the […]
Brooks Pure Connect: Too Narrow for My Feet
October 23, 2011 By 61 Comments
**Update: I have now posted a guest review of the new Brooks PureConnect 2. The upper of the update apparently allows a bit more give than the shoe described in this post. After much fanfare and anticipation, Brooks finally released its Pure Project line of running shoes last month. Brooks has been careful to avoid […]
Saucony to Abandon the 12mm Lift Model: Big Move From one of the Big Players in the Running Shoe World
October 22, 2011 By 33 Comments
Last Wednesday I was invited along with several other bloggers to participate in a conference call with representatives from Saucony. The group we spoke with included: Pat O’Malley, Head of Footwear Spencer White, Head of our Biomechanics Lab Chris Mahoney, Senior Designer Sean Robbins, Digital Marketing Manager I’d spoken to Sean before, and have interacted […]
My 18 Month Old Son’s Barefoot Running Form in Slow Motion!
October 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This past weekend I was out in the yard playing with my kids, and I was encouraging my older son to try to get my 18 month old son to run with him. My younger boy has just started to run within the past few months, and on occasion he gets to the point where […]
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 […]